Corkscrews! With Knives!

[BradWorld]

I am sure there are lots of wine drinkers here. It is quite a gentlemanly pursuit! And as such, we all need a way to open wine. So for those of us that like pointy sharp things, not just any corkscrew will do! I am talking about corkscrew - knife combinations. And not that dinky little eagles claw foil cutter either. Real blades. Let’s see some really cool corkscrews that can do other cutting duties too. I’ll start!

This is the Gerber Armbar Cork. It is a tactical corkscrew. It’s one of the very few corkscrews inside a multi-tool that has a bottle lever like a true waiter’s corkscrew. Of course the venerable Victorinox Swiss Army Knife often includes a corkscrew. But I have not seen one with a bottle lever. If one exists, please post it here! Have you ever tried to open an actual wine bottle with a SAK? I have and it ain’t easy. With this Gerber, popping a wine cork is quite effortless. Plus theres a nice slicey blade, and a bunch of other useful tools on this thing. The typical Gerber quality completes the package. I got this one for our Airstream camper, and I am really enjoying it! My one minor gripe is that the corkscrew is not indexed at the perpendicular position, which makes it a wee bit harder to get the screw started penetrating the cork. It kind of wobbles around initially. Otherwise this tools is quite perfect.

Here is a manufacturer photo showing all of the tools in the Gerber Armbar Cork:

 

[Multum in parvo]

I am sure there are lots of wine drinkers here. It is quite a gentlemanly pursuit! And as such, we all need a way to open wine. So for those of us that like pointy sharp things, not just any corkscrew will do! I am talking about corkscrew - knife combinations. And not that dinky little eagles claw foil cutter either. Real blades. Let’s see some really cool corkscrews that can do other cutting duties too. I’ll start!

This is the Gerber Armbar Cork. It is a tactical corkscrew. It’s one of the very few corkscrews inside a multi-tool that has a bottle lever like a true waiter’s corkscrew. Of course the venerable Victorinox Swiss Army Knife often includes a corkscrew. But I have not seen one with a bottle lever. If one exists, please post it here! Have you ever tried to open an actual wine bottle with a SAK? I have and it ain’t easy. With this Gerber, popping a wine cork is quite effortless. Plus theres a nice slicey blade, and a bunch of other useful tools on this thing. The typical Gerber quality completes the package. I got this one for our Airstream camper, and I am really enjoying it! My one minor gripe is that the corkscrew is not indexed at the perpendicular position, which makes it a wee bit harder to get the screw started penetrating the cork. It kind of wobbles around initially. Otherwise this tools is quite perfect.

View attachment 1953864

Here is a manufacturer photo showing all of the tools in the Gerber Armbar Cork:

View attachment 1953863

Ask and you shall receive

Behold the venerable Victorinox Wine Master (comes also in an Olive wood version)

Personally a simple Vic Waiter or Spartan will do it for me on the road.

 

[Edgelord]

I bought a Leatherman Flair before a 7 1/2 week trip to Europe. I carried it everywhere. I have been told that this was not allowed, but nobody said anything at the time.

Supposedly, they go for decent money because they were discontinued.

 

[BradWorld]

@Multum in parvo that is a beauty. Thanks for referral! But that is kind of pricey. Funny how I can spend $300 on a knife, but balk at spending half on a corkscrew. lol. Maybe someday!

@Edgelord the Flair is a good corkscrew with a bottle lever. And yes, discontinued… and ridiculously expensive for NOS or even used. The going rate for NOS is around $450 usd right now. Ugh.

Here is a pic for reference. Not mine…

 

[Multum in parvo]

@Multum in parvo that is a beauty. Thanks for referral! But that is kind of pricey. Funny how I can spend $300 on a knife, but balk at spending half on a corkscrew. lol. Maybe someday!

@Edgelord the Flair is a good corkscrew with a bottle lever. And yes, discontinued… and ridiculously expensive for NOS or even used. The going rate for NOS is around $450 usd right now. Ugh.

Here is a pic for reference. Not mine…

View attachment 1954123

Yes the Wine Master is quite a statement piece and I don’t believe hat they sell many. EUR 125.00 is the lowest price that I see on my end.

 

[Edgelord]

@Multum in parvo that is a beauty. Thanks for referral! But that is kind of pricey. Funny how I can spend $300 on a knife, but balk at spending half on a corkscrew. lol. Maybe someday!

@Edgelord the Flair is a good corkscrew with a bottle lever. And yes, discontinued… and ridiculously expensive for NOS or even used. The going rate for NOS is around $450 usd right now. Ugh.

Here is a pic for reference. Not mine…

View attachment 1954123

Here is mine. I have had it for about 25 years.

 

[Legion]

Pretty much the whole wine industry here has changed to screw top, so it has been a long time since I needed a corkscrew. Last time I did I think I used one of my Victorinox.

 

[BradWorld]

Here is another Leatherman with a proper corkscrew and bottle lever… which is also discontinued and ridiculously expensive on the used/NOS market. The Juice CS4. Photo from stock. Not mine. But an interesting option nonetheless.

 

[Edgelord]

The onion/olive fork and the cheese/pate spreader are pretty hilarious.

 

[Legion]

The onion/olive fork and the cheese/pate spreader are pretty hilarious.View attachment 1954430

Personally I'd spend the bit extra to get it in black, so you have a tactical pickle fork and pate spreader.

 

[Edgelord]

Personally I'd spend the bit extra to get it in black, so you have a tactical pickle fork and pate spreader.

Suggest it to leatherman.

 

[DesertIguana]

I only drink Wine at home, have good, big, heavy duty corkscrew. It is a one trick pony, removes Cork well.

 

[BradWorld]

Here’s another full blown multi-tool with what appears to be a proper corkscrew with a sort of improvised bottle lever built into the body of the tool. SOG PowerLitre Mini. Under $50 USD. Looks to have some potential.

 

[BradWorld]

I have one last entry here. At least for now. This is a Laguiole en Aubrac knife with a built in corkscrew that I picked up while walking around Paris one day. Saw a knife shop and went in. The Laguiole knives are really special. They have been hand forging these same knives in this little region in France for hundreds of years. Beautiful. @Multum in parvo has posted Laguiole knives in the EDC thread over the years, which is how I became aware of their existence. So when I saw that store full of Laguiole beauties in a picturesque Paris neighborhood that day, I knew I wasn’t walking out of that store without one. And I wanted one with a corkscrew. There are also super high end Laguiole waiters-style corksscrews as well. Maybe next time! Anyway, this knife is super sharp and slicey. The corksscrew, however, is not ideal. It’s like the corkscrew in the Vic. It’s there to be used in a pinch, when a proper corkscrew is nowhere to found. It does the job. But what a looker, eh?