What's the best corkscrew/wine key?

I was checking out the Code38. $600+ for the titanium Elite. Yikes!

What brand do you recommend? Pulltex Pulltap, Laguiole, Trudeau, Hi-Coup, Coutale, Le Creuset, True Fabrications. Then there's the Brabantia/ Le Creuset table model, the ah-so, the Durand, the rabbit lever openers, the vertical lever openers, the electric openers. Does price matter? What style and brand is easiest and most durable? I tried to do research and got hit with corkscrew OCD.

A sword?

We bought a Le Creuset many years ago and when it broke (the gear to rack casting fractured) I contacted Le Creuset to see if I could purchase a replacement part. They told me that my original purchase for the "Screw Pull" was warrantied and they asked me to send in the broken opener. The replacement came in a few weeks and was not any near as sturdy as the original. The replacement broke after two years and I just sent that one in for replacement - the new and improved made in China Screw Pull wine openers are nowhere near as good as the Original.

Standard waiter's corkscrew is all you really need

Wanting something fancy is a totally different question. The rabbits work well. I've used electrics and they are a waste in my opinion. Take up space, need to be charged, kinda cheaply made, and are really not necessary nor provide any 'wow' factor. http://www.japaneseknifedirect.com/ has some fancier waiter's corkscrews w/nicer wood & damascus blades if that's what you're looking for.

Here's the $600 corkscrew:
http://www.code38.com/shop/elite-series/code38-elite-series-titanium

This one is awesome:
https://thedurand.com/how-to-use-the-durand/

This is what I got. Because I'm cheap:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MSXW15E/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

But why need a corkscrew if you have a blowtorch, a sneaker, or a key?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KFlzup4U7lg

I like the le Creuset one.

I use a Georg Jensen. It's alright. I wish the foil cutter was sharper.

Why I hesitate to buy Le Creuset - see attached photo (this is my third failure).

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I bought a double hinged one off Amazon. Made in China, came with a wine stopper and a aerator as "gifts" for $6.95. On mine the foil cutter is a nail breaker; way, way, waaaaay too tight. I can't open it unless I put something on the sharp side to force it open. I don't really care because you can simply pull the foil off with your hand instead of cutting it - I am not a waiter, so there's no need for any type of show. The actual corkscrew function works great, it's almost effortless to pull corks. It looks like the Hi Coup linked above, but mine is logo free, which is IMO, a bonus. To me, it seems that all the fatter double hinged corkscrews you see are probably the same, or very close, with very slight design variations (private label logo, cross hatching or smooth lever, handle material). I bought someone else an unbranded one, but from a different vendor - looked to be exactly like the one I bought myself, but different scales, and this one had a foil cutter that wasn't a nail breaker. The fat ones all seem to have a spring loaded two step lever.

I also got a TrueTap Timber (I think that was the name). Was like $8.99. Foil cutter isn't a nail breaker, but the lever and handle are slightly misaligned. Also made in China. I picked that one instead of the other TrueTap models because I don't see the point of the non stick coating (or maybe just black paint) on the worm - I feel like it's probably just going to flake off anyway. FWIW, there are pictures of corkscrews that look like the TrueTaps with the worms all hilariously bent out of shape. Despite being made in China and appearing to be the same design, you would hope the actual TrueTaps are better made. TrueTap also offers the fat type like above. Fake edit - found it - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F13DCV0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 . I think it looks worse (cheap looking) in person than it does in the picture.

Unless you need to impress someone or just want something nice for yourself, I don't see any real reason to spend the money on a (made in France) Laguiole, and certainly not the Code 38.

Jack, i was referring to the key, not the fancy one.

i use and LOVE this freebie i got from some winery in Tuscany. i bought some crazy expensive balsamic and they wine guy tossed it to me when he finished using it to pull a cork.

the thing is plastic, has a sharp foil cutter, and that two stage thing that allows you two moves to pull a cork. i ALMOST lost it flying into Munich. i had it in my pocket. the TS-equivialent shrugged and handed it back to me.

panda said:

Jack, i was referring to the key, not the fancy one.

Click to expand...

I guess I have to acknowledge that Le Creuset did send me a new replacement (free of charge) and all I had to pay was the cost of shipping the old one back to them (~$6)

I have a pretty olive wood wine key that my father brought back to me from France (I think it is Laguiole, but maybe not).

Browsing around Jon's site and came across this, which I'm sure would do the trick for anyone in the market: https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/products/diamond-wood-wine-key

I always liked the 2-prong wine openers. They're cheap and I never found a bottle that I couldn't open.

All you need is the doubke hinge waiters friend. The foil knife is useless. That is why we have hands. 95% of foils can just be twisted off.

Plus screw caps are the way to go anyway 😁

HomeCook said:

I was checking out the Code38. $600+ for the titanium Elite. Yikes!

Click to expand...

The materials don't justify the cost, but it's a pretty neat looking tool.

Truetap basic model for me. Cheap (~$5) and sturdy. It's been great for years.

I've been using a gas charged model for years at home and love the simplicity of it and have never had a cork failure: http://wineenthusiast.com/cork-pops-wine-bottle-opener.asp

When going out to BYO, picnics or friends house, I always have a manual key with so I'm always guaranteed to be able to open the bottle. I am disappointed with the hinge/operation in the context of the size and reach of the operation of the lever. A double hinged lever would fix this, but Overall build quality is solid though: http://quickclickusa.com/

From my experience, the Durand is the most versatile one. Here in Alsace (east of France) we use the helix for 85% of the time, and the blades for the old cork of the old wine, without the helix by the way...

I got a Pulltaps from Trader Joe's back before they got what look like MiC ones with their logo screened on it.

Works great and compact. Not a real Spanish Pulltaps but it seems sturdy enough.

French loafer?:

[video=youtube;YAx2TXt1v_I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAx2TXt1v_I[/video]

I like these. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001ARYJNG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Nice clean cut.