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Miscellaneous Corkscrews

Though Torque, Leverage, and Direct Pull account for the overwhelming majority of corkscrew designs, that's not the end at all. View below - even the "screw" of a corkscrew is not required!

Greely Patent

What a concept - push the shaft down between the cork and the bottleneck, turn the handle 90 degrees to seat the hook underneath the cork and lift! Does it work?
The word is - NOT!! Not at least with today's corks. We assume with charity, however, that the Greely's patent may have had some degree of success with the softer corks of yesteryear...

Pat. Mar 6, 1888. USA

Converse. Double Pronged

The original of this type was patented in America as the Magic Cork Extractor in 1879 and 1892, by Lucian Mumford.
In 1899, Mascil Converse of New York improved upon the idea and came up with the version shown here. The design consists of two flat metal prongs, one slightly longer than the other. Rock the prongs back and forth between the bottle neck and the cork, until the prongs reach the length of the cork, then twist and pull to remove. Press here for more.

Converse. Patented 1899. USA
Contemporary version here.

Air-Injection

First, push the hollow needle through the cork. Then use the plunger to inject air into the bottle, forcing the cork upward.

Swiss Corky. Switzerland

Telescoping Corkscrew

The handle pulls out about 6 inches, while the cork moves "the usual", less than 2 inches. The amount of force required to pull the cork out is thus reduced by approximately two-thirds. "At rest" length: 8 inches.

Le Telescopique. Kariba. France.

Cork Pops

Simply insert the Cork Pops needle straight down through the cork, press once on the top of the low pressure propellant (CO2 gas) cartridge, and the cork is lifted out with a celebratory "POP"!
Each cartridge will open approximately 60-80 bottles before requiring a refill.

Available at the Corkscrew Shop.

Cork Pops. USA

Rogar Vintner Corkscrew

The Rogar Vintner all Brass Wine Opener is no longer manufactured. Highly collectible! Rogar's current products here.

U.S.A.