Get a Perfect Cut Every Time with a Les Fines Lames Cigar Knife

Whether you prefer to use a cigar knife or you find that the simplicity of a cigar punch or basic cutter is best for you, getting a perfect cut every time is critical to fully enjoy the subtle savors of a blend.

Let’s face it: cigar enthusiasts are willing to pay top dollar for expertly blended and rolled cigars. That’s money wasted if you don’t do the cigar justice with proper cutting and lighting techniques.

Let’s take a look at the Les Fines Lames Cigar Knife; we also have some tips for how to consistently get an ideal cut so you can fully enjoy the flavor and construction of your choice cigars.

Introducing the Les Fines Lames Cigar Knife
Les Fines Lames produces an unequaled cigar knife, the Le Petit cigar knife, which is designed to be no larger than other popular stainless steel guillotine cutters, and about the same weight.

These are friction folders with an exposed tang and a lanyard hole. Function as both a cigar cutter and a pocket knife, they are ideal for everyday carry, or EDC, eliminating two needs in one fell swoop.

These knives feature flat-ground blades with attractive, sheepsfoot style profiles. The blade steel is 14C28N, an alloy that is carbon and chromium-rich. It offers excellent durability and corrosion-resistance and impressive edge retention.

Part of what makes these knives so appealing is that they are made using a variety of ultra-premium handle scale materials. This is where the personality of these cigar knives really shines through.

We offer them here at Rocky’s Cigars in genuine Marblewood, Maplewood, Acacia burl, and Padauk configurations, as well as in solid brass, Ziricote, green Micarta, and carbon fiber.

These little knives pack a punch, too. They can cut a 58 ring gauge cigar cleanly in half and can be used to prepare and cut up to 70 ring gauge cigars, based on your technique.

Getting a Perfect Cut
So you’ve chosen a cigar knife to prepare your cigar. Perhaps you’re better acquainted with V-cutters and cigar punches. What now?

Getting the ideal cut with a Les Fines Lames Le Petit cigar knife is actually remarkably easy. They ship expertly honed, so as long as you maintain your edge, it’s as easy as follows.

Just open up your Les Fines Lames about halfway, and nestle your cigar of interest in the divot created by the scales. Align the cigar so that only part of the cap extends beyond the edge; how much you want to remove depends on the vitola, but rarely do you want to remove more than a sixteenth of an inch. With a quality cigar construction, less is more.

With a properly sharped cigar knife, all you need to do is bring the edge of the blade into contact with the wrapper, and then in a firm, fluid motion, close the knife. The natural angle created by the incidence of the blade against the wrapper will serve like a “guillotine” to remove a small bit of tobacco from the cap.

That’s all there is to it; no need to rotate the cigar or perform any tricky maneuvers.

Cigar Knife Not for You? Try These:

Delivering consistent cuts to the caps of your cigars is key to enjoying the smoke. Properly opening up an airway through the body allows the cigar to be drawn and helps to prevent issues like canoeing.

An even, quality cut that does not compress the binder and filler tobaccos also enables the cigar to be drawn evenly from core to rim. The cut should be small enough to prevent overdrawing, which will cause the tobacco to burn too hot and will make it bitter, but large enough to enable the cigar to be enjoyed properly.

Without a proper cut, you simply can’t enjoy your cigar to the fullest, but luckily, you don’t need to use a cigar knife to do so. You can also use either a cigar punch or a cigar cutter.

If You’re Using a Cigar Punch:
An alternative to a cigar cutter knife is a cigar punch. These useful tools consist of a ring of steel that is sharpened along the edge and is sometimes retractable. To get a cigar with one, you simply press it into the cap of the cigar and remove it. Along with the punch should come a small plug of tobacco that opens up a small channel through the body of the cigar through which the smoker can draw.

One tip we have for users of cigar punches is to rotate the punch as you press it into the cigar, pushing it all the way down and then rotating it slightly before drawing it out. Rotating it on the way in helps to prevent compressing the binder and filler or tearing the wrapper, which can ruin the results. At the same time, rotating it slightly before removing it enables you to cleanly remove a plug of tobacco.

Easy to use, reliable, and capable of producing excellent results, many cigar enthusiasts prefer punches.

If You’re Using a Cigar Cutter:
You can also use a classic cigar cutter, which will either have one blade that slides along a channel or two blades that pivot around a pin and close over each other. Some others are known as V-cutters, which have a single blade bent into the shape of a V that can be used to gouge a small channel from the cap of the cigar, producing a clean and even draw.

To use a cigar cutter, simply place the cap of the cigar in the opening created by the cigar cutter and press down firmly, as you would with a cigar knife. If you find it difficult to cleanly sever the wrapper of a cigar without compressing the binder and filler, one tip we have for you is to score the wrapper cleanly by rotating the cigar around the cutter under light pressure (do not try this with a V-cutter, it will not work) before closing the cutter the remainder of the way, removing a small piece of tobacco from the cap.

Want to Learn More? Contact Us!
Whether you use a cigar knife, a punch, or a cutter, cleanly cutting a cigar is the trick to enjoying the smoking experience - and the good news is, you can effectively use any of these tools.

If you have any questions or would like specialized recommendations, please get in touch with our customer service team at 888-216-5834.