Cigar knife
Cigar knife is a collective term for differently sharpened knives for the production of cigars by hand. The term is to be distinguished from the cigar cutters or cutters, with which the cigar shoulders are cut off before smoking.
The shape common in Europe has a regular handle. In contrast to this is the handleless Chaveta with a rounded, relatively large blade , which is common in Central America . Common to all forms of European cigar knives is the short blade with a round cutting edge. A special form is the knife with a rolling blade, with which inexperienced cigar makers in particular caused less damage to the leaves when they were cut.
In the original form, the cigar knives were simple household knives that were ground into the appropriate round shape. With the numerous founding of cigar factories in the 19th century, specialized cigar knives were at times also offered by practically all knife manufacturers. When using the knife for cutting, the tobacco leaves are moistened, smoothed out on a zinc sheet (for hygienic reasons according to the regulations of the trade supervisory authorities in Germany not on wood ) and then cut out in the desired shape. In the manufacture of the cigars by means of the wrapping presses that have been in use since 1850, larger knives were used to push off the excess tobacco.
The specimens preserved in museums show that cutting on zinc sheet often required grinding. "In the morning before work and at noon during the break, we sharpened the knives on a sandstone by the stream on the way to the factory". After a few years, the blade of the knife was simply ground down. The historical cigar knives lost their importance with the lifting of the machine ban for the production of cigars in Germany in 1958: In machine production, specialized knives were no longer necessary.
Individual evidence
- ↑ quote document in the museum Rödersheim-Gronau