Best wine device I have ever bought (apart from glasses from which to drink wine). An absolute must for opening older wines.
everyone wants a longer worm.
For the old corks where a slight tap will send it straight into the bottle, stand up the bottle and find a small object you can krazy-glue to the top of the cork as a handle. 3 or 4 hours later you can just yank it out, cork and all. It’s kludgy but it works.
The Durand’s never failed me.
Love the superglue suggestion.
Size isn’t important, it’s how big it is.
Are you trying to say width is more important than length?
IAC, it isn’t width or length that counts, it’s how you use it. 
more durand love: have one in nyc, one in telluride, and have given them as many a happy gift. don’t leave home without it.
never had a length problem with mine. 
I made my own:
Time to bring Port tongs to dinner, Jay.
Love the Duran. Not only for older bottles, but every time I have difficulty opening a bottle with a broken cork, stuck cork, etc., I stop and switch to the Durand. Works like a charm. If I lost mine today, I would replace it.
So far, never a problem getting corks out from older bottles with the Durand. Friday night an 82 La Tour Haut Brion and a 77 Taylor VP came out with ease.
I was fortunate to be a guest at Mark’s penthouse and addition to viewing his amazing art collection, I was able to see his invention in use. I ordered one from him and can attest to the fact that it is the best device to remove difficult corks.
I used to do it that way, and I upgraded a year back. It was well worth the added cost for the really difficult corks.
I don’t use it all that much but when I need it, I need it…that said, I happen to think that for the price and effort that went into design, the worm should have most definitely been longer - in fact when I first got it, I was surprised - sure fine for many/most of the old style short corks but not ideal otherwise. Didn’t need to be much longer but an extra bit would make it so much more effective in my opinion.
That’s what I do, except that I use the worm from an old screwpull which has lost its end. Very effective indeed.
Tom,
So, just the worm? How do you get it in far enough?
I also have done the combination of a cheaper ah-so+waiter’s corkscrew. The Durand is a heck of a lot better than that, with a higher success rate for me. The worm goes in with a lot less force, which is important for really fragile corks, and the ah-so part works a lot better than those cheap ones. I think this tool is worth every penny for those who open older bottles even just once in a while. I thought it was almost worth it just for one large event where it got used on quite a few older bottles.
Momma mia, mine arrived here in Neive yesterday! ($15 international shipping and less than 2 weeks door-to-door, plus, as an added bonus, Italian customs did not steal it, perhaps because they could not figure out what it was!) I am thinking about ordering more for Christmas gifts for the owners of my favorite ristoranti that harbor old Baroli in their cantinas, and thus, must be sucked up to…
+1 Its a great device for sure.
Damn you people. (Off to Rare Wine)