A "solution" for unraveling cigar wrappers? Maybe.

Nothing is more frustrating than having your cigar unravel on you. About a week ago in my office, I had a cigar that began to unravel at just below the midpoint. The wrapper was only sticking up a little bit at first, but as the cigar burned it began to unfurl even more. I thought about wetting it with saliva, which I believe is the most common method used to get the wrapper back down, but instead I let the cigar go out and tried something a little different.

I grabbed my bottle of 50/50 humidification solution (50% distilled water and 50% polygylcol). The polygylcol makes the solution a little slick and oily. That's the key. I spread some solution on the wrapper leaf with my finger and the wrapper adhered to the cigar. I kept my eye on it for about 15 minutes. It was almost dry, and it looked like it was holding together with better results than plain distilled water or good ol' fashioned spit.

Now for the acid test - the relight. Surprisingly, the wrapper leaf stayed in place and let me smoke past the break point. I'm not certain this "cure" will work in every case, especially if the leaf has unraveled more than halfway around the cigar, but it seemed to do the trick for this minor instance.

I have also seen a wrapper repair kit advertised. It's a little bottle of pure vegetable glue (the same type of glue cigar rollers apply to a cigar's wrapper cap), with a brush that's attached to the bottle cap.

Has anyone ever tried this product or the method I described using 50/50? If so, let me know if it worked for you, or if you have a better remedy.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Spit works the best. Polygylcol, I understand what it is, but it sounds alitle extreme. Kinda like using anti-freeze to melt sidewalk ice.

With that said, I love the idea.
CigarAdvisor said…
Appreciate the comment monkeydan. I see your point. I mean, I wouldn't want to drink it, but I'd venture that under the conditions, 50/50 couldn't be all that harmful. I've always used spit in the past, but it seems to dry up too quickly and the wrapper just peels up again. I think it works best when the wrapper is peeling from the head. I've only done the 50/50 thing a couple of times since I tried it, but it worked, so I'm just puttin' it out there. Thanks for the comment.
Anonymous said…
TRY CHAP STIK LIP BALM, PLAIN NOT STRAWBERRY.
Unknown said…
i have used the vegetable gum solution and it has always worked well. i put a little on each side of the leaf and wait about 15 seconds before continuing to smoke.
Unknown said…
hey that is a really nice post about humidors sir. would love to read more about cigar humidification from you

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