Cigar Smokers: Cutters and Lighters

[Orvil Newton]

My lovely wife has, over the years presented me with several accessories to abet my cigar habit: Cutters, lighters, a humidor and of course cigars. Here are a couple of my favorites:

The "Havana Clipper". A one inch tanto point lock blade with a hole in the handle scale just the right size for clipping my favorite Punch Punch.

The Colibri "Venom" torch lighter.

What are your favorite accessories?

 

[RedPop4]

Nice items. Good luck with that Colibri. They don't have a very good reputation for long service.

 

[kpreed]

A gift I use on all my cigars is a folding utility knife from craftsman that has a razor blade on the end. Works Great!
I also have that lighter, but I use wooden stick matches right now.
ENJOY!

 

[Orvil Newton]

I found that the trick to keeping the Colibri working is to drain all the fuel out before re-filling and to use a good quality fuel.

 

[RedPop4]

Good quality fuel is a must no matter which brand of lighter you use. One wants at least a triple refined fuel, if not finer.

 

[Beowulf67]

I've never had much luck with that type lighter. Colibri's have a lifetime warranty don't they? So if they mess up you can ship them back, like Zippos?

 

[John in Covina]

I have a Zino cutter from Davidoff that is my favorite, but use a scissor type for ring guages too big for the Zino. Every once in a while I get to use a punch style cutter.

I use a Blazer lighter mostly but have a bigger lighter that I got from Williams & Sonoma that they stock for caramelizing the top of creme brulee and that works wonders.

 

[Decodence]

Never cared for cutters myself. I always use a punch.

 

[daizawaguy]

Lotus of Bangkok Double Corona wooden tube with Silver

 

[ET]

punch instead of cutter every time

 

[Mr. Paladin]

My cutter type depends of the style of the cigar and its humidity. A drier cigar calls for a punch to help decrease the airflow while a more moist cigar is just right for a V-cut, which is my favorite. I use a double edged guillotine for torpedos and belicosos but almost never for any parejo shape.

My Colibri lighter has worked well but I agree that it must be thoroughly purged before refilling and I always use Colibri butane to refill.

Daizawaguy, that is a beautifully grained and figured tube! It is most striking.

 

[SamMarlowPI]

i have a question...

this is a corona old boy:

but what is the style called? im sure they've made this style for a long time...i think i've seen 'french style' attributed to these...

 

[BobC]

I have several Blazer torches that have served me well for several years. I buy them from David Robinson here:

http://www.hill.u-net.com/

Despite the fact that they are available from many locations in the states, Mr. Robinson is a fine gentleman to deal with and is impeccably honest.

I use a double edge guillotine type cutter but have often wondered if a punch might have advantages.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Cutters and lighters

The very best cutter I have ever owned is from Zikar. The quality is head and shoulders above any other I have used, regardless of the price. They cut cleanly every time even after years of use. Many expensive cutters I have used are more on the line of fashion accessories and are not designed for long service.

When I was a young man, I worked in a pipe and cigar store part-time and full-time over many years. In those days I carried a single-edge razor blade in a leather money clip which had magnets sewn in. The magnets kept the money clip closed and the blade very secure. I found this to be excellent for making a V-cut.

I never liked the punch-style cutter because the opening in the cigar's cap is relatively small. This often causes a big drop of brown, nasty-tasting goo to transfer from the cigar to the tongue. Not a pleasant experience. This may not be true for cigars of smaller ring gauges because the relative difference in the diameter of the cigar and the diameter of the punched hole is smaller. I almost never smoke a cigar with a ring gauge smaller than 52, so your mileage may vary.

As for lighters, well, I buy several at a time so I can be sure to have one that works. Butane lighters, particularly the ones with a jet flame, tend to clog over time. A toothbrush can help to keep the jet nozzle clean.

Lew Rothman, a famous cigar retailer orginally from NYC and now with a large mailer order business based in North Carolina and franchised stores in other cities had a sign in the Washington, DC store several years back that read something like this:

We guarantee all our lighters, to break!
We don't want to sell them, but you've twisted our arm.
So if you buy it and it doesn't work, don't come crying to us!
Send it back to the manufacturer.

My advice on cigars lighters is to buy relatively inexpensive ones, say in the neighborhood of $50 or so. Don't pay $100 or $200 or more because the technology is the same as in the $50 ones. It's the glitzy finishes that command the higher prices. They both will eventually clog and frustrate you. You will send it back to the manufacturer and after six weeks you'll get it back in working condition, for about six months to a year. Then you'll be sending it back to them with a note complaining that you expected better quality in a $150 lighter. Think how much happier you'll be if you buy three $50 lighters instead. You'll always have one that works, one in reserve, and one in the shop.

Don't use liquid fuel lighters (e.g., Zippo) if you care at all about the flavor of the cigars.

A Bic will work in an emergency, but the wimpy flame wanders all over the place and you will burn your fingers on the hot housing before you get a good light.

 

[rmrdaddy]

I agree with Kilo, Xikar products are very fine.
I also use thier lighters which fall under the $50 threshhold for the most part, and come with a lifetime warranty, as do all Xikar products. Simply having the item is your proof of purchase. I have indeed sent 2 back for repair (they actually just replaced it with a new item), which is why I have a few of them in my rotation.

This is what's in my pants pocket every day:

sorry for blurry and uber-large pic...

 

[Absinthe_1900]

i have a question...

this is a corona old boy:

but what is the style called? im sure they've made this style for a long time...i think i've seen 'french style' attributed to these...

"Lift Arm" type.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Thanks for correcting the spelling

I agree with Kilo, Xikar products are very fine.
I also use thier lighters which fall under the $50 threshhold for the most part, and come with a lifetime warranty, as do all Xikar products. Simply having the item is your proof of purchase. I have indeed sent 2 back for repair (they actually just replaced it with a new item), which is why I have a few of them in my rotation.

Thank you for the correction in my spelling. You have it right, the company is "Xikar", not "Zikar".

 

[BillyCigars]

I too, can vouch for the quality of Xikar accessories. And the best part is that they carry a lifetime warranty so that if your lighter ever stops working the way it should, or if the blades on your cutter ever dull, simply send it back and they'll take care of it for you. Their customer service is always top notch.

The cutter I actually prefer though is a Palio. They cut through cigars like a hot knife through soft butter and they are reasonably priced and come in a variety of different finishes.

Lotus actually makes a great lighter and most of them are very reasonable in their pricing as well. In terms of fuel, I always use Vector fuel. It's 5x refined and I've never had my lighters clog since using it.

 

[John in Covina]

I like the Zeno cutter from Davidoff best but the realy big ring guages will not fit so then I like scissor type. I gave an Xikar cutter to a friend and it works great.

My prefered lighter is a Blazer lighter, and their line is back in the US from one of the big cigar places on line. Maybe Holt's?

 

[Mr. Paladin]

I bought a Blazer from Heartfelt Ind. about six months ago and it is great. They also sell Palio cutters but I haven't tried that brand. I use an inexpensive v-cutter as I like that cut the best and I seem to misplace them before I dull them. http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/default.asp