Tools Needed to Make a Cigar

Series Summary

Cigar making is a centuries-old process that has continued since at least the 10th century. Making a cigar requires bunching tobacco leaves, pressing them into the basic shape of a cigar, molding the shape until it is basically smooth, and wrapping the bunched tobacco with a tobacco leaf or cigar wrapper. Learn how to make cigars in this free video series featuring professional cigar roller Michael DeBoibriand. DeBoisbriand will show you how cigars are made from the first stage of tobacco leaves to capping the cigar, and he will show you what's in a cigar, and the tools needed to make a cigar. Michael will demonstrate how to bunch tobacco leaves for making a cigar, how to apply the binder to make cigars, how to press cigars, how to prepare a cigar wrapper from a tobacco leaf, how to wrap a cigar, and how to store cigars.

Video Transcript

"Ok in this clip we are going to discuss the tools that are used in the trade. First part of the most important tool is this little piece of metal here it's called the chivetta, also known as a tobacco knife. This is actually what they use to shape the leaf when they cut the leaf of the wrapper. You have your cap tool, which is actually just a piece of copper pipe which is used to cut the cylindrical cap which goes on the end of the cigar. You've got your cutting board of course, which will come in many different forms. You've got your tuck cutter, used to actually cut the cigars to size. You can tell everything is pretty rustic. And nothing really changes as far as cigar rolling goes; it's been the same for quite a few years. And then you've got your press. This is what they use to actually form the cigar, inside the press you can see we've got a couple of molds and the molds are pretty much made of wood. The modern molds are being made out of plastics now and what they do is they hold the cigars and they make the shape."