Since there are hardly any reviews on the internet of this cool gadget, I thought I would offer my two cents on it.
After seeing an add for this Swiss Army Knife in a past Cigar Snobb magazine, I decided to purchase it. I had been looking for a punch that offers 3 different sizes, since I'm relatively new to cigars (2 yrs) and I smoke a wide variety of vitolas, from 40 rg to 65 rg and wanted a cutter that could handle this.
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The main reason why I bought this - three different size punches!
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A typical Swiss Army Knife, with scissors, nail file, and blade
And now onto the punches! I used a CAO La Traviata with a ring gauge of 50.
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The smallest of the 3, with a size of ~6mm
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The middle of the 3, with a size of ~10mm
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The largest of the 3, with a size of ~12mm
Now, onto the cut. The punching was an ease! I was a little worried when I first got it, since it seemed like the punches weren't very sharp. But with a little force initially (and I mean little!), the punches will slide right into the cap of the cigar. I was really impressed with the ease of it all!
The pros: Three different size punches, All Stainless Steel construction, and it's a Swiss Army Knife - who doesn't like them!?
The cons: You do not get the classic "toothpick" with this Swiss Army Knife. This would have been a real treat, since you need something narrow and pointed to get the part of the cigar that was punched out of the actual punch. I had to find a nearby pen to do this. Second, There is no key ring. At just under 3 inches long and under 1 inch wide, I'm afraid that I might loose this one. It would be nice to attach a key chain or something to it.
Overall, I would still recommend this! There are a very few number of punches out there that offer different sizes. I had been waiting 8 months for the Credo "3-in-1" punch to come out, but after multiple manufacturing issues, they have unofficially stopped production of it. Also, for the price (bought on Amazon for a significant discount under MSRP), it's spot-on with the prices of single bullet punches!
**I have no affiliation with Victorinox or Amazon. I'm just a BOTL who looked for reviews prior to purchasing this and found none, so I thought I would offer my review of it on the inter web!
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I've had one of these for about a year, and it quickly became my fave tool. Still need a cutter for torps, but most of the time this the one I reach for. Extremely sharp punches and the sharp little knife blade makes getting under labels really easy..!!...
:-)
As with any cutter, you need to clean them now and then with a little alcohol to keep the oils from accumulating on the cutting surfaces. Alcohol wipes from the pharmacy work perfectly for this.
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Originally Posted by Blak Smyth:
To bad the scissors where not cutters!
Wenger has one with cigar scissors
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Victorinox also used to make a similar one with cigar scissors up until a few years ago. The scissors themselves were basically identical to those in the Wenger. I don't know which one of the two companies came out with the scissor version first.
With sharp blades, they make a brilliant cut.
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