Bad cut?

So the last maybe 5-10 cigars I have had, have had a really brittle cut to them. They smoke great, burn great, taste great, and for the most part are a joy. But.... I get little bits of the cigar during the entire smoke on my lips. I have had this humidor for close to a year and have had the humidity between 65-70% always. All different smokes, young and aged ones, two different cutters. The only two things that have changed was I went to a digital hygrometer as apposed to the analog one that came with the humidor. And I unwrapped all of them from the cellophane on the advice of a cigar rep. What went wrong? I didn't change the humidifier, only the hygrometer. Would the cellophane really make that much of a difference?

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j0z3r

In my experience, taking the cellophane off can cause the wrappers to dry a bit more than they would otherwise, sometimes leading to a brittle or dry feeling to the wrapper that comes through on the cut. I get bits of tobacco too from cigars when I smoke them, that is part of cutting them. One way to get around the bits of tobacco is to use a punch cutter, it makes a small hole in the wrapper without cutting and making tobacco bits.

phobicsquirrel

I love punching, though when it comes to topedos I try my hardest to make sure the cut is perfect. I hate it when the wrapper cracks and I get bits.

qmeneely

I will try punching. I have been wondering what the pros/cons of them were. Seems like I would have noticed the bits a long time ago. I guess it is one of those things you start to notice when you really start to appreciate something and sit down and think about it. No wait I will just blame it on the cellophane! I am completely aware of everything, always.
Thanks, Quinn

j0z3r

Sometimes I get bits from a cut, sometimes not. I guess it all depends on the tobacco in the cigar whether little bits will flake off. The only con I've heard of with punches is that some people say they get tar buildup around the hole...I've never had this happen, so I can neither confirm nor deny the validity of the claim.

rwheelwright

j0z3r:
Sometimes I get bits from a cut, sometimes not. I guess it all depends on the tobacco in the cigar whether little bits will flake off. The only con I've heard of with punches is that some people say they get tar buildup around the hole...I've never had this happen, so I can neither confirm nor deny the validity of the claim.

I use a punch for almost everything. I can say that recently I have been getting tar buildup but when I cut to fix it I don't get anymore buildup.

qmeneely

Hmm, Tar buildup vs. bits of tobacco on the lip? These are the questions...

rwheelwright

qmeneely:
Hmm, Tar buildup vs. bits of tobacco on the lip? These are the questions...

If it is not a torpedo, you can always use a V cut. I hear that most people do not get tar buildup with a V cut and the amount of tobacco bits should be minimized.

Randythunder

yeah I use a sicissor cut and it does great. No tar build up. I do blow off the end I cut and that gets rip of any little bits left behind. The sicissor is the best i ever used, i recomend every one using one.

Tumbler

j0z3r:
In my experience, taking the cellophane off can cause the wrappers to dry a bit more than they would otherwise, sometimes leading to a brittle or dry feeling to the wrapper that comes through on the cut. I get bits of tobacco too from cigars when I smoke them, that is part of cutting them. One way to get around the bits of tobacco is to use a punch cutter, it makes a small hole in the wrapper without cutting and making tobacco bits.

This has been my experience also. I was also taking off the wrappers. Nothing looks better than humidor full of cigars in the nude... I think the cellophane really slows down the changes in the humi. It probably also slows down the aging but I can deal with that.

I have also been using a punch - there is one at the bottom of my Xikar lighter. Once the cigar gets a little too wet - I then cut the cap off with my guillotine. Works great for me and this has become the norm. Although I do think it's time to send the Xikar back in - to get the blades sharpened.

j0z3r

Another thought on the bits of tobacco from the cut: Do you wet the cap before you cut? To get a proper cut, you should moisten the cap slightly so that you are not cutting dry tobacco, this will help with not only a cleaner cut, but also reduce cracking and stray bits of tobacco.

Tumbler: I agree that nude cigars look so much nicer, and the aroma when you open the humi is to die for. The biggest problem I had was cracked wrappers and chipped wrappers due to the cigars being shuffled around when I went to find a certain cigar. Of course that would be easily solved if I was more organized, but as it stands, my humidor is a jumble and I have to go on an archeological expedition to find some cigars.

Tumbler

j0z3r:
Another thought on the bits of tobacco from the cut: Do you wet the cap before you cut? To get a proper cut, you should moisten the cap slightly so that you are not cutting dry tobacco, this will help with not only a cleaner cut, but also reduce cracking and stray bits of tobacco.

Tumbler: I agree that nude cigars look so much nicer, and the aroma when you open the humi is to die for. The biggest problem I had was cracked wrappers and chipped wrappers due to the cigars being shuffled around when I went to find a certain cigar. Of course that would be easily solved if I was more organized, but as it stands, my humidor is a jumble and I have to go on an archeological expedition to find some cigars.

I agree - Thats the other part of this equation. I leave the wrappers on now also...

bwcarter54

I take the wrappers off. I hate to see anything wrapped up like that. I think that's why I had to get married!