Am I Damaging my Knife's Corkscrew?

[RoboYeti]

I love my Wenger Evo S10, but I'm worried I may be causing some damage to the backspring. I searched the forum and I haven't seen an answer to my question, so I signed up to see if anybody could put my mind at ease.

When I use the corkscrew to open a bottle of wine, it is extremely difficult to pull the cork straight out. I find it is much easier if I screw it in as far as possible, then partially close the corkscrew, using the knife body as a lever against the glass bottle rim. This pulls the cork up a little bit, and makes pulling the cork straight out the rest of the way much easier. My question is, could doing this be causing damage to the knife?

I previously had a Wenger Adirondack which I used this way many times, and eventually the corkscrew started to become loose. It would stay closed, but would flop around when open. This knife had really heavy use though, which makes me think the corkscrew problem could have been caused by something else. So far, my S10's corkscrew seems perfectly undamaged, having opened 2 or 3 bottles this way.

I hope it isn't causing any damage to the knife, otherwise I will have to give up using it to open wine bottles, since it's so darn hard to pull out the cork otherwise.

[J Mackrel Jones]

"Corkscrew: Just start the point in near the center of the cork and turn; the corkscrew will naturally follow its point on in. The hardest part of pulling the cork is to first get it moving, that first millimeter. This can be done easily by turning the corkscrew all the way down, until the back of the SAK is on top of the bottle. Lever the body of the knife a bit against the top of the bottle, as if starting to close the corkscrew (along the length of the knife, not sideways) to start the cork. This will put a small dent in the alox divider, but now you’ve got a veteran SAK. Then hold the bottle between your feet and pull straight up. Try not to hit yourself in the face. Sommeliers say to turn the bottle and not the cork, so maybe don’t put it between your feet in a French restaurant."   
The SAK Owner's Manual, 2011 - "not an owner's manual originating with the manufacturer"
I don't think using the corkscrew this way damages the backspring any.

[AimlessWanderer]

The tricky part is getting enough force in both directions at the same time, but with a little cunning and use of physics you only need to be providing one of these forces. After screwing the corkscrew into the cork, the bottle can be elevated and whirled around the head whilst holding tightly onto the knife itself. Centrifugal force will provide the necessary force to pull the bottle off the cork, leaving said cork on the corkscrew for easy removal. Please be aware slippage of bottle contents may occur.

Note: Humour was involved in this tutorial, and any attempt to comply with these directions is probably an indication you need your scrotum ironing

 

[twiliter]

I usually screw the corkscrew until it the knife body makes contact, then twist the cork a bit before pulling. Sometimes between feet is best on the tough ones as it prevents spillage, but mostly a spin/pull move works best on most bottles (in my experience anyhow). 

[Steinar]

The tricky part is getting enough force in both directions at the same time, but with a little cunning and use of physics you only need to be providing one of these forces. After screwing the corkscrew into the cork, the bottle can be elevated and whirled around the head whilst holding tightly onto the knife itself. Centrifugal force will provide the necessary force to pull the bottle off the cork, leaving said cork on the corkscrew for easy removal. Please be aware slippage of bottle contents may occur.

Excellent advice! I've always wondered why I always get a complimentary bottle of wine when I buy cork.

That said, I don't think using the knife as leverage damages the corkscrew. My own method is always pulling with the shoulder, not the arm. Hold the bottle with both arms pretty much straight (so you can lock the elbow in the hand holding the bottle, and have a straight arm for pulling for the hand holding the SAK), and use the muscles in the shoulder, not your arms, to pull. The shoulders are very much stronger than the arms.

[kirk13]

I'm in shock!

Somebody's actually using the corkscrew to take a cork out of a wine bottle!

Welcome to the forum by the way!

[Gareth]

The only thing I would be a little worried about is damaging the aluminium liners here:



OK, this is a pic of a Victorinox liner, but IIRC the Wenger one has the hole even closer to the edge of the liner.  It would certainly explain why your older SAK got loose, with the liner cracked/hole enlarged the pressure on the backspring would be slack and it would let the corkscrew wobble as you described.

I'm not saying don't do it, just be a little cautious.  Oh, and welcome to the forum.

[ColoSwiss]

Actually you shouldn't be using a corkscrew at all. You should be removing the bottle top with a SABRE! 

http://www.foodrepublic.com/2011/12/22/how-saber-champagne-bottle

Welcome to the forum!

[J Mackrel Jones]

Even this is dealt with in the SAK Owner's Manual -
"Deftly knock the ringed top off the neck with a hatchet, sliding lengthwise along a seam on the neck; (Sam Arnolds of The Fort, Morrison; less classy joints use a saber; but note: this applies only to champagne or sparkling wine)"