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by CigarCraig | February 20, 2019 · 10:47 am

Revisiting the Colibri V Cut Cigar Cutter

Since I’ve been busy working, and managed to catch a cold and haven’t had a cigar since Friday, I figured I’d follow up on the Colibri V-Cut Cutter I reviewed last April. You may or may not recall (if you don’t, you can go back and read my initial thoughts here), I first became acquainted with the V-cut in the mid-90s when I’d buy a cigar at my local shop and cut it with their Boston Cutter on the counter. Those were the days when I’d buy a cigar and smoke it rather than worry about storing cigars in humidors at home, or having tools of my own. A simpler time. Anyway, I’ve been using the Colibri V-Cut for probably 90% of my cuts over the last 9 months or so, the exceptions being those times when I’m out and about and don’t want to be weighed down by the heaviness of the cutter, which I still find to be my least favorite aspect of the tool, and when I’m smoking an odd shape that I feel will work better with a straight cut or a punch. There’s one other funny exception, and I don’t do this all the time, but every now and then when I smoke something from Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust I’ll give it a straight cut, because I know Saka has said he doesn’t get the deep V cut trend, and for some reason, in deference to him, I smoke his cigars the way he intends them to be smoked (but sometimes I V cut them just to be an ass). I guess the point here is after cutting probably 250+ cigars with this cutter, it still cuts like the day it came out of the box, I can’t recall one cigar I’ve had to re-cut because the draw wasn’t right, and it looks like new. Of course, it hasn’t been in my pocket every day, because it’s not my habit to carry any cigar tool in my pocket every day. It hasn’t suffered the wear of keys and change and whatever other pocket stuff rubbing against it every day does to it. I still dig it, the other V-cutters I have sit in a drawer unused, and this is a near-everyday tool for me. My only wish is that it were lighter in the pocket, but that would compromise the quality and usability, so I guess finding that Batman utility belt is the way to go.

Thank you to Colibri for sending me this cutter to use last year, I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase one, as they are very reasonably priced.

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Filed under Accessories, Review

Tagged as cigar, cigars, Colibri, V-Cut

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.