I have two questions about the Durand wine opener:
It is very heavily patented, but surely you must know how difficult it is to pursue legal action on a patent if the knockoffs are coming from, letās say, China - Chinese knockoffs have been a huge part of the American consumer market for decades
Silly presentation of the questionā¦you can use it on any cork of any age, but itās extra work than a normal key so itās not needed to use on new bottles
#2 - At the cost for the genuine article, seems like you want to save it for when itās really needed. The less itās used, less chance itāll get damaged somehow from wear and tear.
Yes. I wouldnāt call it the most convenient extraction tool either. There is a lot of twisting and manual pulling involved. There is no leverage as there is with a standard key. The main function is not efficient cork removal. It is cork removal when other cork removal devices will fail.
There was only 1 cork I could not budge with a Durand. A1998 Barberesco where the cork was dry as a brick but not crumbly. Couldnāt get the Ah So piece down the sides. Regular key got the cork out but the wine was shot
Thatās the trickā¦you canāt always predict which corks will fail. Iāve gotten in the habit of using it routinely when at least 10 years past the vintage date, after a few corks that I thought would be solid werenāt.
As Todd said, theyāre knockoffs. However, I did love this photo from one of themā¦
While I suppose this is technically true, the device is very robust and mine is effectively brand new after billions of uses in my home. OK, maybe a slight exaggeration.
Anyway, I use mine on pretty much anything over a decade old.
Not just your fingersā¦
I have a Durand but it appears the knockoffs have more room inside the Ah So part for your fingers, which I think I would like.
I tend to reach my fingers around rather than through the loop of the ah so.
Definitely. You can transfer more twisting torque to the cork.
I think my Durand has held up really well. Its opened literally hundreds of bottles and while its pretty scratched and the ah-so portion is a bit more wobbly than new ones, I just used it 2 days ago and it was just as good as always.
I did just buy a longer āPort Editionā just because I got Durand size envy. (also because the longer version is great for old Burgs and Rioja) The screw part is 1/4 inch longer and the Ah-so part is about 1/2 inch longer.
My rule of thumb for Durand usage is 15+ year old bottles. The only issue I really see is that when you have a stout cork the Durand actually creates more effort because between the tongs and the screw youāve created a lot of extra pressure on the cork in the neck. Itās simply hard to pull out of the bottle if its still a strong cork.
I found this with 40 year old bottles that have those corks that seem to live forever. When the cork is less than stout or just ready to break, the effort to use the Durand is less simply because the cork pulls easier. That of course would be the same for a regular opener if you were able to get the cork out in one piece with it. Best to not take the chance if you have the option.
You grab the handles on the corkscrew when actually removing the cork. The ah-so handle is only used for inserting.
The Durand does not work well on dry brittle corks that are longer than the screw. The cork below the screw tends to break off.
Is Durand selling a version with a longer screw now? Years ago, they told me they had produced a limited number for Roy Hersh and had a few extras available. I bought one, but when it arrived it was identical to the one I already had. Iām not sure another 1/4ā would be enough for some corks.
Iāve taken to using the long screw from a Screwpull combined with an Ah-so. Iāve yet to see a cork longer than a Screwpull worm.
EDIT: LOL, this thread made me dig up my second Durand, and sure enough it is 1/4ā longer. Iāve been using the short one all these years thinking they were the same. After just eyeballing the long one on arrival I stuck it in a drawer, thinking it looked the same. Dāohā¦. Guess Iāll find out if there are any corks longer than this one.
Are there bottles that are longer than the screw? At least I havenāt come across any. Or then the Durand I use has a longer worm.
Yes, but I have no recent experience with Port bottles, which apparently was the impetus for creating some longer-screw Durands.
Iāve encountered a number of Bordeaux and California Cab producers that use corks longer than the Durand screw. Iām not certain my memory is accurate, but I think maybe Lafite, Leoville Las Cases, and Pride Reserve were relatively recent examples. Harlan, at least from the ā90s, was much more prone to crumbly brittle corks than other producers. They might also have longer corks but I havenāt opened one recently enough to recall.
I should keep a list so I know when to use the Screwpull worm, to avoid getting burned twice.
EDIT: now that Iāve discovered I have one of the long ones, I may need to retract the aboveā¦
20 years from vintage is my rule of thumb, which works for me.
Since Iāve taken to saying this in every Durand thread, Iāll say it again here - if you get one, read the instructions. They arenāt long, and they are easy to follow, but folks who donāt read them have about a 98% rate of trying to use the storage slots during cork extraction. Poor technique is a recipe for inability to pull your cork out when you want, and that only leads to frustration.
That was me when I first got the Durand. Tried using it āassembledā with the Ah-so blades in the slots, and realized right away that something must be wrong. Read the fān manual and all was well.
Thatās usually a discovery made in the High School locker room but YMMV. 
Edit: Now that I know I can upgrade to a ālonger oneā itās going to be a game changer!
I use my āregularā Durand on port bottles and havenāt had an issue yet. Used it last night on a 1980 port with an ugly cork.
