Customer Reviews

Metrokane Rabbit Corkscrew, Black

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(33)

 

 

I originally bought this corkscrew as a gift, but wound up keeping it, and I admit I've bought more wine than usual lately just to play with it.

I have to say, my favorite thing about it is the foil cutter, strange though that may be. The foil cutter is shaped like an oversized bottle cap, and you fit it over the top of the bottle, squeeze, and turn. The foil comes off cleanly just above the little ridge usually found around the mouth of the wine bottle. Very clean-looking and much easier than using the often dull blade on a waiter's corkscrew.

The corkscrew itself is very nice as well. It is a little bulky, but it is amazing how fast you can open a bottle of wine with it. Line it up, pull the lever forward, push it back, et voila. Forward and back once more and the cork is free of the screw. No gripping the bottle with your knees while pulling at the cork or anything like that; you don't need to use a lot of effort, just a firm hand.

One thing that surprised me is the fact that it often spits little crumbs of cork into the bottle, which then wind up in my glass. It seems that the screw is long enough to go all the way through the cork, and when it exits the bottom of the cork, sometimes a little bit of cork gets spit out. I guess you can be careful not to let this happen, but still it happens to me more than I would like.

So all in all, not the perfect corkscrew, but fast and easy to use, and cute as well--a trait few corkscrews share. Stock up on wine, because people will want to try it.

I've had one for nearly 6 years and it finally died (the rabbit died)...

What caused it's demise? Well, I've gone through 2 worms (the spiral thingie that penetrates the cork) and now after getting a new worm still can't open a bottle of wine.

Here's what the issue is, the worms are coated with a slick (Teflon?) coating that wears off over time. Also in the top of the cap that holds the worm in the device is a single ball bearing that is supposed to allow the worm to do its thing to the corks upon penetration (it allows the worm to turn under preassure).

Well some of these new fake corks made of plastic are much harder then both real cork corks and most of the foam plastic corks (if you want an example of one, try St Francis Winery & Vineyard bottles) and they take the slippery finish off the worm rather quickly and take a great amount of force to penetrate the 'cork'.

Their 'cork' seal is like a plastic capsule filled with some kind of compressed foam and the damn things seem to be very hard on the Rabbit... Needless to say, after a case and a half of that wine over time (the wife likes the Claret) the Rabbit is dead. The ball doesn't turn in the top of the cap over the worm and while you can get the worms very easily, the cap isn't available, as far as I can tell. I've had to resort to the brute force Screwpull and Xyliss that I had as backups.

The Rabbit has a 10 year warranty and I've thought of sending it in and seeing what happens.

I'd definately recommend having a backup screw around for those crazy fake 'cork' bottles like St Francis... Kenwood switched to a foam filled vinyl sleeve 'cork' and those are a breeze with the Rabbit but if you're too quick you might actually push it into the bottle (Hint to St Francis)...

A great cork screw, if only all the wineries still used real cork 'corks' and not these high tech plastic blasphemous abominations...

After using this device for a few more months, and being *very* careful and gentle with it, I find I can no longer recommend it.

I've used the several new screws Metrokane sent back after the last "repair."

The problem always first occurs when trying to remove the cork from the device after it has removed the cork from the bottle. You begin operating it in reverse but it does not release the cork, it only seems to bend and distort the screw.

Perhaps Metrokane should have replaced the mechanism when first sent in for repair. I had some doubts at that time that the two ends of the tool were still properly aligned; but Metrokane chose to send it back to me with 2 new screws, both of which now are ruined.

I don't think I did anything to abuse or misuse it.

I think Metrokane should rework the design of the mechanism or actually repair it when returned by customers.

I no longer recommend it. It's too expensive to be this unreliable.

What customer service? I sent my Rabbit corkscrew back to Metrokane in NY and after not hearing from anyone after a month, I tried contacting the company. But no one every returns emails, or phone calls, regardless of how many times you call and leave messages. I am thinking about filing a complaint with NY's better business bureau. Their website talks about having the best warranty on the market, but if they don't stand by their warranty, what good is it?

Coming from a woman who loves to throw dinner parties, isn't afraid to cook just about anything and yet never quite is able to open the darn wine bottle, this product is superb!!! I have often poked corks down into the wine out of sheer frustration and this little number opens the bottle with ease in less than 30 seconds. It is amazing and makes a great gift to others or to yourself.

I got the Metrokane Rabbit Corkscrew for Christmas. It worked some of the time, but only would remove the corkscrew from the bottle and not subsequently remove it from itself, though it is supposed to do so. Sometimes the screw (they call it the "worm") would go into the cork and just screw itself back out without bringing the cork along. I contacted Metrokane and was told to send it back for repair or replacement. I paid more than 10% of the original cost to package and send it back UPS. It then came back to me with the worm removed but a new one in a sealed plastic bag was enclosed. A form letter said the worm was worn and they've sent a new one. I installed the worm and have had the same problem. It still doesn't work. The fact that they didn't intall the worm before sending it back indicates to me they didn't check out the corkscrew to see if it worked with the new worm. And I had enclosed a detailed description of the problem.
Now, they say I have to ship it back to them, yet again at my expense. I asked for a shipping label and they said NO WAY, becuase they're a small company. That means I'll be out more than 20% more than the already hefty price of this thing. Macy's was willing to take it back till they realized they no longer carry it. It was only a Christmas promotion item.

The first couple times I tried this device I was amazed at just how easily it could extract a cork.

When I first got it and examined its mechanism, I couldn't convince myself it should work at all; it looked like what it would do is screw itself into the cork and simply unscrew itself again as you tried lifting it, but its little "transmission" takes care of that.

However, I did have a problem with mine after about 2 months. Suddenly, it was getting harder and harder to remove corks, and it would no longer release the cork the way it's supposed to, so I sent it back to Metrokane. In about 30 days they sent it back with 2 new screws and it works fine again.

What do I think caused the problem? I'm fond of an Aussie Chardonnay that puts a thin yellow plastic disk on top of the cork in lieu of a foil. I would drive the screw through it and the cork and I think after a while it messed up the screw, distorting it. If I remove the little disk first, the screw penetrates, removes, and releases the cork effortlessly every time.

A pretty good device though somewhat expensive. Metrokane came through when it needed repair. I recommend it.

I'm a busy bartender and wanted a high-speed opener - this turned out not to be it. Why? The people at Screwpull invented this idea and I suspect theirs is probably a lot better (and a lot more expensive), I fell for the "same-thing-for-less-money" routine and bought the Metrokane. Ah - but the devil is in the details. And properly done details cost money. Here's how this thing is "supposed" to work: You drive their teflon coated "worm" (the corkscrew part) down into the cork with lever action. It works! Then you grasp the bottle with the other two handles, like pliers - that works too. Then you pull back on the lever to pull the worm and cork out of the bottle "quickly and easily." As you might have suspected - this part doesn't work so well. Why? The problem is the teflon coated helical worm. One reviewer said the coating wears off. Not in my case. The coating helps drive the worm smoothly down into your cork then works to smoothly back the worm out of your cork instead of gripping the cork from within and pulling it (the cork) out of the bottle. Due to the coating the worm neatly and quickly zips down into your cork and just as quickly and neatly zips right back out of your cork. I think that the Screwpull version uses a racheting mechanism that stops the worm from backing out of the cork until you choose to have that happen. This one is not reliable, especially if you're in a hurry, like me on a busy weekend night. I ended up taking mine out of the bar. I've soured on the whole idea, so may not even bother with a Screwpull brand model of the same style. However - if you're determined to have a rabbit style corkscrew, save yourself some money - buy a screwpull model, not this cheap, ineffective copy. I give the foil cutter 5 stars - it's still back behind the bar.

My Rabbit failed after about a month. It no longer engaged the retractor mechanism. I sent it back asking for a repair or replacement. A month later I wrote Metrokane asking for the status of my unit. I also have a Houdini opener.

After failing to hear from them in over a month, I sent an E mail. I got no reply to that and sent yet another inquiry. Still no reply and no opener. Very bad (non existent) customer service.

The company is unreachable by phone, fax, or mail for warranty parts replacement once the unit malfunctions. When our unit was a few months old, our corkscrew compressed when opening a bottle. We sought a replacement and sent a check to Metrokane to cover the shipping charge per their instructions. Since then, despite a barrage of telephone messsages, emails, letters, and faxes, we have not received *any* response from the company.