Metrokane Six Piece Houdini Wine Tool & Stand

Not to be dense, but… well, I’ll be dense. How is the corkscrew an improvement over what I’ve got in my back pocket?

(Bear in mind that having it in my back pocket is sometimes important…)

You are much less likely to need this corkscrew in a prison fight.

Having used both (and almost never in a prison fight), I’d say the bigger one is a lot easier for the novice (e.g. my wife) than the shiv. It’s also much faster.

2nded and thirded. I’ve owned several similarly-designed openers - most recently from Sharper Image. At the top of the drive there’s a ring with a crossbar going across it which guides the spiral into the cork. During opening, it is under tremendous pressure as it is fighting the cork and the spiral. In the version I owned, which I must stress was not Houdini, this ring was plastic. After about 60 bottles it snapped, and to the best of my knowledge cannot be replaced. My inlaws had another similar design from another different manufacturer, same problem.

Would be nice to know from someone who has this model if 1) that same part exists in their design, and 2) it’s made out of plastic. If so, I doubt the claim of 20K bottles.

a) takes a few seconds to open the bottle
b) it’s easy and uses very little effort or force
c) the corkscrew comes off just as easy as it came out of the bottle
d) because it grips onto the bottle, it’s harder to accidentally damage the bottle or tip it over
e) the foil cutter makes it easy to remove the foil

yeah, it’s not as easy to carry around, but aside from that it certain makes opening bottles MUCH easier.

To those who’ve never used one, it looks terribly complicated, so I’ll spell it out just in case anyone is wondering how it works:

  1. Squeeze handles on bottle neck
  2. Push lever down
  3. Pull lever up
  4. Repeat 2 and 3 to release cork

I can open a bottle in about two seconds. It’s really pretty neat.

I heard Metrokane posted 178 negative reviews on other corkscrews on corth.com.

WineDavid,
Why the 2 day shipping? I’m not complaining, just curious!

Oh, now if it could guarantee I’d never be in another prison fight, THAT would be worth it.

I’m plenty quick with a key, but that might be a sign that I’ve opened too many bottles. Hadn’t actually thought about bottles as difficult to open… perhaps I should sleep a bit.

And if you check their google cache, they raised the priced on this $6 two days before this woot.

does anyone know if this is like the Rabbit opener? I’ve heard great things about that one, but am unfamiliar with this brand

Works well but Overpriced. Similar unit avail at KOHLs for $15; I got one from TARGET as a gift; wore it out in 2 years. I now use a waiter’s corkscrew available at Dollar Tree ($1)

They are both made by Metrokane.

http://www.metrokane.com/site_files/wine_tools.aspx

My Metrokane Rabbit is not exactly the same as the Houdini but appears to be close. It has the plastic “worm” guide that you describe. The box states that an independent lab test got 20,000 pulls*, but you know how those people can be. :wink: Anyway, even if that plastic piece did break, wouldn’t that be covered by the 5-year warranty**?

Edit. *However, the owners manual for the Rabbit states that the spiral may have to be replaced after 800-1000 cork pulls.
**The manual further states that you need to send $10 S&H for warranty service, as noted by plavacek below.

Also, as others note below, the Rabbit has more metal construction than the Houdini.

Mine had no warranty. For Metrokane products, you have to pay postage both ways:link

So while it would be covered, you’re left wondering if it would be worth the time, hassle, and expense.

Probably so it gets there by Valentine’s Day.

Is it a bad sign when you learn from woot shipping you need to get your butt into gear with a gift?

Yes and no. At least young padawan, you have learned you need a gift. And haven’t forgotten entirely. Or plan on gifting a Vacuum Cleaner / Lawn Mower / Kitchen Implement …

We wanted to say: in time for Valentine’s day, but there’s no icon for it. so…

Got one of these for xmas. Worked great for 2 bottles and since then I have reverted back to using my manual corkscrew. It now pierces the corks just fine but feels as if the handle will break right off when I try to extract them.

Check their google cache? That’s awesomely clever but what made you even think to try that?

(oh, and how do you check a google cache?)