I recently ran a survey question on Cigar Advisor asking if cigar smokers rotated their accessories. After all, you rotate your cigars, so why not your accessories? As of this writing, 37% did not rotate their accessories, per se, they just wait until one or the other breaks and buy a new one. But running second at 31% was "It depends on the cigar."
This may sound like an off-beat topic, but as I get a lot of my subject matter, it came from my own personal experience. One night, I was about to light-up a cigar in my "man cave" (a/k/a the basement), and instead of using my usual "everyday" lighter, I took out my dual torch lighter. As I was doing this I wondered, Do other cigar smokers rotate their accessories?" And so, there it is.
I've got a decent amount of cigar cutters and lighters I've collected over the years. They "include a few" Xikar cutters, several other double-blade guillotine cutters, a couple of V-cutters, and a pair of small folding cigar scissors. I suppose I should also include the punch cutters built-in to two of my lighters, but they're not that sharp. Speaking of lighters, I have several single jet torch lighters (one of which I keep in my car for emergencies), a double and a triple jet model, plus a Zippo.
What's interesting is that each of these tools can serve a specific purpose. For example, one of the reasons I switched to my twin torch was because the cigar I chose that night had a 50 ring, and the two flames seem to work better, especially during toasting. For even wider cigars, I might even pull out the triple flame. Sometimes I'll opt for a V-cutter to clip a Torpedo, rather than a double blade. Or, I'll use a punch cutter to make a "figure 8" or "cloverleaf" cut in the head of a 50+ ringer.
That said, one might be inclined to presume that a good number of cigar smokers also rotate their lighters and cutters. According to the survey, only 18%. rotate their accessories for the sheer purpose of giving them "equal usage." However, if 31% of cigar smokers are using different accessories depending on the type of cigar they plan to smoke, then they really are rotating their cutters and lighters. I suppose I would be a member of this group.
What I find even more surprising is that 14% of the cigar smokers polled so far had only one cutter and lighter. Huh! I figured that even the one to three cigars-per-week smoker would have at least a couple of cutters and lighters. In my opinion, it is to every cigar smoker's advantage to have a few couple or even a few of each. You never know when your lighter is going to fire-off its last round ever, or when your cutter has become so dull, you might as well use a butter knife to clip it (though the latter is easier to gauge.)
As I write this, Thanksgiving is behind us and we're officially into the Holiday season. If you're among those who only have one cutter and lighter, with all the sales happening, now's a great time to add at least another of each to your accessories collection. If you have a single flame lighter, pick up a dual or triple flame. If you prefer buying cheap cutters, be adventurous and pick up a high quality blade that will last more like two years rather than two months.
Finally, if you're in the camp that has a good variety of cigar accessories, more power to you. Whether you intentionally rotate them is not all that important. It's more like, if you got 'em, you might as well use 'em.
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I have a drawer full of cutters and lighters, and another box full that I never use, and I'd agree that there are certain cutters I'll use in certain circumstances. I have one that I prefer for traveling, one that is more comfortable in the pocket, a punch on the key chain that I'll use on a corona from time to time, and "emergency" cutters in the cars and office just in case. Same with lighters to some extent, I usually grab the one that had fuel around the house, a beat up, but reliable single flame in the pocket, or a nice Zippo with a Z-Plus insert if I'm "going out." I have 3 little rectangular plastic cutters that aren't made anymore, but are the best I've found that I use sparingly, and intentionally rotate, because I know I'll never find them again!