Accessory Review: Colibri V-Cut Cigar Cutter

Back in the mid 90s when I first started down the path of premium cigar smoking, I would stop in my local shop, pick up a Canaria D’ Oro Rothschild, or a Te-Amo Maduro, give it a V-cut with the Boston Cigar Cutter on the counter, and go on my way. The store is still there, although it moved up the row in the strip center to a larger location many years ago, and they may still have the cutter, although the Boston Cigar Cutter company is, sadly, no longer in business, at least their domain name is available. (The picture is linked to a Cigar Aficionado article from 2009). I’ve suffered through cheap V- cutters which seem to work once or twice until they are just cigar manglers, until several years ago when I sprung for a good one made by another very popular accessoriy company. the one I got was the best around at the time, but I rarely felt like I got a good cut, unless it was a very small ring cigar. More times than not I carried a straight cutter with me and ended up re-cutting, as a second V-cut in an X didn’t do the trick. A couple of years ago Colibri came out with their own V-cutter, one which made a very deep cut. Oddly, I never got around to trying one of these, I was always fascinated, the Colibri “Cut” style cutters I have work well, so there was never a question of the quality. I just never got around to it. Last year at the IPCPR show I checked out some of their new offerings which included a cool tabletop cutter, the Quasar, which is a cube shape offering both the deep V cut, and the Straight cut, as well as a pocket SV-Cut with both options also. Given my prior experience with V-cuts and needing to re-cut, this seemed like a good alternative to carrying two cutters. Thanks to the folks at Colibri, I had the opportunity to try out a black and gold V-Cut.

I’ve cut every cigar this week with the V-cut, and every one had a perfect draw. Lately I’ve alternated between a straight cut (usually either the Palio or my Tommy Bahama cutter) or the Adorini punch depending on the cigar. This deep V is a bit of a shock. It cuts a V which is ¼” deep, which looks normal on a 60 ring gauge cigar, but seems very deep in a smaller vitola. However, like I said, draws have been perfect every time. As you can see in the fancy moving picture, the cutter can’t over cut a cigar as it has a built-in depth stop. The only time I really notice it is getting to the end of a particularly tasty cigar, it seems to negatively affect the structural integrity of the nub when it gets to about ¾”. The black part of the finish is rubberized, helping with the grip I suppose, but it seems reasonably durable. The downside for me is the weight, while it’s nice to have some heft in the hand when using, it’s heavy in the pocket. I couldn’t carry it in the same pocket with a lighter, unless the lighter, or cutter, were in a protective case, as serious scratching would occur. Considering I do the majority of my cigar smoking at home any more, this isn’t a huge issue, when I’m out and about I’ll just carry a less bulky cutter. Sometimes I think I could use a Batman utility belt for all the cigar gear! Anyway, as with the Daytona lighter, time will tell how this cutter holds up, but initial impressions are very good.