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Fixing a Tight Draw

StinkiMonki

StinkiMonki

Cimb in the back with your head in the clouds and
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Messages
1,498
Location
Alta Loma, CA
I have tossed many of smokes because of having a tight draw. I usually favor a torpedo/belicose since I have more wiggle room to cut in necessary, but I run into major problems with lancero, panatela and churchills. The robustos and up are usually ok due to large ring gauge.

Does anyone have any suggestions, besides poking, on how to save a smoke with a tight draw?

Stinki
 
Smoke better cigars?!

Try rolling the tight spot with your fingers...sometimes that will loosen it up.
 
I'll blow through them really hard to warm them up, and make the tobacco more pliable. Then I'll roll them back and forth between my thumb and index finger firmly. This usually does the trick.
 
I've got a 12" piece of stainless steel rod about 1/16" in diameter. I cut one end with a pair of heavy clippers so it has a nice sharp end, and folded the other over. It works.....ok. Life is too short to screw around too long with plugged smokes. Cheap or expensive, plugged smokes do happen. I'll give 'em the "ram rod" treatment as well as a few finger rolls. If they don't come around, they get pitched.

Regards - B.B.S.
 
If you have consistently tight draws on your cigars or at least more than you think is average, you may want to drop your humidity level of your humi a notch. I live in Florida and have difficulty keeping the temperature of my humi much below the mid-70's and I used to keep the humidity at 70%. (basically following the 70/70 rule). A couple of years ago I switch to beads (65%) and now the plugged cigar is rare...and usually due to the cigar.

Panatelas are a common cigar to have tight draw. Because they are long and thin, they are hard to roll correctly. Even with the best of care, I often find them plugged.
 
I run into this problem with the thinner ring gauges now and then (lonsdales, panetelas, ninfas). I have a 14" wooden skewer I use. I put it in the clipped end and carefully run it through a few times( very, very slowly). This works 75% of the time to perfection. You have to be very carful you don't crack the wrapper or poke through it. I've turned a many toss cigars into a nice enjoyable treat. This for me is one of the main reasons certain cigars rolled in '99-'00 are less desired.

Smoke on.
 
I too use a skewer. Has the pointed tip so works great. Does cause a crack now and then, so have to go sloooow.
 
Ice pick, BBQ skewer, Straightened out paper clip, Small guage phillips or micro screwdriver. I use these if the rolling between thumb and forefinger and less humi fails. I have to be careful though, reaming the cigars straight through and slow as mentioned before. :thumbs:
 
I just shit-can plugged cigars. Even if you're successful in reaming one out, they never smoke right.

Doc.
 
I guess I'm more like DDoc. I just can't bring myself to poking a cigar. If the draw is tight to the degree where I cannot get the flavors out or maintaining the burn becomes problematic, then I start cutting sections off with my cutter. I either end up with a hunk that's still long enough to be smokeable or so short that it gets pitched.

The sad thing is sometimes you end up at 2" before you can draw.

Genuinely plugged cigars (0-5% draw) have been rare in my experience.

Wilkey
 
I bought a poker from JimD's shop that's great. It's called a "Havana Draw Enhancer" made by donsalvatore. It has barbs on it so instead of just poking, it removes some tobacco.

I think it works a whole lot better than a regular poker. It looks like a pen but it's not shown on their website.

Contact member JimD if you're interested in one.
 
That's interesting. I just imagine something with barbs yanking the guts out a cigar.

Wilkey
 
Ginseng said:
That's interesting. I just imagine something with barbs yanking the guts out a cigar.

Wilkey
Click to expand...

I just got one too. I had the pleasure of using it on a smoke this weekend...worked better than I tought.

It doesn't really have 'barbs'....more like sharp texture/diamond plate - slowly turning while fixing the smoke helps to loosen the tobacco....a VERY VERY useful tool.
 
I purchased a draw poker (sounds odd typing that!) and try that first. Roll the cigar with my fingers. If its still being feisty and hard headed, I'll try and cut off more of the cigar. If, after 5 minutes this thing is still giving me a hard time and is being unreasonable, it "swims with the fishes" and I'll grab another one!

Dirwood
 
Simple..... pipe tobacco! :)

I can't recall the last plugged cigar I had and I smoke a lot of lonsdales. The biggest contributor to plugged cigars is high humidity which swells the tobacco. My humidors humidity ranges 62-65% and haven't had a plugged or runner cigar in a very long time.

All of the advice given is correct:
1) Roll the cigar between the fingers to loosen the plug.
2) Use something to "poke" through the plug. (most be very careful not to poke the wrapper)
3) Clip the cigar until plug is gone
4) Pitch it and don't waste your time. (easier to do on <$5 cigars)
5) Lower your humidity.

Some time ago I recall there was someone that would re roll cigars. I don't remember all the details but I believe if you had a plugged box of cigars you could send it to them and they would re roll them.
 
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