Best Six for 2003
Bangkok
THAILAND
Fort Lauderdale
Florida
USA
MY BEST SIX FOR 2003
Dear Fellow Addict,
An apology from THOCBDC (*): not long ago I e-mailed many of you both a 'test' Best Six AND a silly photo of a mismatched (clown/monk) piece that I 'married' just for fun. I was trying out a new e-mail system ... so; I thank many of you for responding to my test.
- The only one in the picture without a proper screw ... or even a supporting co-blade ... allows the cork to be removed awkwardly. A rocking movement doesn't work; nor does an after-penetration twist. As a further inconvenience this little engine never passes unnoticed through airport carry-on security. [The Bull Bible describes it as "A French single blade cork lifter marked BTE S.C.D.G."]
- This is the Traifor. Cheaply constructed using unsophisticated stamping technologies, it still commands a good price whenever it appears on e-Bay. Either few were made and sold OR (more likely) they were viewed as being so ugly as to not merit any more after-purchase attention than an Elko potato peeler.
- Everyone has the 'legs'. Most are of the 'gay '90s' variety, showing candy striped leggings and mid calf boots. This one is 'skin-toned': whether by design or by a shortage of design, I don't know. Recently one bare 'legs' appeared on e-Bay claiming to be made of ivory; it sold for a healthy premium over the $300 - $400 range that the more common banded ones demand. I don't know if my piece is made of Ivory, but I doubt it.
- Not many people have just a 'leg'. This bronze one comes with an unflattering screw that pivots out of the kneecap and folds away with its point disturbingly close to the 'privates'.
- A curious item from Argentina, it 'smells' like a very cheap version of a tangent lever.
- A concertina with an eyebrow pull, it is slightly less wide than its 'vanilla' cousins. Therefore, it is more easily tucked surreptitiously behind a boutonnière ... ready to rescue the offerings of a queuing bottle ignored by the hired-help at the de-corking table. [Bull cheered me with these words ... not necessarily in this order: "Concertina with a wire spring in the circle at top ... KIS-PLY ... Jean Thomas' 1872 French patent."]
Watcharee and I hope to see many of you in October in Virginia.
Sincerely,
Alf Erickson
(*) Only readers well-wandered in the quagmire of www.corkscrew-balloon.com will recognize THOCBDC as being The House Of Corkscrew Balloon Dot Com.
