Help repairing dry cracked cigars

[jeffturneraz]

Picked up some UF13s today that were jacked up.

Buddy had a box, went to grab some and I noticed that the tops were pretty damaged. One of them, the fan tail had fallen off, on the others, the wrapper was cracked, this was all on top, the middle and foot of the cigars were fine.

I grabbed 3 from the other side ofvthe box that seemed to be in better shape. Well, one of the fan tails fell off whenbI got home.

What should I do?

Should I put it in my wineador and just give them a few months, or is there something else I need to do?

Should I put them in a higher RH by themselves?...or will time in my 65/65 slowly fix them?

 

[chimmay]

I'm pretty sure a cracked wrapper will not heal itself. BUT! i ONCE did take a cigar that i was almost finished with and very carefully took its wrapper off to repair another cracked cigar. used some water to make it stick and left it for a few weeks. lol not ideal, but it worked. better than it unraveling and then going into the trash.

 

[jeffturneraz]

I'm pretty sure a cracked wrapper will not heal itself. BUT! i ONCE did take a cigar that i was almost finished with and very carefully took its wrapper off to repair another cracked cigar. used some water to make it stick and left it for a few weeks. lol not ideal, but it worked. better than it unraveling and then going into the trash.

Oh man, this sounds sketchy, ha. Maybe I will rest it for a few months, as long as it doesn't fall apart in my hand, I guess I will just have to smoke them carefully.

 

[Rupe]

I have never personally rehydrated dry cigars but I have heard it discussed here in the past and the best advice that I can give is to do it very slowly. If you try and do it quickly they will absorb the excess humidity too fast and really get damaged. I have heard it described as "exploding". If I were in your shoes I would put them in my humidor at 65% and let them sit for several months.

As far as repairing cracks in the wrapper, I use fruit pectin. You can buy it at WalMart in the housewares section next to the mason jars and other canning supplies. I believe the cost is somewhere around $1.50 for a small packet. I mix it with distilled water and use a small paint brush to brush over the cracks and reattach wrappers that have unraveled. Make sure you get the "quick" stuff though because the regular stuff needs to be mixed with boiling water. The quick stuff you can just mix up cold.

Basically it is the same stuff that they use to attach the wrappers when they roll the cigars. I have used it to repair my cigars for a couple of years and there are no burn or taste issues with cigars that have been repaired with it.

 

[jeffturneraz]

I have never personally rehydrated dry cigars but I have heard it discussed here in the past and the best advice that I can give is to do it very slowly. If you try and do it quickly they will absorb the excess humidity too fast and really get damaged. I have heard it described as "exploding". If I were in your shoes I would put them in my humidor at 65% and let them sit for several months.

As far as repairing cracks in the wrapper, I use fruit pectin. You can buy it at WalMart in the housewares section next to the mason jars and other canning supplies. I believe the cost is somewhere around $1.50 for a small packet. I mix it with distilled water and use a small paint brush to brush over the cracks and reattach wrappers that have unraveled. Make sure you get the "quick" stuff though because the regular stuff needs to be mixed with boiling water. The quick stuff you can just mix up cold.

Basically it is the same stuff that they use to attach the wrappers when they roll the cigars. I have used it to repair my cigars for a couple of years and there are no burn or taste issues with cigars that have been repaired with it.

Oh wow, thanks Rupe! That is valuable information for me. Never heard of that and really appreciate the input.

 

[Bruce T.]

The pectin will work great. If the wrapper is peeling back then you can glue it down. If a piece of wrapper has broken off then you may need to patch it. I suggest what Chimmay said. Just take a small piece of wrapper off a cigar you have smoked. It's very easy. Just slice the cigar with a sharp knife and a piece of the wrapper will come off like an egg shell. Then simply glue it onto the damage stick.

I never through out a good cigar !