Cigar charring

[buck]

I just started rolling again after a few months, started to noticing some charring occurring on my cigars more specifically the ones using Nic Habanno filler. I make sure not to burn and char when I first light it and slowed down my draw considerably but even then the cigar starts to develop charr right below the burn line. The cigar core is black and flaky and crumbles off when tapped, leaving a tunnel. Cigars were rolled 4 days ago and stored in a humidor at %62, other cigars (store bought) stored in it don't behave this way. This also happened with another batch I rolled a few months ago , same filler. The draw has some resistance ,a decent amount. I can try to increase the humidity a bit see if that helps , anyone have suggestions on how I can fix this. Cigar filler is 1/2 Nic Hab liger, 1 Nic Habano Viso and 2 Nic Hab seco. I have a couple of sticks I rolled yesterday using different filler so after I let them rest a bit I'll light one up and see if I encounter the same problem.

 

[MarcL]

Are you microwaving? Are you over booking any components? Are you using mojo?

 

[PressuredLeaf]

I’ve been enjoying some cigars made from wlt nic viso and ligero. No burn issues, nice white ash. I will say though, these cigars are taking forever to properly dry! It’s been well over a week and they still are in quite high case.

 

[buck]

Are you microwaving? Are you over booking any components? Are you using mojo?

No microwave. The filler is in low case, binder medium case. I paper mold them and let them dry this way for 2 days at room temp about %50 humidity, then I apply the wrapper and let them rest at room temp %50 for 2 days , then I put them in my humidor for 1 week. I smoked one today. Overbooking ? Mojo ?

 

[buck]

I’ve been enjoying some cigars made from wlt nic viso and ligero. No burn issues, nice white ash. I will say though, these cigars are taking forever to properly dry! It’s been well over a week and they still are in quite high case.

I'm not ready at this stage to blame the leaf, most probably the roller is at fault.

 

[buck]

I just started rolling again after a few months, started to noticing some charring occurring on my cigars more specifically the ones using Nic Habanno filler. I make sure not to burn and char when I first light it and slowed down my draw considerably but even then the cigar starts to develop charr right below the burn line. The cigar core is black and flaky and crumbles off when tapped, leaving a tunnel. Cigars were rolled 4 days ago and stored in a humidor at %62, other cigars (store bought) stored in it don't behave this way. This also happened with another batch I rolled a few months ago , same filler. The draw has some resistance ,a decent amount. I can try to increase the humidity a bit see if that helps , anyone have suggestions on how I can fix this. Cigar filler is 1/2 Nic Hab liger, 1 Nic Habano Viso and 2 Nic Hab seco. I have a couple of sticks I rolled yesterday using different filler so after I let them rest a bit I'll light one up and see if I encounter the same problem.

No microwave. The filler is in low case, binder medium case. I paper mold them and let them dry this way for 2 days at room temp about %50 humidity, then I apply the wrapper and let them rest at room temp %50 for 2 days , then I put them in my humidor for 1 week. I smoked one today. Overbooking ? Mojo ?

Correction, 2 days rest after binding , 1 day rest after wrapping and then one day in humidor , then I smoked it , Maybe they need to dry more.

 

[MarcL]

It sounded like something I have gotten from over microwaving. ..not that I do a lot of it..
The case in the bunch (doll) sounds right, especially the waiting (drying) before wrapping part.
booking orientation is like a phone book. mojo is like casting or flavoring to treat the leaf.

 

[buck]

It sounded like something I have gotten from over microwaving. ..not that I do a lot of it..
The case in the bunch (doll) sounds right, especially the waiting (drying) before wrapping part.
booking orientation is like a phone book. mojo is like casting or flavoring to treat the leaf.

Entubado style is how I roll and I don't use any casing.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I had an entire ten run like crazy recently. There was none of those tobaccos in them. I have used those in a blend before. I think they were too loose, and that the different leaf thicknesses weren't evenly distributed.

Maybe using half a leaf of ligero has resulted in one side of your cigars being more dense than the others.

 

[MarcL]

Correction, 2 days rest after binding , 1 day rest after wrapping and then one day in humidor , then I smoked it , Maybe they need to dry more.

That is one way to get what you have. .. wrapping to soon is easy to do.

 

[MarcL]

Do they canoe as well as tunnel?
did you get ammonia when casing the binder? what was the binder?

 

[buck]

I had an entire ten run like crazy recently. There was none of those tobaccos in them. I have used those in a blend before. I think they were too loose, and that the different leaf thicknesses weren't evenly distributed.

Maybe using half a leaf of ligero has resulted in one side of your cigars being more dense than the others.

Could be , I do try and insert the Ligero in the middle but things can shift. The cigar was firm and drawn had some good resistance , no issue with draw.

 

[buck]

Do they canoe as well as tunnel?

No canoeing, burn is even. The only thing I get is char in the center , the wrapper/binder seem to burn well until the char occurs then it lags a little behind but no tunneling until I tap the cigar and the charr inside. falls out.
If I blow into the cigar I see bits of char come out the end. The cigar stops burning when a certain amount of char develops at which point if I squeeze the tip below the burn line the charred leaf falls off leavign a slight tunnel.
I then cut below the tunnel and relight, the issue returns shortly after.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Not saying for sure, but it might be as simple as that it's more humid in the Pacific Northwest and that you need to let them sit a bit longer.

 

[MarcL]

It does sound like the binder is wet.. try not cutting, purge by hitting it with a flame, then into the mouth, blow out while the flame is below then, knock off the ash then draw on it.

 

[MarcL]

Booking is less common with wrapper because its trimmed but, binder is not.
I often use more then one binder leaf. sometimes three. I will always bring tautness to the outer binder only, leaving the inner binders with wrinkles to assist burn.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

try not cutting, purge by hitting it with a flame, then into the mouth, blow out while the flame is below then, knock off the ash then draw on it.

Is this from Hemingway?

 

[MarcL]

Is this from Hemingway?

..you're well read.

 

[deluxestogie]

Since we can pretty much leave the quality of the leaf out of the question, I see two possible causes of your charring.

1. Both the wrapper and the binder are not great burning leaf. You need one or the other to burn well.
2. The cigar is still insufficiently dried for your Vancouver humidity.

Rolling filler using the entubado method already begins with filler that is in a higher case than "noisy. May crack but not crumble." Your humidor may not dry a wet cigar in two days.

So, I suspect the entire problem is water, water everywhere.

Bob

 

[GreenDragon]

You may benefit from making a "dry box" to dry down your freshly rolled cigars. You can pick up an empty cedar wood cigar box from a local store or a small cooler. Put some desiccant or oven dried kosher salt in a container inside. Let your ciggies rest in there for a few days prior to smoking or moving to your humidor.

 

[buck]

Since we can pretty much leave the quality of the leaf out of the question, I see two possible causes of your charring.

1. Both the wrapper and the binder are not great burning leaf. You need one or the other to burn well.
2. The cigar is still insufficiently dried for your Vancouver humidity.

Rolling filler using the entubado method already begins with filler that is in a higher case than "noisy. May crack but not crumble." Your humidor may not dry a wet cigar in two days.

So, I suspect the entire problem is water, water everywhere.

Bob

I wouldn't have expected that humidity would cause charring but rather overheating or leaf combustion issues.
I just took cigars out of the humidor and placed them in an empty cigar box, I'll leave them there for another week.

Thanks