Why do cigars have caps? Interesting.

[StogieSteve23]

On 5/2/2007 at 10:23 AM, lfg2nrg said:

If they didn't have a cap, I wouldn't know which end to light.

In that case, would it really matter? ?

[cookj1]

What a great thread bump.

I must admit that one of my own personal embarrassments, or regrets, is when I make a bad cut.  Is there anything worse than starting a cigar with a bad cut!?! 
 

Insightful info here.  Thanks for sharing, however long ago it was.

[Kitchen]

Also, to control the aging process, IMO.  If oxygen can enter from  both sides, the filler and binder would oxygenate faster.  Albeit, this probably does mean it takes longer for the initial sick period to wear off and why younger cigars get more sharp the closer you get to the head.  The ammonia only has one open end to leach out of.  

[...]

54 minutes ago, Kitchen said:

Also, to control the aging process, IMO.  If oxygen can enter from  both sides, the filler and binder would oxygenate faster.  Albeit, this probably does mean it takes longer for the initial sick period to wear off and why younger cigars get more sharp the closer you get to the head.  The ammonia only has one open end to leach out of.  

This is intuitive but most likely wrong. Gas molecules like ammonia and oxygen are not hindered much in their movement by a  piece of tobacco leaf since the are quite small...

You could test your intuition by cutting out the first two thirds of a young cigar and only smoking the last third. Please share the results when you do ?