Xikar XO Double Guillotine Cigar Cutter — Black

Cigars got fatter. Somewhere in the last two decades the sixty ring gauge stopped being exotic, and a good many cutters bought before then will not close around one — they pinch rather than cut, and a pinched cap does not recover.

The XO is what Xikar built for that, and the mechanism is the reason to want it. Two stainless steel blades ride on a train of five internal gears — a planetary system, which Xikar states is patent pending — so the blades do not merely close, they close together, arriving at the cap from opposite sides at the same instant. A spring-loaded button releases them; one squeeze brings them home. The body is a round aluminum disc, 2.38 inches across and six tenths of an inch thick, which reads in the hand rather more like a pocket watch than a tool.

It takes a 64 ring gauge as a matter of course and will cut up to a 70 — the working end of what is actually rolled today, rather than what was rolled when most cutters were designed.

What Xikar publishes for the XO is "stainless steel," and that is as far as we will take it. For the Xi1 the maker states a grade and a hardness — 440C at Rockwell 57 — and our page for that cutter says so because Xikar says so. Absent the same statement here, we are not going to infer one.

• Double guillotine cut — dual stainless steel blades
• Planetary-geared cutting system, five internal gears (Xikar states patent pending)
• Spring-loaded blade release button
• 64 ring gauge standard; cuts up to 70
• Round aluminum body, black finish
• 2.38" diameter × 0.6" thick (60mm × 15mm)
• Arrives in Xikar's own presentation box
• Xikar limited lifetime warranty

On the cut. In A Cigar, Counselor? we argue that the cut does more to determine how a cigar smokes than the price on the band. The XO is that argument applied to the ring gauges people actually buy now.

Built for the desk, the humidor and the bag that already carries a laptop — a disc this size lies flat in a jacket pocket and sits badly in a trouser pocket. If you smoke at 54 and under and want a cutter that disappears when carried, the Xi1 is the better instrument and costs less. To carry cutter and flame as one piece, see the Ultra Mag combo; for the flame that belongs beside this one on a desk, see the Volta. The rest of the range is in Cutters.

Questions we are asked

What ring gauge will it cut? A 64 as standard, and up to a 70. That covers the modern gordo and the sixty-ring toro without asking you to measure first.

What does the planetary gear system actually do? Five internal gears drive both blades from a single squeeze, so they reach the cap simultaneously rather than one leading the other. A blade that arrives first has to push the cigar across to meet the second one, and the cap is what gives.

How is this different from the Xi1? Capacity and size. The Xi1 is a teardrop that cuts a 54 in half and up to a 60 depending on the cap, and it travels better. The XO is a 2.38-inch disc rated to 64 and cutting to 70. If your cigars are mostly 50s, the Xi1 is the more sensible buy.

What steel are the blades? Stainless. Xikar publishes a grade and a hardness rating for the Xi series and does not publish one for the XO, so we state what the maker states and leave it there.

Will the blades open in a pocket? They are held closed and come out only when the spring-loaded release button is pressed. It is not a cutter that opens against your hand.

Does it come in a box? Yes — Xikar's own black presentation box, which is a sensible place for it to live between cigars and makes it a gift you can hand over as it arrives.

What is the warranty? Xikar's limited lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects, with no registration or receipt required. Xikar may return a refurbished equivalent rather than a new one.

Barrister & Bespoke Curated Collection — hand-selected from Xikar, for its craftsmanship and fit within our world. Curated pieces carry their maker's own identity rather than ours; our house collection, designed and branded exclusively for Barrister & Bespoke, is marked separately throughout the shop.

Why we carry it. Most of what a maker claims about quality cannot be checked before you buy. A warranty can. Xikar covers these pieces for life against manufacturing defects, with no registration and no receipt required, and states plainly that it may return a refurbished equivalent rather than a new one. That is a commitment written down and honored by a named distributor, rather than a claim about craftsmanship you would have to take on faith. We curate Xikar on that.

Warranty. Covered by Xikar's limited lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects, and by Barrister & Bespoke's own Thirty-Day Assurance for the first thirty days after delivery. After that, claims are handled directly by Quality Importers, Xikar's distributor — no registration or receipt required. Normal wear, misuse, and tampering are excluded. Xikar determines the remedy at its discretion and may replace an item with a refurbished equivalent. Full terms are stated in our Warranty Policy.