CARING FOR CORKSCREWS
Now that you have bought the corkscrew or other wine-related item, how do you care for it? Perhaps you may need to give it an initial clean-up before displaying it,
what should you do?
I have tried many different cleaning solutions bought at the local supermarket, and the only advice I would give
is to go slowly, and test your cleaning procedures on a piece you will not miss if things go wrong!
I have bought several books that I thought would be useful, but they did not help at all.
The titles can be very deceptive such as Sotheby's Caring for Antiques : The Complete Guide to Handling, Cleaning, Display, & Restoration
by Mette Tang Simpson, Michael Huntley. I was looking for a restoration 101 but it was far too general and lacked specifics.
Fortunately, when I attended the AGM of the Canadian Corkscrew Collectors Club (CCCC) - click here for details -
there was an excellent presentation on restoration and care by Kathleen Bond, Object Conservator of Vancouver. She gave a breakdown on all the
different materials that make up corkscrews from iron to silver, wood to ivory. From her detailed presentation you will see how many things affect
the materials causing tarnish, corrosion and degradation.
Click here for a PDF of Kathleen Bond's presentation.
One of Kathleen's recommendations was to use a product called Renaissance Wax as a way to protect your piece after cleaning.
I use it on everything and it works perfectly - if it's good enough for the British Museum, it will work for me!
Here are 2 links you may find useful.
Antiques-UK - general information on restoration and care.
Silversmithing - everything you need to know about silver.
If you have any comments, question or suggestions on caring for your pieces, please contact us.
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