Thanks for this! I just wonder where is room for the Ah So with this opener’s plastic case?
For storage? Doubt it. I tossed the mostly useless plastic case. The Le Creuset pocket model doesn’t take up much space and the pointy end of the worm isn’t exposed when it’s in its collapsed, assembled storage configuration.
It’s not a problem to throw it in a wine bag with an Ah-So. Most of the time it sits unassembled in a kitchen drawer.
If you’re asking if there’s room for the Ah-so when opening a bottle, the answer is yes. Not as much as with the Durand. Angling the worm a bit when inserting it leaves more room for the Ah-so.
I’ve thought about using a Dremel to cut off part of the square plastic block at the top of the worm, but haven’t tried it. Or bending the worm 90 degrees just below the plastic block… it would still be long enough.
Yes
No, I was using something more like this at the time, which might be a bit lower profile.
I didn’t think of this. It’s a great idea, maybe better than what I suggested.
I tried the shortcuts and they were all a pain in the ass. The cost of the Durand was minimal compared to feeling confident that the treasured old bottle of wine that I have either paid a lot for and/or have cellared for many years and is being opened for a special occasion won’t get fubar’d. ymmv.
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yes, the square plastic block at the top of the worm is what I meant. with a regular key/waiter’s corkscrew you don’t have that problem right?
Don’t worry so much about the brand of either the ah so or the corkscrew.
I have inexpensive versions (<$10) of both the ah so and waiter’s corkscrew and have used the combination successfully many, many times before getting my Durand. In fact, I opened an 1899 Barolet bottle in 2015 using the combination. After that, I never worried about another bottle again.
Go to your local liquor store and get the waiter’s style with the thinnest teflon-coated worm they have. IMO this is more important than the length, as the worm holds the cork so the ah so does not push the cork down, so the less friction the better. Once the worm is inserted, any inexpensive ah so will work. You just need to be PATIENT during the process and don’t rush it.
Sometimes the cork is going to win, no matter what. I have a bunch of these filters and always have a couple in my wine bag, just in case…
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Thanks! My liquor store doesn’t sell wine gear, unfortunately. any chance you could recommend a brand/model for such a waiter’s key with a teflon-coated worm? so far the hicoup has been advised. I also want to get a funnel and sieve, but I’ll ask about that later or in another thread.
I’ve used an Ah So and opened up 40-50 year old bottles with just the Ah so and no worm/corkscrew and been fine
I have multiple of both Pulltap and Truetap, the latter of which has a slightly thinner worm. You should be able to find both for less than $10. Prior to the Durand, I used both successfully paired with ah so style openers. Of the two-pronged styles, I have had some cheap ones…
I have a couple of Franmara (here: Franmara Wine Cork Puller - WebstaurantStore) two-pronged openers that work just fine. If an arm bends, which happens, just bend it back a little.
Really, there’s no need to stress about particular brands, especially at these price points. Unless you’re talking Durand, in my opinion, you’re overthinking it…relax- it’s just wine. 
The thickness of the handle on most waiter’s corkscrews is thicker than the plastic block atop the Le Creuset worm, leaving less of the Ah-So prong to penetrate if you go straight in without angling them. The handle on the waiter’s is bulkier. And the Le Creuset worm is much longer.
Here’s a photo of the waiter’s corkscrew with the lowest profile in my “collection” (a Pulltaps) with the Le Creuset worm next to it, with the tops of the worms aligned.
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Thanks so much, I think I’ll get a waiter’ s corkscrew, an Ah So, and the Le Creuset Pocket Model Wine Opener. Still not decided if it’s gonna be a HiCoup, Pulltap, or Truetap for the waiter’s key. I think I’ll soon pester the board with a thread about funnels and sieves, as well as dishwashable decanters
I’ve never used my Durand for a bottle less than about 40 years old. If you have problems with 10-20 year old corks, they were poorly stored. After 20 years of pristine provenance, the cork is hardly a couple of millimeters saturated.
This grosses people out, but they’re cheap and effective:
https://www.amazon.com/Calculi-Strainer-Collector-Straining-Analysis/dp/B0D31RNBF3
I learned the technique a year or two before the Durand came out. Short version is, for me, my Chateau Laguiole plus a Monopol ah-so work slightly better than a Durand. I’ve done this with many other waiters corkscrews and different ah-sos and those range from slightly worse to a lot worse than a Durand.
The Hi-Coup shown above is wide and clunky, which is exactly what you don’t want for this. (For general use, and with its hinged lever, it looks good.)
For this, you want a slim corkscrew. A long worm and a sharp tip are always a plus. (The original Durand was too short.) A Le Creuset worm (just the worm) was one of those tools that were handy to have around to retrieve cork portions, like if the last little bit didn’t come up. Think I used one once with an ah-so a very long time ago.
Design details are important. There are quite good very low priced waiters corkscrews and ah-sos. There are also clumsy, poorly designed expensive ones. I think we covered what’s wanted in a waiters corkscrew. An ah-so should have the right curve and be slim, to fit easily between the neck and cork. I’ve seen thick, v-shaped and so forth. Those could push a cork in, if used alone, and can tear up the cork and just be clumsy.
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Thanks for this. The Chateau Laguiole is out of my price range.
I will get a Monopol ah-so and the Le Creuset Pocket Model Wine Opener. Do you have a link for a Le Creuset worm (just the worm)?
With regards to the waiter’s key/waiter’s corkscrew, Pulltap and Truetap were mentioned. Can you recommend a pulltap model?
Me too. A well-made Ah-So is a great tool, but there are bottles, even young-ish ones, that can stymie it.
I’ve seen 20-30 yo bottles with loose corks that start to drop into the bottle upon insertion of an Ah-So. Typically bottles of unknown prior storage conditions. It happens sometimes. In those circumstances, it’s helpful to have a Durand or equivalent. That way you can insert the worm first to support the cork. Start the worm insertion with primarily lateral pressure, not downward pressure, and the bottle on its side. A loose cork can almost always be removed successfully that way. The Ah-So component may be unnecessary.
I’ve had 10-15 yo bottles with perfect storage since release whose corks were so brittle they fractured below the Ah-So prongs. Pretty sure these corks were either defective or treated in some way that made them like that since they were all from the same producer within a few years. I go straight to the Durand on those.
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Any recommendations of Pulltex/Pulltap/Truetap waiter’s corkscrews that can be used together with a Westmark Monopol Ah So and that I can order in Germany? Most of the models, which were recommended in the thread, seem to be available only in the US. I am based in Germany, however.
That’s what I found so far:
https://www.amazon.de/Kellnerkorkenzieher-HiCoup-Multifunktionaler-Premium-Korkenzieher-Folienschneider/dp/B072FR6SHB?th=1
Apparently this does not work well with an Ah So, though.