Nope! I prefer then as well. I don’t think I could ever get myself to spend $200+/- on a corkscrew, but I DO like the idea of one that has what seems to be a solid body. The only issue I have with some of the ones I’ve had has been that the fancy exterior ‘facing’ (usually wood) will come loose. Foil cutters, on the other hand, I love. Is there a Pulltap-style unit out there with a built-in foil cutter like the Boomerang?
No… I would have to survey 3 Formula 1 drivers to see if they would buy a Ferrari… right? But they would have to have driven a minimum of 2000 laps in competition for their answers to be worth something…
Button, Vettel, and, of course, Schumacher all have (or had) Ferraris, and if you really want me to, I’m sure I can find a few more names for your research effort.
Hell, I can even supply the names of a few somms who have Code 38s!
You only spent $250 on your main corkscrew? Jeez, did you pick that up on the way home from the welfare office? I spent more than that on the corkscrew I use for screwtops.
Vettel doesn’t count because he hasn’t run at least 2000 laps in competition to simulate your requirement of opening bottles in your high pressure world of being a professional bottle opener… Gotta have the experience right?
Yeah, it’s pretty, but I’d rather spend my $250 on something else. Like perhaps a great bottle of Burgundy that I’ll open with one of the relatively cheap 2-step screwpulls I’ve got hanging around the house. More power to you if that’s what you like, but the wine tastes the same no matter how you open it.
I really do want to try the “shoe against the wall” method some day. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Someone alert Todd Anderson. I think we have a sucker . . . err, buyer . . . for one of his elaborate Ghost Horse promotions.
Is there any reason to spend that much on such a simple tool other than to show it off?
Don’t hate the player…hate the game.
Ahhh! A sign of intelligent life in this thread! Yes, that was my implication, but the concept is not so radical. Is it that different from appreciating an original Cassatt above a litho reproduction? It’s valuing the original, the genuine, and the authentic, notions at the heart of so many wine discussions. I’m surprised it’s lost on most of the folks in this thread.
I wouldn’t go that far. It’s a great corkscrew, but it ain’t a fuckin’ Ferrari!
I’ve never noticed teflon screws to make any difference whatsoever, aside from making a well-used helix look worn out. I certainly don’t have any trouble at all in driving the worm into the corkscrew; removing molded synthetics from the screw can be a PITA sometimes, but I’ve never associated the difficulty with coated or uncoated screws. So to answer your first question, no, I don’t think the addition of teflon would improve the design, and in fact, I think it would detract from it because of the wear issue. Regarding old/fragile corks, I’ve not used it on one yet, but I don’t expect it should be any different than any helix of similar design. The only improvement I can imagine in this department might be the tapered screw used on the Le Thier Sommelier, but I haven’t used it so don’t know if it really helps to reduce pull-through (on old/fragile) as claimed, or what downsides it may have.
Tutto e possible. One could beautifully incorporate a pickup truck bed on the back of a race car, but that kind of redefines the mission, doesn’t it? I suppose if someone wanted to make the best two-step lever corkscrew in the world, they could do worse than than copying some of the design elements of the Code 38.
Although for righties only, I really like the thumb knob for extending the blade on the Kershaw Sommelier; could that be adapted to the Code 38 while maintaining the integrity (e.g. symmetry) of the design? Would reversing the orientation of the cap remover better utilize the shape of the upper chassis and also make for a more comfortable motion? I don’t know, and I honestly haven’t given the topic enough thought to comment meaningfully. As a refinement of a tried-and-true design, the Code 38 is obviously a very good corkscrew, but I’m sure there are improvements out there that I’ve never even imagined. Perfection? I wouldn’t dare claim to know it.
How much would a perfect corkscrew be worth?
Most of the peeps in this thread trashing Chaad and trashing this tool sound a lot like my Mom comparing her jug wine (at its price) to my wine (at its higher price). Seems rather narrow-minded to me. I don’t have an expensive wine key (do have The Durand for old, fragile corks), but I don’t open bottles many times per day the way many wine pros do. If I did open that many bottles, I can see how a superior tool at $245 could be a “no-brainer” smart investment.
I don’t play golf, but have friends who are weekend duffers carrying around high tech, custom built golf clubs. The hand-machined footpegs on my Ducati cost way more than $245, but they are infinitely adjustable and give perect purchase to the sole of my boot when cornering. I’ll bet most of you have a similar example somewhere in your life, if you’ll stop piling on Chaad long enough to think about it.
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Hardly a fair comparison Lewis. I think a more reasonable comparison is speaker cable. Mcintosh would use cheap lamp cord for their connections (.30 cents a foot. Look up the story, its quite comical) in their listening rooms but the guy who spent hundreds/thousands on kimber, monster or some similarly stupidly expensive wire will of course swear they are superior; they have to, otherwise they would look like complete fools spending that kind of money on something not even test equipment could tell the difference as it relates to human hearing. I mean I guess all of us who use the pulltaps are fools and chaad is the true seer; how else to explain it?
The brilliance of Chaad’s argument is those who don’t agree with him will always be at some level not yet attained by his superior experiences. I mean does the cork screw make the wine taste better?
I can’t believe a community of people with wine collections more valuable than a house and bottles more valuable than a car would crap on a guy for saying he likes an expensive tool.
Bingo.
Enjoying the “We love cheap shit!” pigpile, boys?
If anyone would like to have interesting, intelligent discussion about the Code 38, corkscrews, or anything like that, I’ll be happy to reply.
While I am not sure I can condone the cost of such an item, I must add: I get it.
Many of us have seen the wine-lover who has an extreme opener, either screw-pull or the one mounted to an oak bench made of brass. I myself have seen some interesting openers in the last year. Just recently I have purchased my first ‘real’ Laguiole. it sure is a beautiful item to hold, it is made of burled olive wood; it’s heft and workmanship is second to none. Form and function because, oh yeah, it opens wine bottles. Now, it does not do a better job at opening those bottles, but it sure feels better in my hand as I do so. It’s precise and just plain awesome. Is $150 too much? Possibly. Especially in this day when many can barely feed their family, but collecting is such, and unless you are one, you would never know. I collect Ernest Hemingway first editions, rare printings and criticism. Many would be crazed at some of the pricing of many items the collector seeks. Who’s to judge?
Enjoy the Code 38.
That Laguiole is gorgeous.
Yup, I just lurve the cheap stuff, being a redneck and all.
That’s a stretch.
I would like to think the wine that people drink here tastes better than jug wine or out performs it in some way. Now tell me, does this overpriced corkscrew open bottles better than a regular pulltaps in some way I am not aware of? At least the Durand has a specific use for older corks where as this is just an over priced corkscrew.