At the 2019 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, S.T.Dupont showed off a number of different new creations, including a collection commemorating the 50th anniversary of man landing on the moon, a collection centered around the Greek titan Atlas and new versions of the company’s Complication lighter, which incorporates both a soft flair and a touch mechanism in the same product.

However, one of the most affordable new products S.T.Dupont introduced that year was the Cigar Stand Cutter, which—as the name implies—is a double guillotine cutter that can also fold into a cigar stand.

WHAT IS IT?

While the exterior of this double guillotine cutter is made of stainless steel, the accents feature a black lacquer finish and the blade grip is covered in a diamond head pattern. There is only one version so far—Chrome and Black—and physically, the cutter measures 2.55 inches long—increasing to 2.95 inches when open—as well as 1.96 inches wide and .4 inches thick while weighing a total of 3.84 ounces.

In addition, although I could not find a spec sheet on the cutter, after doing a bit of testing I determined that the double guillotine cutter can cut the cap off of anything up to about a 58 ring gauge cigar with ease and is able to cut a 52 ring gauge cigar completely in half if needed.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

The MSRP is $210, although it is easy to find at various websites in the $160 range.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

When you see it—and even when you pick it up—for the first time, the Cigar Stand Cutter looks and feels like any number of other double guillotine cutters which happen to lack finger holes and that incorporate a single moving blade. In terms of actual use, it is similar as well: basically, you pull up on the top section of the cutter, which in turn pulls up one of the blades—only the top blade moves, the bottle blade is stationary—and reveals the opening. Then, you place the cap of the cigar you are cutting into the opening and push down firmly, which causes the blade to cut through the cap and stop at the end of its journey, where it stays firmly shut.

However, much like the Transformers toys I played with when I was growing up, there is more to this cutter than meets the eye: by pushing the edge of the cutter and the main section of the cutter—i.e. the blade—in opposite directions, the middle section splits apart, forming a heavy-duty cigar stand. Due to the overall weight of the cutter, the stand is quite stable and there was never a point where it closed up on me or fell over, even when I accidentally brushed it a few times.

For a period of a bit more than five weeks, I used the S.T.Dupont Cigar Stand Cutter to cut much every cigar I smoked, which gave me plenty of time to determine the number of facts, the most important being that it has virtually no problems executing clean cuts of pretty much any vitola up to 58 ring gauge, regardless of the wrapper the cigars were covered in, or pretty much any other external factors.

Of course, the above statement does not mean there were no issues. The largest problem I had is that when I pull the blade up to cut a cigar, I had to physically hold it in place or it has a tendency to slide back down on its own a little. In addition to being a safety concern, this fact makes the physical act of cutting more problematic than it should be, since you need to find a way to stop the blade from moving while simultaneously putting the cap of the cigar into the opening.

After a bit of testing, I came up with a solution: when the blade is open all the way, I put my index finger and ring finger in the grooves that are present on either side of the blade, thus forming a barrier that stops the blade from moving downward. When the cap of the cigar is in the opening, I then slowly push down the blade while simultaneously removing my fingers from the openings until the blade reaches the top of the cap, then remove my fingers entirely and push the blade the rest of the way through the cigar.

THE GOOD

  • Two Usable Functions In One Sleek ProductWant to just use it as a cutter? No problem, easily done. Don’t need a cutter all the time, but want to keep your cigar off of a dirty table? Also easily done. All without the hassle of carrying two different products at all times.
  • Cigar Holder Comes In Handy More Than You Would Think — While it is easy to dismiss it out of hand as a gimmick when seeing it for the first time, I found myself using the cigar holder function quite a bit more than I thought I would since it is part of the cutter I was already using. Not only is it visually attractive, but it is also extremely stable, and there was never an instance when it fell over or caused damage to my cigar.
  • It’s Gorgeous — S.T.Dupont knows what it is doing in the design department and this product is just another example of that.
  • Very Sharp Blade + Great Design = Very Clean Cuts — The cutter portion of this product works extremely well, with very few exceptions. In fact, I found I could depend on it to deliver a clean cut just about every time I used it, something that I have found is not as commonplace as I thought before I started reviewing cutters.
  • Built To Last — This cutter is made almost entirely of metal and showed no signs whatsoever of any breakage or other issues the entire time I was testing it.
  • Cigar Stand Function Will Not Engage Until You Want It To — Thanks to a built-in safeguard, the opening mechanism will not unlock until you force it open, meaning there is virtually no chance of it coming loose in your pocket or bag, something that never happened while I was testing it.

THE BAD

  • Price — It is an S.T. Dupont product, so the price tag over $200 should not come as much of a shock. It’s also a $200 cutter, making it quite expensive.
  • Blade Has a Tendency to Slip a Little — See the section above this for a detailed explanation of the issue. I was able to find a simple workaround, but even so, the cutting process takes longer than it should due to the extra care that I had to take.
  • Somewhat Limited Cutting Options — Yes, it can cut enough off of cigars up to about 60 ring gauge to smoke them, but anything larger than that is problematic and that is an issue in this day and age when 70+ ring gauge cigars are becoming more commonplace.
  • It’s a Fingerprints Magnet — The exterior is made almost entirely of chrome, so no matter how often you wipe it down, it is going to look messy.
  • Cigar Stand Will Only Hold Cigars So Long — Due to its design, once the burn line reaches a certain point—basically, a bit less than an inch—it will be too small to fit onto the stand, rendering that function completely useless.
  • Does Not Come With a Carrying Case — A case—even a relatively cheap one—would go a long way towards taking care of the fingerprint/smudge issue above, but alas, the price of this cutter does not include one.

THE COMPETITION

While there are plenty of choices when it comes to cigar cutters that also have a built-in cigar rest of sorts, I could only find one other cutter that physically transforms into a cigar stand, the Mrs. Brog Cigar Cutter and Cigar Stand Combo. However, while the $5.99 price tag of the Mrs. Brog product is obviously miles below what you would have to pay for the S.T.Dupont, the actual process of transforming the former cutter into a cigar stand involves actually splitting the cutter apart and putting it back together, which takes not only quite a bit of time but is not exactly intuitive. In addition, there is also the fact that the Mrs.Brog is a scissor cutter instead of a double guillotine cutter.

Additional Competitors

  • XIKAR VX V-Cut Cutter ($42.50) — Although it is a v-cutter instead of a straight cut like the S.T. Dupont, the VX is designed with a place you can rest your cigar as part of the actual cutter that you don’t have to transform or put together, all at 25 percent of the price.
  • XIKAR X8 ($29.99) — Not only is it substantially cheaper, but this is also a straight cutter that works in a similar fashion to the Cigar Stand Cutter—albeit with finger holes—and features a shallow indention that is built into the middle of the body of the cutter that can be used as a cigar stand of sorts.
  • Visol Crater Matte Black Cigar Cutter ($40) —  A double guillotine cutter that comes in around at a price point that is 75 percent less than the S.T. Dupont, the Visol does include a cigar rest built in, as well as a serrated blade that the Cigar Stand Cutter does not have.
  • XIKAR MTX Multi-Tool ($54.95) — While the MTX Multi-Tool is obviously scissors instead of a straight cutter, XIKAR used to promote it as having a cigar rest feature with grooves in the body of the tool. It also has the ability to fold up and includes a bottle opener, a cigar poker and a screw driver to adjust flame height on lighters, all at one-fourth of the price being charged for the S.T. Dupont. The cigar rest feature doesn’t work as well as the S.T.Dupont, but it will work for most situations.

SHOULD YOU BUY IT?

Yes.

Have you ever wanted a pet Transformer that lives in your pocket? Well, this is sort of like that, only this Transformer cuts cigars before shifting roles to hold your stick of choice. As I have said many times in the past, when it comes to cigar cutters, combining two or more functions into one creation usually results in a product that comprises too much with negative effects. But the S.T. Dupont Cigar Stand Cutter sidesteps any potential issues with style, grace and relative ease. In fact, it performs both of its main duties equally well: as a cutter that I could depend on to give me clean, even cuts time after time; and as a cigar stand that holds the cigar safely with virtually no chance of falling or shifting position. Yes, the cutter carries an expensive price tag and is somewhat limited in the size of cigars it can cut, but in the end, this is a rare case of getting exactly what you are promised.

Overall Score

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Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.