Tag Archives: cutter

by Craig Vanderslice | July 12, 2019 · 8:16 am

News: Screwpop® Tool Introduces Magpulse™Cutter to Market

A year ago I ran almost this same story. July 3rd, to be exact, so it was over a year ago, but just barely. Finally Screwpop is coming to market with this cutter. Screwpop® is one of my favorite under the radar cigar accessory companies. They are really a mainstream gadget company that are cigar lovers and makes cigar tools too, but they have some winners. Their CigarPunch 3.0 is one of the better punches out there, and I’d like to think I had something to do with the re-design of the 2.0! They have a cigar cutter that, while it takes come practice, works pretty well too. I can’t wait to try this cutter out, I’ve been looking forward to it since I read about it a year ago.

Screwpop® Tool to offer revolutionary cigar cutter – Magpulse™

The latest in compact and highly functional tools, Screwpop® introduces – Magpulse™ Cigar Cutter, a revolutionary force in cigar cutting technology.

Magpulse™ capitalizes on the delicate balancing of dual magnetic forces of ultra-strong neodymium rare-earth magnets, in concert with a semi-friction break, that is designed for a controlled closing of the cutter.

Simply press (and hold) the centralized trigger to experience Magpulse™ thrust open for the first time through “repulse” magnetic force phenomena.

Once fully deployed, Magpulse™ stays in the open position using magnetic “attraction” onto small metal tabs that are embedded (trigger side) in the main body. These small metal tabs serve to anchor the cutter assembly open.

When releasing the trigger to close the Magpulse™, the trigger-stem functions as a “semi friction-break”. The break force is applied on the bottom face of the movable slider blade. This prevents the cutter from falling closed once the attraction force is broken.

Together… the repulse, attraction and semi-friction break work in harmony for a smooth and controlled premium cigar tip cut.

The stylish Magpulse™ cigar cutter is brought to life using the latest and best in CNC milling technology. Each cigar cutter body is milled from solid blocks of 6061T6 aero-space grade solid aluminum billets. They are finished with durable anodization for years of use.

Each unit is sealed shut for life and cannot be reopened. And, the magnets will only degrade less than 1 percent over 100 years.

Blades — 440c stainless steel 58HRC Price — TBD
Body — 6061T6 (aerospace) Anodized Aluminum
Weight — 3oz
Size — 0.375″ x 2.125” x 2.625″
Price — $149.95 (will be running introductory sale $99.95)
Intellectual Property Status — USA Utility Patent #10,201,184 (Feb. 12, 2019)

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, cutter, Magplus, ScrewPop

by CigarCraig | May 28, 2018 · 3:43 pm

News: Screwpop® Tool to Offer Redesign of Cigar Cutter “Chopo™”

Just getting back from Rome to find some news from my friends at Screwpop. This looks like a real improvement over the original, these are great for cutting Toscano cigars in half!

The latest in compact and highly functional tools, Screwpop® introduces – Chopo™Cigar Cutter, a reengineered force in cigar cutting technology.

Chopo™ is the successor of the original Screwpop® Cigar Cutter with a few major improvements. First, the Eyelet has been generously enlarged that puts the pivot motion closer to the cutting circle. Second, two ultra-thin washers have been added (one each side) to further minimize blade separation and to additionally prevent less wear on the Eyelet mechanism.

A few other key improvements are in the materials and methods of fabrication.

Chopo™ is made from high quality ultra flat 420 J2 (Japanese) stainless steel. Additionally, CNC manufacturing aids in helping with a few finishing touches that ensures the cutter fully closes and is virtually perfectly flat, in light of the 90 degree bends that dub as both finger and thumb grips.

Like it’s predessesor, Chopo™ includes a well-placed bottle opener for those who enjoy pairing a fine cigar with micro-brews.

Chopo™ is available for pre-order on Screwpop’s website: www.screwpoptool.com. It will also be available on Amazon.com, soon to follow.

Blades — 420 J2 sharpened stainless steel

Eyelet — Yellow Brass

Weight — 2oz

Size — 1/8 inch x 1.5 inch x 3 inch

Price — $24.95

Release Date — June 15, 2018

Intellectual Property Status — patented USPTO (design patent)

www.screwpoptool.com

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Tagged as Chopo, cigar, cigars, cutter, ScrewPop

by CigarCraig | April 29, 2018 · 10:04 am

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.

That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, Cigar Cutter, cigars, Colibri, cutter, V-Cut

by CigarCraig | January 11, 2017 · 10:02 pm

Villiger 1888, La Gloria Cubana, Inca Secret Blend and More Tommy Bahama Accessories

Trying to get back into the swing of things after the holidays still, and with the remodeling going on in the house, my cabinet humidor has been a little hard to get into without moving furniture. Fortunately, there are other humidors around that I can get to, so I’ve been grabbing cigars out of those. One of the cigars I selected this week was a new Villiger 1888 robusto, re-issued this year in new packaging. This was originally released in 2009 and was the first handmade, premium cigar that had the Villiger name. This one has an Ecuadoran wrapper, Mexican binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers made in the DR. I found it to be a well made, flavorful cigar, which burned well. It had a bit of sweetness and a floral component and was on the mild side. I liked this cigar.

I have one desktop humidor that just contains La Gloria Cubana and Foundry cigars, which was accessible. I’ve been smoking La Gloria Cubana cigars for twenty years, but the Serie R Esteli blends that have come out in the last couple years are my favorites, so finding the new La Gloria Cubana SErie R Esteli Maduro No. 54 right on top didn’t bother me at all. This cigar has a dark Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers. As General Cigar has done with several lines, they have a brick and mortar version, the Esteli, and the catalog version, the black. With the original Serie R Esteli and Black having a Nicaraguan Jalapa wrapper, I thought the Esteli version had a deeper, more satisfying flavor, but the Maduro varieties I think are on a par with one another. The Esteli Maduro is rich, sweet and a very nice cigar. I’m a maduro fan, but I love both varieties of the Serie R Esteli. Funny, I was never a huge fan of the regular Dominican Serie R, which was one of the original large ring gauge lines in the late ’90s.

Tonight I selected an Inca Secret Blend in the new Monumento shape, which is a classic 6″ x 52 torpedo. The Inca Secret Blend is the US market version of the Inka Secret Blend that was an exclusive to the UK market through Mitchell Orchant’s C-Gars Ltd. The cigar is a Peruvian Puro, manufactured at Tabacalera del Oriente in Tarapoto, Peru. Gennaro Lettieri is the owner of the factory, and I’ve met him several times. I’ve told this story before, but I recall sitting outside the Casa Fuente in Vegas with Mitchell and Genaro in 2013 while they sampled test blends, which were all horribly plugged leaving ashtrays filled with cigars that had been smoked less than an inch. It wasn’t until the next year that I had the chance to sample the finished product, which came in a toro and 6×60 size initially. This year they released the torpedo, robusto and a 6″ x 40. I love cigars with Peruvian tobacco in the blend, and the Peruvian puro is surprisingly good. It’s on the mild side, and reminiscent of a milder Havana, with a sweet little twang, not surprising since one of the creators of the cigar has lived on a steady diet of Havanas for most of his life.

I’ve been taking a break from using my trusty Xikar tools for the last few weeks and using some of the Tommy Bahama line of lighters and cutter. Both lighters have detailed, embossed logos on both sides and the cutter has the Tommy Marlin design on one side, and the side with the switch to open the spring-loaded blades just has Tommy Bahama name and a little gold marlin. These have a very classy gloss black finish. The cutter and pocket lighter have leatherish cases to keep them in good shape. the cutter has two very sharp blades which close effortlessly and provide a clean cut. It’s got some weight to it, and seems solidly built. The pocket lighter is also hefty, larger and heavier than the Xikar Xidris Ive been using, with a similar side trigger, but has two jets. This is the first dual jet lighter I’ve had, and I like it. Is it twice as good as one? I don’t know, but it does a nice job and lights every time. It has an adjustment wheel on the bottom with a flip-up turny thing. I filled it a week ago and it’s still ¾ full, which I can tell because there’s a handy little window which is very easy to see the fuel level. The table lighter is a beast, it’s large, has four jets and twin side triggers. It really throws off some BTUs, I think I mentioned that holding it about six inches from the foot of the cigar looks like the foot of the cigar is re-entering the earth’s atmosphere like an Apollo capsule. The one thing it lacks is the fuel window, but I suppose the idea is that it doesn’t wander too far away from the can of butane, it being far too large to carry around. The folks at Island Lifestyle tell me these are becoming available in stores other than the Tommy Bahama stores, they are working on getting them into brick and mortar retailers. It’s nice to have good tools, and I think these are pretty good out of the box, I’ll keep using them to see how they hold up over time.

That’s more than enough for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, cutter, general cigars, Inca, Island Lifestyle, La Gloria Cubana, Lighter, Tommy Bahama, Villiger

by CigarCraig | August 14, 2013 · 7:27 pm

IPCPR 2013 – Ezra Zion Cigars: Eminence and Tantrum and the Five Star Perforator Tool

Last year we met the guys from Ezra Zion at the show (here’s the post) and have gotten to know Kyle, Chris and Alan since. I can’t say I agree with their politics or spiritual views all the time, but I can say that they make fine cigars and are passionate about tobacco. Whereas last year they had a booth along side their Cigar Federation booth (a cigar social media site for which the same group is responsible), this year they were in the booth with the rest of the House of Emilio brands. Between the Cigar Federation and Ezra Zion they were the book ends of the booth. On to the cigars: I am a big fan of the Inception (or Jamais Vu as it’s now known) and I smoked the Tantrum and the new Eminence this week. Here’s a video we did with Kyle at the show a few weeks ago telling us about the newest blends:

Monday evening I fired up the Eminence. This was a dark, fat belicoso that had a wrapper that was reasonably flame-retardant. I suspect a few months in the humidor should solve this, but despite having to light it pretty often it was a big old pepper bomb from the start. It was a lot spicier than the usual San Andreas wrapped cigars I appreciate so much. I really enjoyed this cigar, and I’ll pick up a few the next time I get to my local “House of Emilio” shop, let them set for a while and see if I still have a burn problem.

Last night my wife and I went out to dinner, so I grabbed the little Tantrum to walk the meal off. This is a little firecracker, but it’s not nearly the spice bomb that the Eminence is. I actually used a new tool I’ve been testing on this, the Five Star Perforator. This little device has five piercers in a spring loaded enclosure. What one does is press this into the cap of the cigar and it puts five nice little holes in the cap. I’ve had good results with cigars that have a loose draw, but that’s a difficult cigar attribute to figure out before cutting the cigar! I’ve found myself piercing the cigar, finding I can’t get enough smoke, trying again with a little rocking or twisting motion like the website suggests, then using a punch, V-cut or straight cut, depending on what I have on me. Certainly this is an interesting piece to have on the key chain (which in my case could have more cigar devices on it than keys!). I’m old and set in my ways, so sometimes I just grab the V-cutter or guillotine and do it right the first time. If I know a cigar has a history of being rolled loosely, this is a great tool to use. Anyway, the Tantrum is a great little 4″x44 cigar, although the price point is on the high side for it’s size. I think I paid $7.50 or $8 if I recall. Keep an eye out for the Ezra Zion cigars and give them a try, and see it one of the Five Star Perforators is a tool that would work for you.

Don’t forget to go back to Friday, August 9th’s post and enter to win a box of La Gloria Cubana Gilded Age Toros courtesy of Famous Smoke Shop! There’s only another 5 days to enter, and I know this is longer than most of my contests, but I wanted to give plenty of people a chance to enter.