Victory Lap | SVTP Tool-Tech | Various Bottle Openers
This is the end of our first series of SVTP Tool-Tech Articles/Videos, and like the end of (and oftentimes during) any good job you’re going to need a tasty beverage. If you’re like me, your drink selection is often contained in a frosty bottle and you’re going to need a way to get in. True; it would be simple enough to grab a pair of pliers, or more manly to use a Titanium Fixed Blade Knife (more on that later), but nothing quite as satisfying as successfully employing the correct tool for the job.
This one may be cheap (i.e. Free), but it gets the job done.
Over the years I’ve amassed a collection of bottle openers that range from completely awesome to nearly useless. We’ve all seen the typical freebie keychain styles and kitchen utensils, so I’m going to ignore those here. Instead, I’m going to introduce you to a couple of my favorites. Both of them coincidentally happen to be from the Craftsman brand and were bought from the nearly bankrupt Sears department store.
When you want to initiate Beast Mode, this it the bottle opener you turn too.
The first, and my most recent acquisition it this forged steel beauty. It is basically a chunk of cold steel that feels like a combination of a wrench and ratchet handle in your hand. This is definitely the bottle opener you want to show your guests to remove all doubts that you are a man that literally has a tool for every job you may encounter. This thing weighs in at over 10 ounces and when not being used to pop-tops it can double as a makeshift hammer, just like your ratchet.
Call me old fashioned, but I still like my tools to be Made in the USA.
The second was my first bottle opener purchase, and still my favorite. This one is based on the classic Craftsman screwdriver design. The handle is directly pulled from a large flat-blade screwdriver, and the opener is comstructed from stamped steel. This thing just feels natural in my hand, and is my go-to opened to gain access drink/drinks of the day. The designers were even thoughtful enough to place a small leather strap on the end of the handle so it can be hung close to your beer supple for rapid deployment. When seconds count you don’t want to be sifting through a drawer.
For well over a decade his has been my go-to beverage opener.
Both of these openers are as well made as the hand-tools they were based upon and both were Made in the USA. That American origin used to be a point of pride for the Craftsman brand. Sadly, the vast majority of their tools are now made overseas and their quality doesn’t seem to be what it once was. Perhaps that shift is part of the reason that the Sears Corporation is failing, but that’s a something to think about some other time.
Well that doesn't necessarily inspire confidence.
The business end of the forged steel behemoth.
Here are a few of the tools seen in this article:
https://amzn.to/2Iyjjwk
https://amzn.to/2IvhwrL
https://amzn.to/2O1uCmz
https://amzn.to/2P2VOxH
