Types of cigar cuts: straight, V-cut and punch

The three cuts, and what each does to the cap

The closed end of a cigar is the head, and it's sealed with a cap. Every cut does the same job: it opens the cap so you can draw smoke through. What changes from one cut to the next is the shape of the opening, how big it is, and how much of the cap stays on. Draw is how easily air pulls through the cigar.

The straight cut is the one most people picture. A guillotine cutter, with one blade or two, or a pair of cigar scissors slices across the cap and takes the end off. Cut too deep and you take off the whole cap, and the wrapper can start to unravel. Our guide on how to make a straight cut covers where to put the blade and how much to take.

The V-cut takes a wedge-shaped notch across the head, from one edge to the other, and leaves the rest of the cap in place. The tool is a V-cutter, which also goes by wedge cutter or cat's eye. The notch exposes a lot of surface, so the draw is easy.

The punch bores a small round hole in the center of the cap and keeps much of the cap on. The tool is a short cylindrical blade that you press and twist into the head. It takes out a neat plug the size of its blade.

Some guides go further and say a punch's small hole concentrates the flavor. That's a claim about taste, and you're the judge of that one.

Cut or punch?

It comes down to preference and to what you smoke. A punch has real advantages. It's compact and easy to carry, and many punches hang on a key ring. It keeps much of the cap on. It also leaves fewer loose bits of tobacco in your mouth. And it's easy to use.

The catch is shape. A punch can't be used on a cigar with a pointed head, and it works best on parejos, the straight-sided cigars.

So the call depends on your humidor. If nearly everything you smoke is straight-sided, a punch works on most of them, though its hole may be too large on a thin one. If you smoke torpedoes or other pointed heads too, a guillotine rated for the ring gauges you smoke handles both shapes.

V-cut vs straight cut

Both cuts open the head across its width. The difference is how much of the cap goes. A straight cut takes the end off; a V-cut takes a notch out and leaves the sides of the cap, so less of it is removed.

That notch exposes a lot of surface, which is why a V-cut draws easily. A 1998 cigar primer warned that the draw can be too easy, so the cigar smokes hot, and that a V-cut is a poor choice if you chew on your cigar, because the notch can close up.

Depth works differently too. A V-cutter can only take off so much. Xikar says the VX2's depth gives plenty of draw without cutting so deep that the cap gives way and the cigar unravels. A straight cut has no set depth. You can take a little more if the draw is tight, and you can also take too much.

When to V-cut, then: when you like an easy draw, you don't chew your cigars, and the head fits the cutter. The VX2 holds the head in a bowl built for a 64 ring gauge.

Which cut for which cigar

Start with the shape. Cigars fall into two groups. Parejos have straight sides, like coronas and lonsdales. Figurados are everything that isn't straight-sided, such as torpedoes and pyramids. On a torpedo, the pointed end is the head. A cigar's ring gauge is its diameter in 64ths of an inch, and it matters when you pick the cutter. Our robusto vs. toro comparison shows how to read it off a cigar's size.

How to V-cut a cigar

With the Xikar VX2, a spring-loaded V-cutter, it takes three steps:

1. Open the cutter. On the VX2, press both side release buttons at the same time and it springs open.
2. Set the cap of the cigar in the bowl.
3. Press the cutter closed.

The VX2 sets the depth, so there's nothing to judge.

How to punch a cigar

1. Hold the cigar with the head facing up and find the center of the cap.
2. Set the blade on the center, straight on to the cap.
3. Press gently while you twist the punch back and forth, and let the blade cut its way in. Don't force it. Pressing too hard can damage the cigar.
4. Twist the other way as you pull the punch back out.
5. Clear any loose tobacco from the hole. On the Xikar 9mm Pull Out Punch, pushing the two halves back together covers the blade and pushes the loose tobacco out.

Once it's cut, the next step is lighting the cigar.

Types of cigar cutters

Guillotine cutters come with one blade or two. A single blade cuts from one side, with the cigar resting against the far side of the opening. A double blade cuts from both sides. The two blades meet in the middle, and there's less chance of tearing the wrapper. The XI2 is a double guillotine.

V-cutters cut with a V-shaped blade. On the VX2 the head sits in a bowl, and the blade is inverted, which the maker says presses the cap inward during the cut so it doesn't split.

Punches come in different blade diameters. We carry Xikar's 7mm Twist Punch, 9mm Pull Out Punch and 11mm Twist Punch. Xikar calls its 9mm versatile enough for most sizes.

Cigar scissors make very clean cuts, but they can be hard to master at first. The Xikar MTX Multi-Tool folds a pair of stainless cigar scissors together with two screwdrivers for adjusting a lighter's flame, a cigar poker and a bottle opener. Household scissors are a different tool, and if that's all you have, see what to use with no cutter on hand.

Ring-gauge capacity is the largest ring gauge a cutter is built to take, as the maker rates it. The XI2 is listed as "54-ring gauge, cuts up to 60-ring gauge." The VX2's bowl takes a 64. Check the rating against the ring gauge of the cigars you smoke most.

Which cutter to buy first

Pick it by the cigars you smoke. One cutter maker points out that guillotines and cigar scissors generally give you the most control over how much of the cap comes off, and that this control can be trouble when you're new, because if you cut too deep the cigar can come apart, while a V-cutter or a punch can only take off so much. A double guillotine handles straight sides and pointed heads alike, up to the ring gauge it's rated for. The Xikar XI2 is the double guillotine we carry, rated to cut up to a 60 ring gauge.

If you smoke torpedoes or pyramids, you'll want a cutter that slices across the head, like a guillotine, rated for the ring gauges you smoke. If what you smoke is straight-sided, any of the three works on most of them, and the choice comes down to preference.