Synthetic vs Wood cigar molds

Krieg

So I just got done watching the blog video Alex did on cigar molds. He stated that wood molds help absorb some of the moisture from the cigar when it comes off the table, but the synthetic helps give it a better shape/press. Seems there is a debate among cigar makers which is better...I'm thinking the synthetic would be better because if the wood molds only added benefit is that it absorbs moisture, then why couldn't the cigars just sit a little longer in the aging room? Thoughts....opinions?

blurr

Maybe its important to get the moisture out as fast as possible to prevent mold/improve turn-around time with respect to aging/etc., instead of putting them in an aging room to slowly air dry. I don't know just making a guess.

sightunseen

By being able to absorb moisture, the wood molds can warp over time whereas synthetic molds will retain their shape. From a business standpoint, the synthetic molds make more sense because you won't have to replace them later on down the road.

bacon.jay

sightunseen:

By being able to absorb moisture, the wood molds can warp over time whereas synthetic molds will retain their shape. From a business standpoint, the synthetic molds make more sense because you won't have to replace them later on down the road.

They're dishwasher-safe!

MonteWhite

I don't see why they don't use a wood-synthetic composite. I'm a blues harmonica player, and after experimenting with various harmonicas, I came down to the one I currently play, which has a comb made of a wood-plastic composite. It plays great, and has both the benefits of the warm sound a true wooden comb produces and the durability and longevity an all plastic comb offers. So I'd imagine it can also offer best of both worlds for cigars.

Lasabar

I have bought an old Camacho Cigar Mold that is pretty sweet... It's all wood and in decent shape, but I cannot debate on whether synthetic or natural is better (I can only comment on such a discussion when boobs are involved)

kuzi16

it doesnt matter.

seriously.

companies that use plastic will make good cigars.
companies that use wood will make good cigars.

there are so many theories on how to "properly" make a cigar that it is almost impossible to know what is correct.
Every factory i toured in Nicaragua had a slightly different way of doing things. every single one of them claimed that they did it the "right" way.

Oliva, My Father, AJ Fernandez, Padron, Drew Estates, and Plasecnia all put out cigars that we respect or even love. many of these places we would have a hard time deciding what one was "better"
and they all had different ways of doing things.

for us it doesnt matter.

for the company using the molds, it matters.
as long as they care about the quality there will be good cigars



on a side note
using wood will not shorten the time in the aging room. the cigars are in the molds for maybe 45 minutes and the molds are used and reused. they are already moist.
the wrapper goes on wetter than the rest of the cigar is at the time and then does not go back into the mold.

Sandman1am

Lasabar:

I have bought an old Camacho Cigar Mold that is pretty sweet... It's all wood and in decent shape, but I cannot debate on whether synthetic or natural is better (I can only comment on such a discussion when boobs are involved)

OK Lassy since you brought up boobs.....synthetic or wood?