Hello.
On Thursday I realized that I know how to make a bottle opener, but not a corkscrew. So how do you make one?

Thanks,
Archie

its pretty simple: put a point on the rod for the screw and make the handle if its a part of the same rod (ie: not wood or plastic) then take a round piece of steel that is the diameter of the corkscrew you wanna make and wrap the corkscrew steel around it.. if its gonna taper down make the "die" taper by forging it first

I make corkscrews often. I forge the steel to the desired taper- one that is small enough that it doesn't tear the cork but large enough that it doesn't deform easily. Then I bend the taper where it begins being the right size for the corkscrew at an angle a little less than 90 degrees. I heat starting from the base of the taper. When the base of the taper is glowing brightly I take it to the anvil and hold it so that the taper is pointing at the sky. I use my hammer and gently push the taper clockwise looking from the direction the tongs are holding the steel. While the steel is really hot you'll get a nice smooth curve. Once I get as much of a loop as the heat will allow I use the edge of the anvil to keep the slope of the corkscrew consistent and the flat of the hammer and anvil to keep the diameter consistent. It is a quick back and forth as the loops of the corkscrew form. The steel is thin so it heats and cools very quickly. With a little practice they can be made so that little or no adjustment is needed after they're formed on the anvil.

i tend to make the taper about 4" long you can trim to size later and then file it sharp

but bend the taper 90 degrees about 1/2" from the start andcoil it in a tight coil with about 1/4" hole in the center once you have the tight coil (like a compressde coil spring) get it hot and pull it out to form the cork screw sharpen the end with a file and youre done

What steel would you guys normally use to make corkscrews ? Medium to high carbon ? Hardened or normalized ? I imagine it would be best to temper way back if hardened to lessen the chance of breakage ?

I've made a number by drawing out one heel of a horseshoe (I'm a farrier and have lots of horseshoes). I call it a cowboy corkscrew. They worked fine with real corks - the steel might be a bit soft for the plastic ones, but most people just hang them on the wall anyhow. The horseshoe handle is a bit awkward in a kitchen drawer.

For corkscrews I usw what I have laying around. Though small garage door springs seem to work very well.

Finnr

I use a bit of 1/2 '' bar and push the cork into the bottle... It wasn't going back in anyway.

Use the method described above by Alwin. You can start off with 3/8 steel. Hang about one inch off of the far side of the anvil. Rule of thumb is multiply the steel hanging off the edge of the anvil by 3 and that will give you the finished length of a smooth taper to a point. Using this rule of thumb you should have a 3 inch long tapered point. This method works with all diameters. Now, once you have the steel coiled up you can use a WIDE plade screw driver to start at the base of the coil and spread the turns apart. Heat the coil good and pry it apart from the base to the tip. If you have drawn it out to a VERY sharp point before you start your taper, you will not have to file it. Use mild steel, no need for high carbon here. I have made them from 3/8 round bar and actually use them. No problem with them breaking. When I get the chance I will post one that I made during one of my classes with Uri Hofi.