Cork Screw Recommendations
You see illustrated here several examples of cork pullers in general use today. Some are very good. Some are useless.
A) is an antique version of a cork puller still used by people. It has a thick central shaft around which is a spiral ridge. This type of puller will chew up even good corks, and old ones will simply disintegrate. It has no outer collar which guides the shaft down the center of the cork. Avoid this type of puller - it is trouble.
B) is a high-tech modern example of A) - it is essentially a large building nail around which the spiral ridge was added. Forget it.
C) is an early attempt at a better solution. In place of the thick straight shaft is a spiral wire. Unfortunately, the wire looks skimpy and easy to break.
D) has a better wire, thin but strong, and the surrounding collar will guide it straight through the center of the cork. However, the wire is too short. Skip this one.
E) is a "Waiter's corkscrew" for carrying in the pocket. The wire is strong, and there is a retractable blade for cuting away the foil. But there is no collar.
F) This corkscrew by "Screwpull" is near flawless. Notice the strong - and Long - spiral wire and the deep collar. A foil-cutting blade retracts into one side. The turning handle slips off and shields the wire when the corkscrew is in your pocket. I like this one a lot.
G) is a "lever action" cork puller which guides the wire through the cork, retrieves it, and spits it off the wire. Nice! Opens multiple bottles quickly. (About $30).
H) is a handy puller, known as the "Ah So" or the "French prongs". It is the only thing which works on an old, fragile, cork. No Drilling at all! Push the long blade down the side of the cork, then the shorter one opposite, wiggling the blades from side to side to get the blades to slide all the way in without pushing the cork down. (Someone needs to show you how to do this.)
So the lesson is this: avoid thick, straight shaft pullers, in favor of strong but thin spiral wires. Employ one with a deep collar to guide the wire straight through the center of the cork. Have an "Ah So" handy for any cork that is already breaking up or looks like it will fall into the bottle with the least form of pressure through its center.
See one more example by clicking HERE.
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