Collecting Corkscrews Did you know that the crème de la crème of corkscrews does not use a screw! James Paxton
I started collecting corkscrews about 10 years ago after receiving a dozen of them for my birthday. My wife had given the word to the kids and close friends.
Then, I started buying them at Flea Markets and Antique Shops around the world. I must admit with shame that I never bought a corkscrew online. There are some splendid sites online to purchase antique corkscrews, but as I use my corkscrews I want to feel them, weigh them, and make absolutely sure that the worm screw will not chew into the cork and leaves particles of wine in the bottle. Oddly enough, most modern corkscrews, despite to day’s technology, will simply destroy an over 20-year-old cork and irremediably spoil the wine at the same time.
The first corkscrews came from England, as the Brits were the first, at the end of the 17th century, to seal wine bottles with cork. They were then manufactured by gunsmiths as a gun worm, a device used to extract stuck bullets from guns, which inspired the first corkscrew inventor.
Basically, there are four types of corkscrew using a worm screw: the direct pull, the assisted pull, the leverage pull, and the torque.
But, the crème de la crème of corkscrew does not use a screw! It’s the two-prong cork puller, also known by the name of Butler’s Friend. You can use it to open the bottle without even bruising the cork, then drink some (or all) of the nectar, refilling the bottle with God knows what, and re-cork the bottle with the original cork.
Could that be a reason why until the 1920s bottles were sealed with wax over the cork?
To use a Butler’s Friend (the best are the Monopol Ah-So cork-pullers with steel handle and sheath), simply insert the two prongs on either side of the cork, which will be removed by a twisting and pulling action.
Use it the first time with a bottle of wine a so-called “friend” brought at his last visit to your house. Re-cork it and uncork several times, then throw the horrible beverage out, and open a great Gemstone Meritage 2002 with your Ah-So.
Donald Bull is the expert in corkscrew collecting. You can find his best seller, The Ultimate Corkscrew Book, on amazon.com, and his web site gives you access to his sensational virtual corkscrew museum.
