Trim Your Ash?

JonathanE

Hey, ya'll, I'd be curious to get some feedback on what your experience has been on something. I've found that when the ash falls off my cigar that I'm looing at a degree of harshness and often times a relight. Has this been your experience?

Last night I tried something new and was very pleased with the result. I used my cutter to trim the ash on my cigar, keeping it around 1 to 1.5 inches long.

Well, it worked! I needed a touchup light once but I never had any harshness and things were just lower maintenance in general I think. Has anyone else tried this?

JDE

lilwing88

I'm constantly retouching my cigar. I'm kind of a freak about an even burn..... I never really notice harshness unless the cigar goes out on me.

Diamondog

lilwing88:

I'm constantly retouching my cigar. I'm kind of a freak about an even burn..... I never really notice harshness unless the cigar goes out on me.

Me too, its a god@m addiction in itself...

djbeenie

lilwing88:

I'm constantly retouching my cigar. I'm kind of a freak about an even burn..... I never really notice harshness unless the cigar goes out on me.

Ditto

JonathanE

lilwing88:

I'm constantly retouching my cigar. I'm kind of a freak about an even burn..... I never really notice harshness unless the cigar goes out on me.

Haha, I like to keep the burn even by artificial means myself!

BUT, my question is about trimming ashes. Am I the only one??

JDE

djbeenie

JonathanE:

lilwing88:

I'm constantly retouching my cigar. I'm kind of a freak about an even burn..... I never really notice harshness unless the cigar goes out on me.

Haha, I like to keep the burn even by artificial means myself!

BUT, my question is about trimming ashes. Am I the only one??

JDE

I don't trim my ash, I just let it fall off. I never have any issues with it personally other than sometimes the ash falls in my lap.

lilwing88

JonathanE:

lilwing88:

I'm constantly retouching my cigar. I'm kind of a freak about an even burn..... I never really notice harshness unless the cigar goes out on me.

Haha, I like to keep the burn even by artificial means myself!

BUT, my question is about trimming ashes. Am I the only one??

JDE

Yea. I never trimmed my ash with a cutter. I'll have to try it next time.

kuzi16

never did that either. i smoke very slowly and i usually end up with an ash that, when it falls, leaves a bit of ash left on the end. all of it doesnt fall so i dont tend to have this problem

kaspera79

I like to let the ash grow as long as possible, then tap or roll it into the ashtray. I only touch up a burn that gets waaaay off.

danielruas

kaspera79:

I like to let the ash grow as long as possible, then tap or roll it into the ashtray. I only touch up a burn that gets waaaay off.

+1

t_evan50

Never cut the ash but do tend to keep it an inch or less. Seems to me a well made cigar will burn well no matter how I treat the ash.

docbp87

kuzi16:

never did that either. i smoke very slowly and i usually end up with an ash that, when it falls, leaves a bit of ash left on the end. all of it doesnt fall so i dont tend to have this problem

This. Also, leaving the ash on acts to cool the air drawn into the cigar as you are smoking it.

JonathanE

docbp87:

This. Also, leaving the ash on acts to cool the air drawn into the cigar as you are smoking it.

Bingo! That's why I've been trying to figure out a way to keep no less than an inch of ash on the cigar at all times. I can really detect a change in flavor when it falls off and I think it's because the smoke temp goes up a lot.

JDE

Goldy

JonathanE:

docbp87:

This. Also, leaving the ash on acts to cool the air drawn into the cigar as you are smoking it.

Bingo! That's why I've been trying to figure out a way to keep no less than an inch of ash on the cigar at all times. I can really detect a change in flavor when it falls off and I think it's because the smoke temp goes up a lot.

JDE

I doubt the air is actually cooled by the ash but what is probably going on is that the ash is restricting oxygen which in turn reduces the temperature of the burn. Next time you knock the ash off see if the cherry changes color, if it gets brighter then its getting more oxygen and burning hotter.

JonathanE

Goldy:

JonathanE:

docbp87:

This. Also, leaving the ash on acts to cool the air drawn into the cigar as you are smoking it.

Bingo! That's why I've been trying to figure out a way to keep no less than an inch of ash on the cigar at all times. I can really detect a change in flavor when it falls off and I think it's because the smoke temp goes up a lot.

JDE

I doubt the air is actually cooled by the ash but what is probably going on is that the ash is restricting oxygen which in turn reduces the temperature of the burn. Next time you knock the ash off see if the cherry changes color, if it gets brighter then its getting more oxygen and burning hotter.

Right on. I have already observed that the cherry is MUCH brighter when the ash falls off and that's kind of where I was coming from on this thread in the first place, my hypothesis being that the increased heat tends to make the flavor turn a little harsh.

JDE

Goldy

JonathanE:

Goldy:

JonathanE:

docbp87:

This. Also, leaving the ash on acts to cool the air drawn into the cigar as you are smoking it.

Bingo! That's why I've been trying to figure out a way to keep no less than an inch of ash on the cigar at all times. I can really detect a change in flavor when it falls off and I think it's because the smoke temp goes up a lot.

JDE

I doubt the air is actually cooled by the ash but what is probably going on is that the ash is restricting oxygen which in turn reduces the temperature of the burn. Next time you knock the ash off see if the cherry changes color, if it gets brighter then its getting more oxygen and burning hotter.

Right on. I have already observed that the cherry is MUCH brighter when the ash falls off and that's kind of where I was coming from on this thread in the first place, my hypothesis being that the increased heat tends to make the flavor turn a little harsh.

JDE

I agree with you and I have noticed the same harshness right after knocking off the ash so I might need to try your ash trimming method.

JonathanE

Goldy:

I agree with you and I have noticed the same harshness right after knocking off the ash so I might need to try your ash trimming method.

Yeah, the trouble is that, when the ash falls off, if you give the cigar some time to cool before you start puffing again so that you get the right taste, it goes out! It seems like its trim the ash or just deal with the bad flavor for a few minutes. ...a terrible thing to do half way through a great cigar.

I have done some additional experimenting in the last few days and have found that it takes very little remaining ash to avoid the problem. Trimming an ash is not classy but it works and I don't have to deal with the harshness as often anymore so it's worth it to me.

JDE

kuzi16

JonathanE:

how long does it take you to smoke a toro?

how hard do you pull on a cigar when you puff?


have you ever heard of purging?

JonathanE

Hi Kuzi! I looked in my records and the last two Toros I smoked were 85 and 90 minutes. I think I tend to be on the slow side so these times should be a little longer if not for the blasted wind!

I puff several different ways but I don't think I ever pull hard when I'm taking the smoke in. ...unless the cigar is trying to go out on me that is!

Is purging where you blow smoke back through the cigar? I do that all the time! I can't get butane gas out here so I'm stuck with using a zippo so I purge every time I use it.

Does some of this stuff have an effect on the cigar when it drops the ash?

JDE

kuzi16

JonathanE:

Hi Kuzi! I looked in my records and the last two Toros I smoked were 85 and 90 minutes. I think I tend to be on the slow side so these times should be a little longer if not for the blasted wind!

thats about right. i take about 100-110 min for a toro but i smoke WAY slower than most.

JonathanE:

I puff several different ways but I don't think I ever pull hard when I'm taking the smoke in. ...unless the cigar is trying to go out on me that is!

an easy pull is good. this is not part of the problem.

JonathanE:

Is purging where you blow smoke back through the cigar? I do that all the time! I can't get butane gas out here so I'm stuck with using a zippo so I purge every time I use it.

id just go with a bic at that point....
not blowing smoke back through, just air to get the stagnate smoke out of the cigar. if you do this just after you ash and after you touch up it could help.
also using the -1,2,3 smoking method works well. this may eliminate some of the harsh after the ash falls.

JonathanE:

Does some of this stuff have an effect on the cigar when it drops the ash?

JDE

yes... and no. some of them combined may.

dbeckom

Early on I noticed a change in flavor after ashing my cigar so I almost always roll my ash on the ashtray before it gets too long and falls off. This allows me to keep a 1/4" or so of ash over the cone.

kevin1323

kuzi16:

also using the -1,2,3 smoking method works well.

what is this?

kuzi16

kevin1323:

kuzi16:

also using the -1,2,3 smoking method works well.

what is this?

it is a variation of a classic smoking method... 1,2,3 method.
1,2,3 is one soft puff, then a second puff that is also very small then a third pull that is the actual puff. the theory is that it will keep the correct temp of smoke.

i use the -1,2,3 method.
this is one very light purge, one light puff, and one big slow puff. it clears the cigar of style smoke first, then it gets the smoke to temp, then the puff.

JCizzle

JonathanE:

I can't get butane gas out here so I'm stuck with using a zippo so I purge every time I use it.

This will be fixed soon.

kevin1323

kuzi16:

kevin1323:

kuzi16:

also using the -1,2,3 smoking method works well.

what is this?

it is a variation of a classic smoking method... 1,2,3 method.
1,2,3 is one soft puff, then a second puff that is also very small then a third pull that is the actual puff. the theory is that it will keep the correct temp of smoke.

i use the -1,2,3 method.
this is one very light purge, one light puff, and one big slow puff. it clears the cigar of style smoke first, then it gets the smoke to temp, then the puff.

Thanks for the clarificaiton! Funny thing is that I often use the 1,2,3 method without knowing that it was a "method" at all. The more you know.

JonathanE

Thanks for the good info, Kuzi. ...and thanks for the butane, JC! I won't miss using that Zippo at all!

JDE

JonathanE

kuzi16:

...not blowing smoke back through, just air to get the stagnate smoke out of the cigar.

For the record, I do NOT blow smoke back through my cigars! Thats like mouth to mouth resuscitation; nasty!

Yakster

@kuzi16 said:
kevin1323: kuzi16: also using the -1,2,3 smoking method works well.

what is this?

it is a variation of a classic smoking method... 1,2,3 method.
1,2,3 is one soft puff, then a second puff that is also very small then a third pull that is the actual puff. the theory is that it will keep the correct temp of smoke.

i use the -1,2,3 method.
this is one very light purge, one light puff, and one big slow puff. it clears the cigar of style smoke first, then it gets the smoke to temp, then the puff.

Words of wisdom here that I hadn't seen before. I've been plagued lately with a problem that my ash will get very hard at the end of the cigar and hard to draw or relight, often so bad that I have cut off the cherry and re-lit the cigar. I believe this was caused by smoking the cigars too fast, I need to slow it down. I started having this problem fairly recently, and I think I've been slipping into bad habits; the weather may play a part as well.

I'm going to try the -1,2,3 method in combination with a more leisurely paced smoking of my cigars.

Amos_Umwhat

nice necro

ForMud

Funny, I was having the same problem yesterday as you were Chris. I don't think I was smoking to fast, but more of a construction problem. I tried the 1,2,3 method (Never knew it had a name) but it started to make it run to hot, so I had to give up on it.

MickeyD_1

I realize this is an older thread, but I want to share my experience regarding ashing and what I found years ago.
I’ve been enjoying cigars for 30+ years. Allowing ash to grow is part of the smoking process that indeed keeps the cigars burning cooler. Ashing the cigar, I have found years ago, is best done just before your next draw, (not just after your draw) allowing the cigar to cool from the previous draw. Wait 30-45 seconds or more than ash the cigar.
Also, if you find your burning end getting hard and constricting the draw, pinch lightly just at the base of the cherry to loosen. No need to cut it off and relight.

Hope this helps.