Miscellaneous: Two-Prong Wine Openers

Because the prongs do not penetrate the cork, the cork remains intact during and after extraction, and can then, with force, be used to re-cork the bottle. These acquired the knick-names, "The Butler's Friend" or, "The Dishonest Butler", acknowledging Certain Temptations to drink down the good stuff and cover up the loss with plonk...

Insert the prongs between the cork and the bottleneck one by one. Slip the wood handle through the holes in the prongs, then twist and pull the cork out. Comes with its very own little box.

Nineteenth Century. France.

Double-pronged, or Ah-So, corkscrews have become a popular advertising item, as the sheath is a natural spot for printing any message one might care to deliver. Here's a contemporary version, with steel handle and plastic sheath.

Twentieth Century.

Contemporary version here.

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