BEST 6

In the various corkscrew clubs, there is a tradition of publishing your best 6 corkscrews for the year. As the end of the corkscrew fiscal year nears, figuring out which corkscrews make the list, and which ones don't, makes for a fun but difficult decision--below you will find my best 6 for this year, and links to previous best 6's.

Best 6 for 2011

1.	Unusual example of the 1862 Charles Chinnock Patent corkscrew. At first glance, this look to be similar to the normal Chinnock, however instead of the oval/round opening in the barrel, this one has a rectangular cutaway--marked CHINNOCK'S PATENT, MAY 27, 1862 (see O'Leary, 1996: p. 33).
2.	Old Crow figural corkscrew. The neckstand is marked PAUL A HENCKELS, GERMANY, and on the reverse side of the crow it is an advertisement for "THE OLD CROW DISTILLERY, FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY" (see Bull, 1999: p. 222 and Bull, 2009: p. 53).
3.	Atypical 1894 Charles Puddefoot "Detroit" patent corkscrew. Unmarked, but the neckstand clearly is Puddefoot. What makes this one unusual is the addition of the knife--which is usually only found on the 1891 Davis waiter. (see O'Leary, 1996: p 83, 84 and 88).
4.	1891 David W. Davis "Improved" patent decorative waiter--marked DAVIS 'IMPROVED' PAT'D JULY 14 91, OTHER PATS. PND'G (see O'Leary, 1996: p. 83-84).
5.	1891 David W. Davis "Improved" patent mermaid corkscrew--marked, COMPLIMENTS CHARLES STAEBLER, 257 BEAUBIEN ST., DETROIT, MICH., DAVIS 'IMPROVED' PAT'D JULY 14 91, OTHER PATS. PND'G (see O'Leary, 1996: p 83-84).
6.	1894 Charles Puddefoot "Detroit" patent leg corkscrew--marked THE DETROIT PAT'D JULY 10, '94 (see O'Leary, 1996: p 88).