Was I doing this wrong?
During a recent visit to a local cigar lounge, I noticed a wall poster that piqued my interest. It was a La Flor Dominicana poster depicting “How To Cut A Chisel”. I’ve been smoking Chisels since their first incarnation and they are some of my favorite cigars. All the Chisel variations have tremendous flavor and the flattened platypus-like “cap” makes for the perfect cigar mouthpiece. Regardless of ring size, these cigars always fit my mouth and have a wonderfully easy draw.
What struck me about this ad was the suggestion that I had been cutting the Chisel all wrong. Turns out we are supposed to punch-cut them from the top of the chiseled end. That was an intriguing notion and I quickly gave this “new” approach a try. What I found was that making this kind of cut was tricky; I didn’t quite know how deep to make the cut. I had to punch a few different “levels of depth’ to see which would have the best draw. Ultimately I never got a draw as good as my original “wrong” way of cutting the cap. The punch-approach was simply not “cuttin’ it” (sorry for the pun). I quickly went back to the guillotine cut and have never looked back.
So, although using the punch cut was a novel idea, in all practicality, it didn’t offer any advantage. Sometimes what is “proper” comes down to personal preference and although some may like the method in the poster, I best enjoy the Chisel by cutting it “the wrong way”.
Have others tried the punch-cut on the Chisel? Please let me know your experiences.
Happy smokes,
Joe
I thought the word on cutting these when first released was to punch top & bottom? I tried that a few times but never got the draw I like so move on to clipping the end off. Have done that ever since.
I have only had one but I did it totally different. I squeezed the foot until the wrapper cracked at the end. It looked like a whistle. The draw was perfect.
Sorry I meant to say the head of the cigar not the foot. The head looks like this || then you squeze it like this () until the wrapper splits leaving a slit. Then the draw, in my case anyway, was perfect. get it?
I agree, I can not get a decent draw with the punch method, I have tried just punching the top, punching completely through, never get a decent draw. I smoke several chisels (Airbender is my favorite) a week and I usually clip twice. A short clip to get the initial light and then I remove another 1/4 inch about 3 minutes in. That works best for me.
I have used the wrong method and always had success. I decided to try the punch method and did not like this at all. I too will keep doing s the supposedly wrong method. You just have to be very carefull during the clipping of the end.
My experience with chisels is pretty limited, and I puzzled over how to cut ’em. The punch cut I read about didn’t work well for me, so I experimented some and came up with two cuts that work pretty well: using a punch to cut a notch all the way through the head works, but it tends to crush the head/wrapper and make it rag out during the smoke. The best I’ve come up with is using scissors or a razor blade to cut a shallow “V” in the head to give a similar effect of the straight cut across the head, without shredding as much during the smoke. You can experiment with the depth of the v-cut until you find the best draw that works for you.
Bill has it exactly right. No cut at all, pinch the end to split it.
I’ve only tried a couple/three Chisel cigars, used guillotine cutter on one and a V-cut type cutter on the other two. Either one seemed to be quite acceptable.
When the chisels first came out, I tried this method as they were promoting it as the proper way to cut one. First time I tried, I punched the cigar as directed, lit up and took a few puffs, whacked the end off with my guillotine and proceeded to enjoy my cigar. Neat concept, but I prefer to do it my way.
Is there really a wrong way to cut a cigar? I prefer to only trim a small amount off my choice of robusto, and have been taught this is the correct cut. However, when my customer wants the cap of the head cut off, well, that’s the way he/she enjoys their cigar. I believe those choices are the same as how I drink my Kentucky Bourbon, with a small slice of lime and two rocks. So, whether you punch it, cut it, or slit it, light it up pour it and enjoy the moment.
Cheers!
I discussed this with Lito Gomez last year at a local cigar shop stop/tour he was on. Lito mentioned that he made the cigar this way (and meant for it to be punched) to release the smoke/flavor directly to the palate. I must say that I agree with Lito’s design/idea, it is truly wonderful. But I would never tell someone they are smoking it “wrong” or imply anything of the nature. It’s your cigar (beer, bourbon, the list goes on), enjoy however you see fit!
I thought the uniqueness of the Chisel was the fact you didn’t have to cut it at all, just pinch and smoke, which I’ve always done, and then later on during the smoke I would cut it slightly to get a better draw. When the cigar was launched, the promo’s I seen were pinch and smoke.
All I can say is I’ve gone through 2 boxes and never once would I consider cutting that cigar that way, my luck, I would just end up puting the bullet right through it anyway and still have to make a guillotine cut to right my wrong that was wrong to begin with to get it back right.
I gave that way ( proper ) a try and I just didn’t like the way the smoke was directed into my mouth, I usually snip off far enough. 1/8 maybe, I use my SAK (swiss army knife) because it has a thinner blade and this cuts better than a typical jack knife,pocket knife etc…I cut a V every now and then. I tried the pinch method and don’t care for it too much.
I also use the pinch to open method that Bill described. Perfect draw and performance every time. I found out about this from the LFD / Litto Gomez sales representative.
Have not bought a chisel in a long time, but when I smoked my last chisel I just cut the tip of the leaf. It wwwwwwworked quite well. HV1
read this post and saw some responses. I can honestly say I never saw any promotion when this came out. not punch cut or pinch and smoke. I can’t say that I would try the pinch method but now I’ll have to give it a try. TODAY however, I pulled out a chisel diez and took the punch and put holes in both top and bottom. the thing is you have to play with it a little and take off some layers of the filler until you get your desired draw. I think the top and bottom will show some that you can in fact get a good draw and it’s unique too. I mean in that I have never felt the direct draw on your palate the way this directs the smoke. It seemed very odd to me but worked just as good as a straight cut. I’ll confess that I had to go back to just cutting it straight but not because of draw problems. I am just used to the straight cut. Its not a matter of preference but a matter of getting used to the punch cut. I’ll try it again and again with the remaining chisels I have just to see what comes of it. NOW; I got a beef with the chisel though. I’ll admit I have never had the dbl ligero chisel but I’ve gone through a box of these diez chisels and every damn one had a burn issue and a flavor that just doesnt do it for me. this cigar, no matter the humidity, smolders not burns. I say this as I see the smoke coming slowly from the center of the cigar not the full foot end. Hence, it appears like the core is smoldering while everything else is sitting still and burns slowly. it has happened at all sorts of humidity for this cigar and for the price just isnt worth the issues. I could see one or even three from a box but basically the whole box? I have a box of coronado DC’s that burn quite well.
I decided to smoke one today (Fathers-Day) and I still like to just snip off the end, I was going to try the pinch method however i just cut off tip as usual may be I can remember the next time. By the way it is a Fantastic cigar, I think I may have to smoke more of these
I agree with Bill, I went to a cigar shop and purchased one of these chisel tip cigars and the person behind the counter instructed me that there are many ways to cut it but it was designed to simply squeeze the tip to crack the Cap. I did as he instructed and the draw was flawless .