A Cigar Soldier Joins the Swiss Army
Victorinox knows sharp objects, and its new Delémont Collection Cigar 36 brings portability to an über-sharp and distinctive pair of cigar scissors.
At first glance the tool, which retails for $40 and hit the market in August, seems much like every other Swiss Army knife you remember from long ago with its Ferrari-red outer shell, white cross insignia and hints of tools beckoning from their case. But a closer examination shows subtle bevels in the body of the knife, allowing a better grip and more sophisticated look than on the traditional models we know so well.
The Cigar 36 is an eight-tool device with a small 2 1/2-inch-long blade, corkscrew, plastic toothpick (legend has it that old knives had toothpicks made of ivory, if you can believe it), tweezers, nail file, cigar cutter and two "tools" that are hard to count: a key ring attached to the body and a "nail cleaner," meaning the dull tip of the nail file. We would call it six tools, but no matter.
The knife is a handy device, but let's talk about that cigar cutter. It's a brilliantly designed pair of compact cigar scissors that look like no other pair sold anywhere else. They unfold with the ease and action one has come to expect from Victorinox, which dates its first creation to 1884. The cutter is eye-grabbing, with precise functionality to allow all but the very largest cigars to have their caps sliced off in an exceptionally clean manner.
Watch this video to see the cutter in action.
As with all cigar scissors, there is a learning curve-cutting the cap off a cigar with a pair of scissors takes more attention and dexterity than using a guillotine. If there is a flaw at all, it's that the user has to apply pressure to the weaker of the two arms of the scissors—but that's a quibble. You'll use it again and again. It's perfect for fishing trips, camping and the golf bag.
