Want to know one way to drive me absolutely insane? Ask me, or anyone in my vicinity, to cut a cigar in half for you to smoke...Ugghhhh!
I've been asked on occasion to do just that, and I've heard some request that of others. Despite my opposition and informing them that practice is not recommended, sometimes I just keep quiet and allow them to learn from the mistake. Most of the time you may hear this request when one has a Churchill size cigar, which generally measures 7" x 48.
While you actually can cut a cigar in half, either to smoke later or share with a friend, this practice is not recommended. Even utilizing the most sharp and powerful cutter to obtain the cleanest cut, you still run the risk of the wrapper of the lower half of the cigar becoming unraveled, rendering the cigar half totally un-smokeable. The way cigars are rolled, the cigar closes at the head, so after cutting a cigar in half, the bottom half will almost certainly fall apart as you smoke it.
It is important to understand that cigars are composed of whole filler tobacco leaves that are balanced with a binder (or two) and a wrapper leaf. The balance is the result of a careful and deliberate process of blending by master cigar blenders that have determined the right proportion (or formula, if you will) of different tobaccos to provide a specific taste. Therefore, the slightest modification in the percentage of one cigar compared with another will affect the taste. For example, in the Perdomo Lot 23 Churchill (7" x 50), the tobacco has been selected in different proportions to the Gordito size (4½ x 60). So cutting the Churchill in half will only leave you with a half a Churchill, not a Gordito, nor will it taste like the Gordito.
And don't think that cutting a Churchill is an economical practice that will save you some money. It would be more practical to purchase Robustos, or any other smaller sized cigars and reserve them for those occasions when you may not want to smoke an entire Churchill. Use the image to help determine the cigar sizes that are right for you...