In most cases I would prefer the look of the cigar. I'm not a huge fan of shiny plastic looking wood. I like a more natural look. However there are times when the gloss looks better. But, of the two you have there, I prefer the cigar.
I like the look of the cigar. I like to use a CA finish on all of my wood pens and I know that it is possible to achieve different levels of shine using different techniques applying CA.
I believe that the CA offers a better protection than just a polish.
the cigar iand slim are both ca. finish, I use ca/blo williams method on the cigar and the slim has a ca only micro mesh finish, both have a hard duable finish but the one is just much shiney-er.........