# Do you own a cork screw? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 15, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560 "2009-03-15T22:39:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Surok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@Surok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surok)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/61 "2009-03-17T13:28:59Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > \ > > Not owning a cork screw is like not owning some other piece of assumed household tools: > > \ > > a pair of channel-locks > > \ \ Channel-locks? What is this? \ And yes, I own a cork screw. After several months in a student dorm opening wine with a fork or a dish-cloth, I tired of the pursuit, and decided that a corkscrew was a good thing to have around. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/62 "2009-03-17T14:00:17Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > I am not sure what it says about us. Do people consider us winos? No, that’s reserved for when all of your household glassware consists of cut-down wine bottles. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/63 "2009-03-17T14:44:02Z")
I’ve got at least two, maybe three. We drink a couple of bottles of wine a week, on average. I also know how to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew, in a pinch. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/64 "2009-03-17T14:50:07Z")
> [@Surok](#): > > Channel-locks? What is this? It’s a [brand of adjustable pliers](http://www.channellock.com). I think I have three corkscrews counting the one on a swiss army knife. I was given one of the fancy rabbit corkscrews as a gift, but never use it, since a cheap waiter’s corkscrew works fine for me. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/65 "2009-03-17T15:01:19Z")
In the Chefguy household, we just break off the neck and strain the broken glass through our teeth. Wine doesn’t breath around here; we just give it mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/66 "2009-03-17T15:07:33Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > In the Chefguy household, we just break off the neck and strain the broken glass through our teeth. Wine doesn’t breath around here; we just give it mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/67 "2009-03-17T16:34:49Z")
We have a couple, I think. Mostly, I use a “rabbit” style corkscrew I bought at a bargain price shortly after I got married. I should note that I am not a drinker. I honestly can’t remember the last time I tasted alcohol. However, I do like showing off, and the ease with which the rabbit removes a cork always astounds. And my wife likes wine, so it’s all good. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/68 "2009-03-17T17:06:14Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Two in the kitchen, one in the camping gear, one on each pocket knife, and one in the bedroom. “One in the bedroom”? What kind of crazy stuff is going on in the **tomndebb** house? Don’t answer that. I have to confess the question “Do you own a corkscrew?” struck me as being akin to “Do you own a fork?” But then it did occur that not everyone drinks wine. Sweet, sweet wine. In my case, the answer is “yes”: A fancy one that you fit over the bottle and then push down on and pull up on for cork extraction, which was a gift and which I cannot successfully deploy because I’m so profoundly left-handed; a butterfly one that gets the most use; a small one that folds in on itself that I use when I can’t find the butterfly one; and a small one on a Swiss army knife that I’ve never actually used because I have the other two. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/69 "2009-03-17T17:59:00Z")
I own three: one that is part of a multi-functional bottle opener (it works for shit, but I guess it would be better than nothing), one “standard” cheapie model, and one that has the “wings” that ‘fly up’ as you twist it down, then you press on the ‘wings’ and it pulls the cork out of the bottle. I drink wine with dinner almost every night (part of the fun of being the cook in the house is deciding which wine to serve with dinner), and use the third just about nightly. I have yet to get a ‘foil cutter’, though; I usually just slice it open with a steak knife. Probably I’m declasse. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/70 "2009-03-17T18:07:33Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > I own three: one that is part of a multi-functional bottle opener (it works for shit, but I guess it would be better than nothing), one “standard” cheapie model, and one that has the “wings” that ‘fly up’ as you twist it down, then you press on the ‘wings’ and it pulls the cork out of the bottle. I call that last model the “I Surrender!” corkscrew. Looks like a little dude with his hands up. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/71 "2009-03-17T18:13:51Z")
Two of them. We don’t drink a lot, but about twice a year we open a bottle that needs a corkscrew. Once at New Year’s. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/72 "2009-03-17T18:42:22Z")
I got a Rabbit as a housewarming gift (that was from you, **psycat90** , wasn’t it?). We probably have another one somewhere, but that’s the one we use. Well, that _I_ use, since I’m the only one who drinks wine, and not that often. That tree technique is very good to know. There’ve been many a time at Dolores Park where we had wine but no (good) way to get at it. > [@Max\_Torque](#): > > I call that last model the “I Surrender!” corkscrew. Looks like a little dude with his hands up. See I think he’s just really excited about the soon-to-be-open bottle of wine. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/73 "2009-03-17T18:45:11Z")
Oh, and a member of my wine club found [this](http://www.flickr.com/photos/troymccluresf/3172402969/) in the attic of their old house. We’ve gotten some use out of that, too. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/74 "2009-03-17T18:45:35Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > I call that last model the “I Surrender!” corkscrew. Looks like a little dude with his hands up. That’s fitting. Usually, when I _open_ a bottle of wine, I’m surrendered to the idea of finishing it by bedtime. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/75 "2009-03-17T18:51:45Z")
> [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](#): > > Oh, and a member of my wine club found [this](http://www.flickr.com/photos/troymccluresf/3172402969/) in the attic of their old house. We’ve gotten some use out of that, too. Whoa, that’s awesome. And yep, the Rabbit was from Demo and me. ---
**Author:** ![Creaky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Creaky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creaky)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/76 "2009-03-17T21:21:57Z")
I have a nice snazzy red corkscrew I got from Target a couple of years ago. But man, if I didn’t have a corkscrew and I needed to open a bottle of wine, I could do it! I opened bottles of wine in college with a Bic pen on several occasions. Career alcoholism is the mother of invention. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/77 "2009-03-18T01:53:38Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > …which I cannot successfully deploy because I’m so profoundly left-handed… I have a left-handed one that is otherwise conventional (those two handles on the sides that rise up as the screw goes down into the cork) but nobody \*else \*can use it 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/78 "2009-03-18T08:59:26Z")
There may be a corkscrew behind the bar in the basement which belonged to my grandfather (I’m the third generation to live in my house) but it’s nothing that I or my parents ever made use of. (Second generation teetotaler here.) There are also other bar implements (ice bucket, shot glasses, etc.) back there, I’m sure, but I’m not trying to move the behemoth thing (it’s not built into anything, just a heavy, space-taking piece of furniture that we should really sell) to find out. ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/79 "2009-03-18T12:16:16Z")
Yes. Is that some kind of pick-up line? ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560/80 "2009-03-18T19:49:13Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Do you own a cork screw (or something similar?) > > IOW, If someone dropped by with a bottle of wine, would you be able to get it open? Yes, I do. But, once upon a time, before I learned to cook with wine (still don’t like to drink it much,) I invited a friend of my husband’s to have dinner with us while his wife was out of town. I told him I was making lasagna, so like any well-bred boy, he brought a bottle of wine. 😉 I had no corkscrew. So he, and my husband, being clever electrician dudes, drove a dry-wall screw part-way into the cork, and pulled it out with a pair of pliers. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-cork-screw/489560.md?page=5)