Single Action, Torque Type Corkscrews

The Chinnock

In 1862, Charles Chinnock, an American, hit upon an idea of great simplicity and great utility - the first "self puller" corkscrew. His idea consisted of loosely attaching a cylindrical frame on the shank of a worm sufficiently long so that, when the frame came to rest upon the neck of the bottle, continued turning of the handle would cause the cork to rise on the worm. Notice the openings in the frame that let you grab and hold the cork when it's time to remove it from the screw. Press here for more.

From the Collection of Donald A. Bull.
Patented 1862. USA

Surprise

An English variant of the Chinnock. The major difference is the open frame that doesn't slide up the shank. Registered in 1883. Press here for more.

The Surprise. England.

A contemporary, single action corkscrew. The transparent cylinder puts the worm (coated with silicon to reduce friction) in the correct position on the bottle. Rotate the white handle clockwise and the cork will lift up into the transparent cylinder. Now press the button on the left against the cork and turn the handle counter-clockwise to free the cork. Attached to this button is a sharp blade that can cut the foil. Easy to use and very effective. Another Swiss wonder!

Zyliss. Switzerland.

New model from the Zyliss company, redesigned to accommodate the new flanged bottle rims. Teflon worm, cylindrical frame flanged inside to grip the cork. Stands upright on its own, because of broad base. No longer in production.

Zyliss. Switzerland.

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