From a design standpoint, this is a very good product.But the documentation is pathetic, and was clearly never tested with new / real users.There is no explanation of how it's supposed to work.That understanding is very helpful:with it, you'll never have trouble, and will marvel at the clever design.Let's get started.
Have a bottle of wine handy on which you've already used the supplied (and very good) little foil cutter to remove the foil over the cork.
Take the unit in your hand and look at the movable parts.The overhead lever that swings outward / downward and then is reversed / brought back over the top - moves the spiral corkscrew up and down.To see this, operate the overhead lever with one hand while holding the clamping "side handles" with the other.When you move the overhead handle the corkscrew rotates.
Why is the corkscrew turning?Because it's forced to do that as it goes through a "guide" (the metal collar with gray plastic center).The gray plastic piece has an internal spiral track that forces the corkscrew to rotate as it passes through.
Here's the critical point:as long as the guide mechanism is locked in place and can't move up or down, the guide forces the corkscrew to rotate when going through.
What if this guide were locked in place on the `down-stroke,' but could move vertically on the `up-stroke'?Then the guide would force the corkscrew to rotate on the way down (so the corkscrew would penetrate the cork), but the guide would stay attached to (and _not_ rotate) the corkscrew on the way up - thus pulling the cork.
When the unit is operated correctly this is exactly what happens.But how?
Look more closely:Before using the Rabbit's `side-handles' to hold the wine bottle neck, the guide is locked in place by two protruding spring-loaded latches and can't move vertically.Try it:it won't budge.(You can actually see these small latches projecting over the top of the guide and keeping it from moving - by looking in the area above and to the far rear of the guide, near the smooth rod.)
On the other hand, when the clamping handles are squeezed onto the neck of a bottle, these latches above the guide _retract_, releasing their hold on the guide so it can move upward.
Do this now:Take your bottle of wine and, with the overhead lever rotated to its fully outward / downward position, place the guide directly over the cork and grip the neck of the bottle _firmly_ with the clamping side handles.
Look at the latches described above:they have retracted, and no longer restrain the guide from moving upward.This has no effect during the down-stroke / cork penetration phase, since the guide is already as low as it can go.Because the guide can't move, it forces the corkscrew to rotate when you operate the overhead lever - thus penetrating the cork.Perform this down-stroke.
Now watch what happens when the overhead lever is pulled back to withdraw the cork (while you at the same time continue to grip the bottle neck firmly with the side levers).Because the guide can now move vertically with the corkscrew, it imposes no rotation on the corkscrew.The corkscrew stays inside the cork as the overhead lever is moved outward / downward, and the cork is extracted.Do it.You now have the cork out of the bottle, suspended above the bottle neck, and are still gripping the side handles around the bottle neck.
Release your hold on the side handles and move the Rabbit away from the bottle.The cork is still attached to the corkscrew.Re-grip the side handles with one hand and once again operate the overhead lever, bringing it all the way back to its fully closed position again (as if you were on the original down-stroke into the cork).
As you get to the very end of the stroke, you will feel resistance and will hear a click:the latches have snapped back into place over the top of the guide, locking it in place.The guide is once again `captured' - and cannot move vertically.The cork is still attached to the corkscrew.
Finally, move the overhead lever back yet again to its fully open position (as if pulling the cork from the bottle).This time the latches _don't_ retract (because you're not using the side handles to grip the bottle neck) - so the latches again keep the guide from moving, and this forces the corkscrew to rotate `in reverse' as it passes upward through the guide.The corkscrew backs out of the cork and the cork drops off.It takes all of a few seconds once you get the hang of it.
Understanding the operating principles should help.None of this is well explained (or, indeed, explained at all) in the almost non-existent documentation.
Steve Ferris
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I really like this turner. I like it so much that the price plus shipping didn't bother me. I use it all of the time; it is a good fit for my hand, the "blade" is wide enough and long enough to turn just about anything without breaking them. I highly recommend this turner.
