See Also:
-
Monday, May 20, 2013
Band on the Cigar -
Monday, May 13, 2013
Final Word on Finish -
Monday, May 6, 2013
Vintage Cigars? -
Monday, April 29, 2013
Go Ahead and Relight -
Monday, April 15, 2013
Cutting with Scissors - More from Weekly Tip
Rate the Bullet
What are the pros and cons of using a bullet, or punch, cutter?
Posted: August 29, 2011
There are certainly more cons when it comes to a quality cut.
The most obvious con is that a bullet, also called a punch, cutter is virtually impossible to use on a belicoso, torpedo or pyramid. Unlike a guillotine, bullet cutters make small, circular openings in the cap of a cigar, typically about half the diameter of a dime. This small cut can cause problems, especially in the latter stages of smoking a cigar.
Small openings exacerbate the accumulation of moisture and tars near the head of the cigar, so a cigar cut with a bullet or a piercer is more likely to grow bitter early in the smoke than a cigar cut by a guillotine. And since bullet cutters work by tunneling into the body of the cigar, you have to be careful not to press too hard. If you apply too much pressure, you may split the cap of the cigar.
On the pro side, bullet cutters are fine if you tend to smoke only parejos. They're also a good choice if you dislike the sensation of tasting the cut head of a cigar in your mouth, and prefer the feel of the smoother cigar cap.
Comments 9 comment(s)
Taylor Franklin — August 31, 2011 12:42am ET
Mark Germany — Allen, Texas, US, — August 31, 2011 9:33am ET
The only time I find a punch cutter useful is when I am smoking a stick with a large ring guage. It comes in real handy when the cap doesn't fit in your guillotine! Other than that, I find them to be mostly useless.
Michael Helfrich — Pearland, TX, USA, — September 1, 2011 3:30pm ET
A pro with a bullet/punch cutter is that you very rarely get leaf in your mouth after drawing.
Andrew Stevens — Darwin, N.T., Australia, — September 5, 2011 7:43pm ET
I like using a punch cutter. I have one that is designed for large ring gauge cigars so i dont get the build up you would normally get. As i like to bite my cigars i find that a punch cut cigar will hold its shape better over the duration as opposed to one that has had the cap cut off.
Roger Metoxen — Greenbay, Wi., The Great U S A, — October 2, 2011 12:49am ET
I use a discarded 45-70 case I sharpen the inside of the rim with my trusty pocket knife it works great on the 50 and up ring gauges the hole measures .45/11.5mm or so, I use a smaller version in 9mm/.357 for the smaller sizes, I prefer to use a cigar shear a majority of the time tho.
Kevin Feteira — Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, — October 21, 2011 7:45am ET
I prefer a punch. The cigar tends to burn better and a bit slower. If your the guy that soaks your cigar in salive while smoking or just like to hold it in your mouth it keeps your cigar from getting to soggy. And more imortantly there is less chance of screwing up a good smoke with an inproper cut especailly if your new to smoking cigars.
Bradley Large — November 22, 2011 4:25pm ET
The only thing I would have wished someone told me when I started with a guillotine cut is just to take it easy and cut as little of the cap off as possible. I used to cut way too much of mine off and the wrapper would start to unravel.
Kyle S — Nashville, TN, USA, — September 25, 2012 11:49am ET
I almost always use a punch first. Why? If the cigar is not rolled tight enough, your draw is way to easy, ruining your enjoyment of the cigar. If you had cut the end off, your draw would be like regular breathing. Using the punch, you can see how the draw is afterwards. If it is still too tight, you can always cut the end.
Kyle S — Nashville, TN, USA, — September 25, 2012 11:50am ET
I almost always use a punch first. Why? If the cigar is not rolled tight enough, your draw is way to easy, ruining your enjoyment of the cigar. If you had cut the end off, your draw would be like regular breathing. Using the punch, you can see how the draw is afterwards. If it is still too tight, you can always cut the end.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
RSS
My preference is a double-bladed guillotine using an angled "Joe Dickman cut". Follow the direction of the wrapper leading up to the cap, leave some of the shoulder from the cap. The wrapper almost never comes undone and the larger surface area seems to open-up the flavours a tad more.