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Freeing up the draw

kann

kann

One Leg Of Fury.
Joined
Apr 29, 2011
Messages
11,513
Alright, I've read that the abnormally tight, stroke-inducing draw on these little guys is common. I haven't read anything on how to go about loosening or freeing up the draw. Any suggestions? It would be a great little smoke if one could just actually draw any smoke THROUGH the stick...
 
I actually have a small kitchen skewer (kind of like a long metal tooth pick) that I keep around. If I can't open the draw my rolling the cigar between my thumb and forefinger, I run the skewer down a few times and that usually does the trick. I have pierced the wrapper by accident a couple of times, but didn't cause much of a problem.
 
In addition to the skewer/ sharpened wire hanger/ hypodermic route (I've seen them all used) you can sometimes vastly improve the draw by recutting a little further down the shoulder. My first step in trying to rescue a tight cigar is gently "massaging" it once it's heated from a few minutes' smoke, sometimes you can get the filler to relax ever so slightly and open up so a good draw can be had.
 
I believe there are tools to be bought if you like buying new toys, but I think Pipe Smoker's kitchen skewer might do the trick just as well. In case you are looking to buy, I think Viper at Heartfelt has some tools you can pick up.
 
Thanks, guys. Massage-y no work-y. I've tried that one on them before, and it's just too darn tight to do anything useful. I had a paperclip I found on the counter the other day, and I was contemplating sanitizing it with a lighter and then ramming it up the gullet. Okay, more of a gentle insertion into the clipped cap... I saw the "cigar tool" on the Heartfelt site, and was wondering what the twenty dollar difference between that and a wire hanger was. I'll give the paperclip a try tomorrow if the weather holds.

Thanks, again!
 
Sanatizing is for wussies
 
Be it the nice tools from Heartfelt or a kitchen skewer, I have gotten very mixed results.

The way my luck usually goes is that if the stick is so tight it won't draw, trying to poke something into it to improve the situation usually causes the wrapper to bust to pieces.

Never had this problem with a stick that wasn't from "the island".....honestly.

Good luck - B.B.S.
 
BlindedByScience said:
Be it the nice tools from Heartfelt or a kitchen skewer, I have gotten very mixed results.

The way my luck usually goes is that if the stick is so tight it won't draw, trying to poke something into it to improve the situation usually causes the wrapper to bust to pieces.

Never had this problem with a stick that wasn't from "the island".....honestly.

Good luck - B.B.S.
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It is simple BBS, you can not but a 60 rg object in a 50 rg hole....
You can have a whole lot of fun trying, and hell I give you props for getting permission...

As for the draw issue, I use a bamboo kebab skewer
 
MX said:
It is simple BBS, you can not but a 60 rg object in a 50 rg hole.... You can have a whole lot of fun trying, and hell I give you props for getting permission... As for the draw issue, I use a bamboo kebab skewer
Click to expand...
I've tried the bamboo skewers as well, and am usually rewarded with a destroyed cigar. The Heartfelt tools are a bit smaller in diameter and have a nice chisel tip that seems to "cut" it's way into the stick....but even then I get pretty lousy results. Not the fault of the tool, rather poor construction of the cigar.
 
BlindedByScience said:
MX said:
It is simple BBS, you can not but a 60 rg object in a 50 rg hole.... You can have a whole lot of fun trying, and hell I give you props for getting permission... As for the draw issue, I use a bamboo kebab skewer
Click to expand...
I've tried the bamboo skewers as well, and am usually rewarded with a destroyed cigar. The Heartfelt tools are a bit smaller in diameter and have a nice chisel tip that seems to "cut" it's way into the stick....but even then I get pretty lousy results. Not the fault of the tool, rather poor construction of the cigar.
Click to expand...

Did you not acknowledge my double entandra or did you miss it?
 
MX said:
Did you not acknowledge my double entandra or did you miss it?
Click to expand...

...oh, I saw it. I was desperately trying to keep the thread out of the gutter. Guess it didn't work so well..... :p
 
Another thing you could try is dry boxing for a few days. When all else fails, this sometimes does the trick.
 
You could chuck in the street, then grab a different smoke! Problem solved. :sign:

Seriously though, I've had some really BAD El Principe's from 2001. I got so frustrated with em, that I just threw them out and grabbed something else.
 
Backslide420 said:
You could chuck in the street, then grab a different smoke! Problem solved. :sign: Seriously though, I've had some really BAD El Principe's from 2001. I got so frustrated with em, that I just threw them out and grabbed something else.
Click to expand...
....exactly. That's how I deal with plugged smokes.....just not worth the increase in blood pressure.
 
Put the draw tool into the cigar, and if it has a knurled shaft, run it back and forth a few times. Leave the draw poker IN the cigar, and dry box it a day or two.
Draw poking leaves mixed results, working maybe 20-30% of the time. I also lightly moisten the wrapper to allow it to stretch without exploding from the pressure of the tool.

For you guys who got excited reading this....get help....now. ;)
 
i really like all the "poke her" references
 
A very fine jeweler's screwdriver seemed to work well. It was only about two inches long, or so, but the Secretos is a pretty short and thin cigar. Just poked it a few times and by the time the draw was getting difficult, again, there was enough burnt off where I could pretty much control the draw by gently biting down on it. Not sure if it will work every time, but it seems to have done the trick with this one.
 
Cut it.  I have a small jar of cigar glue http://www.eacarey.c...?AdID=687--8200 though I get it at my local cigar shop.  I then cut about 1.5 to 2 inches off the foot of the cigar, repair any damage to both, let them dry and smoke them.
I use to poke them but I got sick and tired of it.  I have allot of smokes from 2006 and 2007 that have this problem, I have seen none from 2010 or 2011 that have this problem, but of course they are too young.
 
Two inches is half the cigar with these! :p

I don't think it's necessarily a problem of humidity and expanding. I think it's just the way these particular cigars are rolled by Cohiba. I've read of this a few times on here before concerning these. For such a small cigar, they are NOT quick burning, that's for sure. The ash is very tight and looks almost solid.
 
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