As a chef I do a lot of close knife work. The most important thing I've learned is hold the blade still and rotate what you're cutting. That way if you slip with the cigar you get an uneven cut, not a gash in yourself.
I've cut tons of cigars with a serated Spyderco pocket knife. Get the edge of the cap riding in one of the serations and rotate the cigar. It makes for a great cut.
A good benefit of cutting with a knife is jokers are less likely to ask you to put it out if they see you cutting it with a big pig sticker.
