Four Cutters, Four Art Traditions, and Six Days to Decide
Four Mexican Art Traditions on a Cutter You'd Actually Carry
You can't buy these yet. That's the part worth knowing today: the XIKAR Xi2 Día de Muertos Series makes its official debut on October 17, with shipping expected to start October 19. So if one of the four designs is going to end up in your pocket, the decision is about a week away, not months.
The timing of the XIKAR Xi2 release is deliberate and kind of lovely. Día de Muertos falls on November 1 and 2. These land just before it.
AT A GLANCE
- Four limited-edition cutters from Quality Importers Trading Company.
- Designs: Cartonería, Alfeñique, Guerrero and Huichol — four different Mexican art traditions.
- The same Xi2 double-guillotine mechanism underneath. This isn't a novelty cutter.
- $59.99 MSRP each.
- Debut October 17, 2026, shipping expected October 19.
First, What Día de Muertos Actually Is
Let's get this right, because it matters and it gets flattened constantly. Día de Muertos is not the Mexican version of Halloween. It isn't about fear, horror or costumes.
It's a remembrance. Families build altars, bring flowers and food, and spend the days welcoming back the people they've lost. There's even a division in the calendar that tells you how personal it is: November 1 is for remembering children, and November 2 is for adults. The skulls aren't scary. They're affectionate.
That context is the whole reason this collection is more interesting than it looks at a glance.
The Four Designs, and What Each One Comes From
Here's where the XIKAR Xi2 collection earns a second look. The four XIKAR Xi2 designs aren't color variations of the same skull. Each name points at a real, distinct craft.
Cartonería is Mexican papier-mâché, sometimes called cartón piedra for how rigid it sets. It's the tradition behind Day of the Dead skeletons and the fantastical creatures known as alebrijes, and its most famous practitioners are the Linares family in Mexico City.
Alfeñique is the sugar work. Those decorated sugar skulls are made from powdered sugar bound with chautle, a plant-based adhesive, plus lemon and beaten egg white, then colored with vegetable dyes. They're made to be given, named and eventually eaten.
Huichol refers to the Wixárika people of the Sierra Madre, in Nayarit and Jalisco. Their beadwork is built one tiny bead at a time, pressed into beeswax spread over a wooden form. That's why the geometric patterns look the way they do — every line is a physical decision someone made by hand.
Guerrero points to the folk art of the state of Guerrero, one of Mexico's richest craft regions. We'll be straight with you here: XIKAR hasn't specified which Guerrero tradition the artwork draws from, and we're not going to guess on your behalf.
XIKAR Xi2 Día de Muertos Series — the details
| Collection | Four limited-edition designs |
|---|---|
| Designs | Cartonería · Alfeñique · Guerrero · Huichol |
| Mechanism | Xi2 spring-loaded double guillotine |
| Shape | XIKAR's ergonomic teardrop body |
| MSRP | $59.99 each |
| Debut | October 17, 2026 |
| Shipping | Expected October 19, 2026 |
It's Still a Cutter You'd Actually Use
This is the part that separates a collectible from a shelf ornament. Underneath the artwork, the XIKAR Xi2 is the same tool a lot of people have carried for years: the teardrop body that sits naturally in your palm, and spring-loaded double-guillotine blades that close from both sides at once.
Two blades meeting in the middle is what gives you a clean cut instead of a crushed cap. If you've never settled the question of which cutting style suits you, our guide on when to use a punch versus a guillotine walks through it properly.
So you're not paying $59.99 for decoration wrapped around a weak tool. The XIKAR Xi2 platform has been around long enough to have a reputation. You're paying it for a known mechanism wearing something worth looking at.
Mardo's take
- Cigar accessories don't have to be boring, and we always appreciate it when a manufacturer steps outside the box. XIKAR took one of its most recognizable cutters and turned it into four pieces that carry real culture, heritage and craftsmanship — not just skulls printed on metal. That's a harder thing to pull off than another black-and-silver release.
- Is it worth chasing? At $59.99 for a limited-edition XIKAR, we think that's reasonable. If you're a collector, shopping for a gift, or you just want something in your pocket that isn't the same cutter everyone else carries, these are worth a look. Production is limited, so if one of the four designs grabs you, we wouldn't wait long.
- If none of them speak to you, that's fine too. This is a cutter you buy because you like looking at it, and that's a personal call.
Can You Get One at Mardo?
Not yet, and we're not going to pretend otherwise. We don't have the XIKAR Xi2 Día de Muertos Series listed, and we haven't confirmed allocation. When that changes, we'll say so here. Follow us for release and availability updates.
What we can tell you is that if you want a XIKAR in hand right now, two of our packages already include one — the Xi1, the Xi2's single-blade sibling.
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Why This One Stuck With Us
The XIKAR Xi2 series avoids the laziest kind of limited edition. Most limited accessories are limited this way: a different finish, a serial number, a higher price. This one went and borrowed from four separate living craft traditions, each with its own materials and its own history.
Whether that translates into something you want to carry is up to you. But it's a more thoughtful starting point than most, and it treats a holiday about remembering people with color rather than horror. We'll post an update as soon as we know more about availability. In the meantime, you'll find our current limited editions here.
Six days out.
The four designs debut October 17. Follow Mardo for availability updates — and browse what's limited on our shelves today.
Browse Limited EditionsMardo Cigars sells premium tobacco products intended for adults 21 and older. Please enjoy responsibly.
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