Wenger disappointment. Backspring distortion

[Mr. Whippy]

Opening wine bottles last evening, I decided to test the LM Juice system, Wenger and Victorinox corkscrews.

The first point is, the Wenger and Vic corkscrews do work better than the LM corkscrew system.

However,

I soon realized that my Wenger S557 had sprung its corkscrew. 





Spork LoLJ is right.  The backsprings appear to be a bit soft (or the brass pin is...)

Needless to say, it's going back in for repairs... 

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

That's a shame Mr. Whippy Does the blade lock still function?

[Mr. Whippy]

Yes, the lock works fine.  If you push on the corkscrew, it pushes up the knife and nail file.

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

Then the shank of the corkscrew itself must be bent. I have a feeling they leave them somewhat soft to prevent them from snapping off.

I've straightened more than a few myself on both Wenger and Victorinox second-hand knives. If you're not up to doing it yourself then the Warranty is the best option. They will probably just swap it out for a new one.

[american lockpicker]

I've used my Wenger S10 corkscrew once and never had any problems.

[shecky]

Then the shank of the corkscrew itself must be bent. I have a feeling they leave them somewhat soft to prevent them from snapping off.

This may be the case. I've had this happen to a couple Vics I've come across. I just straightened them out myself.

That being said, Wenger backsprings tend to be softer than their Vic counterparts.

[Teofilo]

My Wenger 61 w/clip before Christmas:



After opening 3 bottles of red wine:



My Vic waiter after opening a dozen bottles of red wine:



The Vic corkscrew has not changed a bit.
I somehow regret buying the Wenger.

[Mr. Whippy]

My S557 has gone to a backup tool because of this. 

In Wenger's defense, they sent me a new knife in less than 2 weeks door to door, but honestly, they need a better corkscrew.   

[Teofilo]

My S557 has gone to a backup tool because of this. 

In Wenger's defense, they sent me a new knife in less than 2 weeks door to door, but honestly, they need a better corkscrew.   

Fortunately for you, Mr. Whippy, the warranty applies in your country. Back here is a different story.

[Mr. Whippy]

My S557 has gone to a backup tool because of this. 

In Wenger's defense, they sent me a new knife in less than 2 weeks door to door, but honestly, they need a better corkscrew.   

Fortunately for you, Mr. Whippy, the warranty applies in your country. Back here is a different story.

Do you get any warranty on that?  Geeze, it seems pretty hard to justify NOT repairing that. With the corkscrew sticking out, it's virtually useless for pocket carry.

[Paul]

If it's not gunked up (i've cleaned a vic up so it snaps back) it's anoying and can catch on clothing and skin etc

[Gareth]

My S557 has gone to a backup tool because of this. 

In Wenger's defense, they sent me a new knife in less than 2 weeks door to door, but honestly, they need a better corkscrew.   

Fortunately for you, Mr. Whippy, the warranty applies in your country. Back here is a different story.

Really mate?  I don't know why it wouldn't be covered.  I'd get in touch with Wenger directly and ask them about it.

BTW I have a older Waiter that has exactly the same bent corkscrew so it can happen to Vic's as well.  That doesn't mean it should happen just by opening three bottles of wine though.

[Teofilo]

My S557 has gone to a backup tool because of this. 

In Wenger's defense, they sent me a new knife in less than 2 weeks door to door, but honestly, they need a better corkscrew.   

Fortunately for you, Mr. Whippy, the warranty applies in your country. Back here is a different story.

Really mate?  I don't know why it wouldn't be covered.  I'd get in touch with Wenger directly and ask them about it.

BTW I have a older Waiter that has exactly the same bent corkscrew so it can happen to Vic's as well.  That doesn't mean it should happen just by opening three bottles of wine though.

Please do, Gareth. Thanks.
Here, Wenger knives are sold by watch/jewelry stores that sells Wenger watches.

[Magnus]

aren't Wenger and Victorinox essentially the same company now anyway?

[Gareth]

aren't Wenger and Victorinox essentially the same company now anyway?

The impression I have is that, while they have the same owners, they are still run as separate entities.  I'm sure someone else can be more specific though.

[Grant Lamontagne]

No, Gareth, that's pretty well the bottom line....

Def

[North Man]

Hi

Have only opened a few winebottles with my Vic Explorer and Compact. They are unharmed Not sure if you people have noticed that many wine bottles has a new material for the cork. The older ones was real cork(atleast i think so). Some of the new bottles has a cork made of a plastic/rubber that require more strenght to open gives a real pop!! I used the Vic Compact on one of them and no damage at all. maybe a stronger wine opener will have to be made atleast by Wenger.

NM

[DaveK]

Oh, how they mocked the Flair, but I bet it's smiling secretly to itself now....

Good points about being made deliberately soft to avoid snapping, and also those new rubbery corks that seem to be getting popular - could be a combination of the two maybe?

That said, I've opened loads of bottles of wine with a Vic corkscrew and suffered no ill effects. You do get a feeling of them being a bit vulnerable though, and they are quite hard work comparatively. I got bought one of those monster "professional" corkscrews for Christmas a couple of years ago, which I always use if at home these days.

Teofilo - you should definitely contact Wenger about that - it surely must be covered!

[Santos]

i'm not a wine drinker, but here in australia corked bottles are getting rare.
Most are screwtops, some a synthetic cork. The dearer brands tend to be scewtop
Laugh all you want but a wine-loving friend said its a god send. Since most people don't know how to treat corked wine it stops her from having to be polite drinking an expensive label that now taste like vinegar...

Viva-la-Backspring-Phillips 

[edap617]

My Wenger 61 w/clip before Christmas:

After opening 3 bottles of red wine:

(Image removed from quote.)

Gene, I have opened more than a dozen of red wine with my Wenger Evo with no damage to the corkscrew. I always see to it that the pulling force I apply is perfectly alligned to the wine bottle.  

[edap617]

I suggest you just bend it back, Gene.

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

This is how I fix the problem. The tang of the corkscrew must be firmly clamped in a vise.

The area that gets bent is the junction of the tang and worm, it usually doesn't take much tweaking to fix the problem.

[Mr. Whippy]

This is how I fix the problem. The tang of the corkscrew must be firmly clamped in a vise.

The area that gets bent is the junction of the tang and worm, it usually doesn't take much tweaking to fix the problem.

Good picture.

My only problem with that is, how many times can you do that before the worm cracks right off the tang?

IMO, it is a production flaw.

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

This is how I fix the problem. The tang of the corkscrew must be firmly clamped in a vise.

The area that gets bent is the junction of the tang and worm, it usually doesn't take much tweaking to fix the problem.

Good picture.

My only problem with that is, how many times can you do that before the worm cracks right off the tang?

IMO, it is a production flaw.

It happens to both Vic and Wengers...I've tweaked at least a dozen of them. Like I said, it doesn't take much to bring it back to true, it looks like you would have to bend a lot more than you really do. If it does finally snap off there's always the warranty to fall back on.

Of all the used and junker knives I've been through I don't recall any with broken corkscrews at that point.

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

Of all the used and junker knives I've been through I don't recall any with broken corkscrews at that point.

I take that back...I've had a few junker 108 GAKs with broken worms...and reamers 

[shecky]

Of all the used and junker knives I've been through I don't recall any with broken corkscrews at that point.

I take that back...I've had a few junker 108 GAKs with broken worms...and reamers 

I bought a couple used GAKs from a local surplus dealer a few years ago. They simply had a big box full, you fished around for the one you wanted. All makes, Vic, Adler, etc. the most interesting thing is that they were all used pretty hard. Every one had a bent/broken knife tip, as if they used it as a screwdriver/paint can opener. Most had been bent roughly back into shape or had a tip crudely ground back. Most seemed to have taken a mud bath and quickly hosed off. I recall a few had broken/bent corkscrews and awls. Made me wonder what the troops were taught to use them for, as the damage was so uniform.