Dogwatch Dale
Herf Castin' Gorilla
Ya'll know where I stand. I've got both, and the Xikar just sits in my smoking room as a spare in case I've left the Palio upstairs. The Xikar works, just not as cleanly and comfortably as the Palio.
another cutter thread....yes I searched.
- Thread starter [OT] Loki
- Start date
HMS Richard
Newbie in the jungle
What the heck this is my first post so why not enter the debate with reckless abandon...:gn
Some of you may know me from my Cigar Family days and if so you are aware that I have tested not only for my own enjoyment but for distributors and manufacturers, virtually every cigar gizmo known to man....from humidors, to cat litter humidification, to superabsorbent polymers, silica gel, magical potions of once sort or another, and everything in-between. And yes, I have owned and played with virtually every cigar cutter you can think of, from the ever-so-humble but still great Davidoff to the Dupont, the Palio, the Sherman, the Prometheus V-cutter, and yes various iterations of the Xikar. In my time, I think I have lost more cutters than most folks here have owned.
To be very honest, in terms of cutting ability the differences are slight at best between any of them. They all do the job and God forbid when I've been without a fancy, smanzy cutter, I have been known to use my teeth and somehow my cigars survived the experience, thank you very much.
What I have determined however, is that in terms of ergonomics there is a difference. Additionally, in terms of customer service (what happens when the blade flies off and nails Aunt Minnie in the knee), and how well the company is willing to make you happy again, nobody, repeat nobody goes the extra mile like Xikar. Kurt their leader and divine inspiration insists on this and he and his staff are a pleasure to deal with. Plus, the Xikar's unique design just feels right in my stubby little hands. And, they are pretty easy on the eyes especially the deluxe wood models.
"But how do they hold up HMS Richard" Glad you asked. I am still using the same Xikar that I bought 5 years ago. One of these days I'll get around to sending it back to Xikar for re-sharpening. In the meantime, it never leaves my side. As for the Palio, nice lighter, got one, use it, no problems. Does it do a significantly better job at lopping off the end of my cigar? I don't think so and as I said, the Xikar just feels better.
Now if you really want to talk sharpness, talk Dupont. My wife gave me a $200+ Dupont for Christmas a few years back and THAT is one incredibly sharp cutter. The Palio and virtually every other cutter I have sampled pales in comparison. But you're talkin' 200 smackers, probably more now because the Euro is so strong.
So for what it's worth, I highly recommend the Xikar (their steak knives ain't bad either). Mine have gone with me to Sierra Leone, Bangkok, Ulaanbatar and back, and I have never had a problem and more importantly, my cigars have never complained.:ss
Cheers.
Some of you may know me from my Cigar Family days and if so you are aware that I have tested not only for my own enjoyment but for distributors and manufacturers, virtually every cigar gizmo known to man....from humidors, to cat litter humidification, to superabsorbent polymers, silica gel, magical potions of once sort or another, and everything in-between. And yes, I have owned and played with virtually every cigar cutter you can think of, from the ever-so-humble but still great Davidoff to the Dupont, the Palio, the Sherman, the Prometheus V-cutter, and yes various iterations of the Xikar. In my time, I think I have lost more cutters than most folks here have owned.
To be very honest, in terms of cutting ability the differences are slight at best between any of them. They all do the job and God forbid when I've been without a fancy, smanzy cutter, I have been known to use my teeth and somehow my cigars survived the experience, thank you very much.
What I have determined however, is that in terms of ergonomics there is a difference. Additionally, in terms of customer service (what happens when the blade flies off and nails Aunt Minnie in the knee), and how well the company is willing to make you happy again, nobody, repeat nobody goes the extra mile like Xikar. Kurt their leader and divine inspiration insists on this and he and his staff are a pleasure to deal with. Plus, the Xikar's unique design just feels right in my stubby little hands. And, they are pretty easy on the eyes especially the deluxe wood models.
"But how do they hold up HMS Richard" Glad you asked. I am still using the same Xikar that I bought 5 years ago. One of these days I'll get around to sending it back to Xikar for re-sharpening. In the meantime, it never leaves my side. As for the Palio, nice lighter, got one, use it, no problems. Does it do a significantly better job at lopping off the end of my cigar? I don't think so and as I said, the Xikar just feels better.
Now if you really want to talk sharpness, talk Dupont. My wife gave me a $200+ Dupont for Christmas a few years back and THAT is one incredibly sharp cutter. The Palio and virtually every other cutter I have sampled pales in comparison. But you're talkin' 200 smackers, probably more now because the Euro is so strong.
So for what it's worth, I highly recommend the Xikar (their steak knives ain't bad either). Mine have gone with me to Sierra Leone, Bangkok, Ulaanbatar and back, and I have never had a problem and more importantly, my cigars have never complained.:ss
Cheers.
Last edited:
Ditto.
HMS Richard
Newbie in the jungle
Last edited:
You know, the owner of the company seeks you out at 10PM to get some information about a problem you're having with the product, I'm going to have to say that Palio's not gonna be beat in this department.
was that in chat last night?
LasciviousXXX
Lucifer
HMS Richard
Newbie in the jungle
That's pass my bedtime, I'd be pi---d.
Guys, you are obsessing over a slicer. Obsess over your choice of cigars.
PS: You're not related to Tony Scimmia from Far Rockaway are you? Nobody could hide a ____ in the trunk of an '86 Lincoln Town Car like Tony. Tony wouldn't have given a rat's a-- about cutters. He was a man's man.
Last edited:
LasciviousXXX
Lucifer
I prefer to obsess over every part of this wonderful Hobby(obsession) :r
Next time you're in chat with Marc... ask him about the "Pepsi-Can Man" story
:r
Marc??...I thought his name was Barney
wharfrathoss
old man down
never had/used a Palio-am happy w/my Xikar though-i don't subscribe to the lay it on the table method-it feels good in my hand, you don't have to pull it apart (my others always seemed to break doing this) & it looks cool-sometimes the cut isn't perfectly straight across, probably due to operator error-unless it's real bad, it don't matter cause it still smokes fine & doesn't affect the burn-find a way to try both, then pick!
I bought a palio and it works better than my xikar for sure. Is the cut that important? Maybe not, but I can tell you from a recent experience that taking a perfectly constructed, smuggled, aged cigar, and hacking off the end with a kitchen knife felt really lame.
here's a random item for the palio's virtual suggestion box...
Since most of my cigars are smoked outside and at night, I wish my palio had a tiny LED light that turns on for 5 seconds when the cutter is opened. When I hold the cutter, my palm is cupping one side of the cutter and blocking what little light there is. Coupled with the dark cigar and black cutter and I can't see diddly.
here's a random item for the palio's virtual suggestion box...
Since most of my cigars are smoked outside and at night, I wish my palio had a tiny LED light that turns on for 5 seconds when the cutter is opened. When I hold the cutter, my palm is cupping one side of the cutter and blocking what little light there is. Coupled with the dark cigar and black cutter and I can't see diddly.
n2advnture
www.Cigarmony.com!
Marc??...I thought his name was Barney
:r Too freaking funny bro!
I have been using the same Palio for 7+ years and it's STILL my daily "go to" cutter.
By far the best cutter ever made (IMHO of course)
~Mark