Newbie in need of some help with a burn issue...

[fourkicksfan]

Hey guys, looking for some more experienced BOTLs to shed some light on a issue I had today with an Illusione 88. Before I lit this cigar, it had a slight crack midway in the cigar about a 1/2 inch long. I figured it wouldn't be a huge issue. Everything was okay for about 1 1/2 inches and then my cigar just started breaking up like crazy the wrapper started to crack at that spot and even the binder seemed to be splitting heavily. The whole issue continued almost all the way through and I lost a lot of wrapper. It just puffed up as you can see from the photo. My humidor sits consistently at 69-70 degrees and humidity that is in the range of 67-69. Never had this issue with any of my other smokes. I had it in my box for almost a month from when I bought it from the B&M. Any ideas why this happened? I was really looking forward to this stick, it was my first Illusione, ended with a lot of disappointment. :help:

 

[fourkicksfan]

 

[Schmec]

I had a muwat do that to me. Had a crack about half way up. It seemed to start drawing through the crack and just blew the spot up. I was able to cover it with my finger and burn through it but the wrapper was pretty loose.

 

[fourkicksfan]

Yeah I tried keeping finger covering the damage and then it just blew up

 

[MarkJr]

I bet that stick was dropped at some pintnbeforemyou bought it. The only reason I say this is one time I dropped an opus and it looked fine from the outside and when I smoked it it did the exact thing.

 

[ciggy]

First of all...Buy yourself some pectin to fix wrapper issues. Second this can happen to any cigar that has been mishandled. if theres any tear in the wrapper even the slightest bit of temperature or humidity fluctuation can cause this to happen. Sucks.

 

[fourkicksfan]

The humidity in the air today was about 80%, could that have added to it?

 

[javajunkie]

ciggy is right, sounds like at some point it got jostled wrong. also doesn't help that the crack was parallel to the length of the smoke; heat causes expansion, and burning the plant matter causes expansion of all the leaves, which are aligned lengthwise. the wrapper and binder usually cooperate to keep things together until the point of actual combustion. with that little crack, there was just not enough structural integrity to keep it together.

then again, matters which cigar you are burning. some, the tiniest crack is a death sentence. some can burn through anything. had an undercrown i burned for fourtotheflush's blind tasting, pretty sure i mishandled it. it split, and badly, but still maintained one of the best burn lines and draws i have ever had. something like a fuente hemmingway, with a tasty fragile cameroon wrapper, you are boned.

 

[fourkicksfan]

Well you guys have been very helpful, I feel a little better now, I am going to have to be more mindful with picking out my sticks I guess. I take great care of them after I receive them but that's only half the battle I guess.

 

[xFreebirdx]

As like Java said. Some people have to squeeze/molest every cigar they touch and a lot of cigars do not take kindly to it........
Thats my biggest pet peeve about B&M's........



.

 

[danthebugman]

then again, matters which cigar you are burning. some, the tiniest crack is a death sentence. some can burn through anything.

Yep. If you get a crack in a Cameroon or Connecticut Shade wrapper you can pretty much count on having some issues. Thicker wrappers such as Broadleaf it may not be such an issue.

Dan

 

[ywendyh]

Sucks about the stick being cracked. I agree with others here and think that particular stick you smoked may have been mishandled at some point before it was lit. What probably happened at the B&M is that particular stick was examined a little too vigorously by another customer. They likely squeezed a little too hard, cracked the wrapper and disturbed the filler inside--- then put it back like nothing happened. That would explain why you lost a lot of wrapper and why the binder was falling out once your stick started to burning at the distressed point. If you want to completely eliminate humidor issues take a look at your other sticks and see if you notice the same type of stress on the wrapper. . . when you see they are all perfect you don't need to worry anymore If the rest are cracked though update us and we'll do our best to help you out.

 

[Cigary43]

This happens....have had plenty of cigars that had a blemish regardless of looks or construction and I keep a few cigar band (aids) handy when I see a cigar that looks like it has a split on it. I use a cigar band to cover the split until it gets to that part of the cigar then I take it off and smoke through it. The band keeps things intact so it doesn't look like you are playing the cigarflute...the band works great and it's a cheap fix.

 

[fourkicksfan]

Wow would have never thought of that, thanks for the tip, will try it next time this occurs, hopefully there won't be a next time but I shouldn't kid myself.

 

[Dave]

Certainly may have been mishandled at some point. I will grudgingly acknowledge that Illusione construction seems to have taken a hit lately, too. No idea a factor in this case, at all. But, while MK and CG4 are two of my very favorite cigars, I've had increasing frequency of challenging burns in those I've bought the past year- from various sources, B&M and internet.

 

[Tobacco Giant]

Wow would have never thought of that, thanks for the tip, will try it next time this occurs, hopefully there won't be a next time but I shouldn't kid myself.

I can say with certainty there will be a next time, haha.

It happens to everyone and sometimes there isn't anything you can do about it.

 

[javajunkie]

I use a cigar band to cover the split until it gets to that part of the cigar then I take it off and smoke through it. The band keeps things intact so it doesn't look like you are playing the cigarflute...the band works great and it's a cheap fix.

actually, yeah, this works more often than not! great reason not to take bands off: jus slowly gentl side it up at th first sign of trouble. keeps the presure of the expanding tobaccofrom traveling past the band, like a smoke tourniquet. o)

 

[fourkicksfan]

Everything helps, when smoking on a budget every cigar north of ten bucks is a treat for me...