Lujo Concepts Debuts with BTX Cigar Cutter (Update)

There is a new player in the cigar accessories game, as Lujo Concepts has announced the upcoming launch of its debut cutter, the BTX.

The cutter is a dual blade guillotine design, but with a magnetic interface that the company says offers a revolutionary cutting experience. Three high gauss, shielded magnets are at the core of the compression system and are central to the cutter’s operation as well as its storage when not in use, as the magnets negate the need for a button to open the cutter. Additionally, they remove the need for a frame, which reduces the cutter’s size.

In addition, the geometry of the BTX is said to produce a cleaner cut by inducing a horizontal slide before vertical pressure is applied, which the company says takes pressure off of the cap to circumvent splitting the shoulder of the cigar. As an example, the company believes that cutting a cigar should be like driving a nail, not ramming an axe.

The BTX has an opening big enough to cut a 60 ring gauge cigar in half, while being able to clip the cap of cigars up to an 80 ring gauge. The BTX uses a 440C stainless steel blade that has been hardened to a HRC of 59. The blades can also be ordered with a nano layer black finish that uses a diamond-like carbon plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition process to make the finish highly resilient.

It measures 3.8 inches long by 2.3 inches wide while closed and 3.7 inches wide when open, with a weight of 4.7 ounces, according to a data sheet released by the company.

Lujo Concepts is offering the BTX in more than 30 unique designs that can be built via the company’s website. Inlays of exotic woods and carbon fiber as well as exotic and traditional leathers are available.

Whatever model a customer selects, Lujo Concepts is offering a lifetime warranty outside of cosmetic defects through a program called the Sentinel, which pioneers product registration and offers recovery of lost and stolen cutters by way of a unique six digit serial number on each unit.

In addition to selling directly to consumers, Lujo Concepts will be offering the BTX to retail tobacconists. Daniel Lance, one of the partners and co-founders of the company, brings several years of retail tobacconist experience to the project and understands the importance of having the cutters carried in brick-and-mortar shops.

The company has not finalized pricing, but Lance told halfwheel that “for an American made luxury product the pricing will surprise many people.” He noted that the current offering of inlays will all come at the same price, with the only difference in price being the optional diamond nanocoating.

Online orders are expected to be opened before the end of the year, with shipping to start prior to the start of 2017 as well. Lance noted that they have a good amount of stock on hand but are awaiting delivery of a few of the inlay options and didn’t want to get into a backorder situation.

More information can be found at the company’s website.

Update (Jan. 2, 2017) — Lujo Concepts announced the pricing of its BTX cutters today and opened up online sales. The standard body option is $374.99, while the black diamond nanocoated option is $424.99. Additionally, the first 100 BTX cutters sold will be numbered sequentially, with that number featured above the serial number.

This story was originally published on Dec. 7, 2016