I'm breaking screw-pulls!!

In the last 6 months, I've broken 2 screw-pulls, one a pocket style and the other a style that fits in a stand-up plastic case. In both cases the broken part is the handle that fits into the square hole and both offending corks were from German wines, which I find ecpecially strange. I have just fashioned a wooden turn handle out of Bruce flooring, very strong, so I'll test it tonight. Has anyone else broken this type if opener?

Jim,
I've never broken s screwpull. But I have heard reports/rumors that they do a decent job of standing behind their products, so you just might want to give them a call and explain your experience(s). 877.273.8738
Bill
Post edited to add Ph#

I've broken 2 in the last few months.

The first was the original design that served me well for nearly 10 years before giving up the ghost....



My replacement 3-in-1 crumbled only after a only few months.....



Bad design!

[Robin Garr]

Has anyone else broken this type if opener?

Sure have! I demolished two this way, Jim ... if I recall correctly, both on small-bore, tightly fitted Italian wines. That's when I went back to the basic, foolproof waiter's model to stay. After you set aside all the cool gimmicks out there, there's nothing more functional around, with extra credit if you go with the two-stage lever Pulltap model.

I guess I have some company. Maybe I'll drop them an E-mail or call and see if they can just replace the turn handle.

I have a 2-gear Pulltap bought chez Chapoutier in Tain that works fine. With the money I saved on a cheap wine opener I got some nice hubcaps and bumber stickers for my wine rack.

We have one exactly like the first one Alan shows. We use it for pulling corks with no problems. For synthetics, composites, plastics, and all others we use a monster maul, that is a waiters pal that measures at least a half inch across. That will yank anything.

Same thing happened to me once and once to my brother. I've rarely used a Screwpull since then and now usually use a waiter's friend or ah-so.

It's happened to me only once, with a 15 year old Screwpull, versus an exceptionally stuck and long Bordeaux cork. A waiter's-type lever screw later succeeded in only drilling a hole through the cork. An Ah-So style opener eventually pushed the cork into the bottle, which was a positive development only in that it let me decant the bottle contents, albeit clumsily.

I have to confess that my cork remover of choice these days is a "waiter's friend" lever-type that I got from a Loire producer in Sancerre. I have a Screwpull that I use on mushy Port corks, or in other situations where I think the lever-type won't work.

As a last resort, there's always sabering.

-Paul W.

I like the gas type for regular corks and the waiter's friend composite and synthetic. Composite corks are more like synthetic corks than natural cork. They hold the volitale oak aroma and they are b... to take out.

Composites and synthetics also peel the Teflon off your worm; that's the main reason why we don't use a Screwpull on them.

Never had a problem with the worm or handle part, but the frame part of the screwpull (the part that is held tightly to the neck of the bottle) has given us some problems. Over the years in my household we have broken two screwpull frames.

Salute

A friend of mine solved that problem for me with a "professional strength" table-mounted cork puller he gave me as a birthday gift.

To wit:

Tim,
Like you, I have one of the Estate table mounted openers, the chrome one. I love the size and feel of the thing. More importantly, it has never failed me, even when it comes to re-corking. It is currently mounted on the edge of a shelf in my cellar.