I've had this Lund Lever Corkscrew in the drawer for a little over a year now, and I still have not gotten the lever part yet.  The levers do appear online here and there, but obviously there are other collectors out there that need it too.  My snipes are not too aggressive, as I know there will be a listing for "Old lever pliers" soon.

The absolute most beautiful Lund Lever EVER surfaced about 5 weeks ago.  It was a lever, corkscrew and two knives in an ORIGINAL BOX SET!  Although I was out sniped by about $1200, I'm glad to see it in the worm!  Kudos again Bull!  SO ∂´ß¥∫´∑ø  COOL!

Also, a BIG KUDOS to "Dee Master Gardner"!!  An ultra rare, never pictured Chinnock was discovered in Maryland!  You can see the patent drawing in Ferd's mechanical book on pg 78.  I wish I lived in Maryland.....(not maine.  Leave it to the professor to proofread my blog)

Though this dog does not hunt for corkscrews, he does open bottles.  A Syroco Scotty Dog Bottle opener has arrived on the Island today!  He will make for the perfect pet!  Quiet, knows how to "Stay", and no clean up!  Now if I can only find his twin.....

Although no corkscrews arrived on the island today, several deals were locked in.  As mentioned a Syroco Monk was offered to me and here is a pic of treasures to pic through!  I sealed the deal for the 5 tool bow and the Power Cone.  Other items are being considered.

On Ebay, I was able to snap up this 6 tool bow just minutes after it was listed!  It may be raining, but the sun is shining!

I've been on this "stag horn" kick lately.  Although I won this set like a month ago, it has finally made it to the island!  I do believe that this set post dates the previously mentioned one.

I was offered a Syroco Monk recently and potentially a small group of corkscrews too!  Who knows what these pictures will have to offer!  I'm expecting pics this weekend, so cross your fingers for me!  Maybe there will be a J. Plant two pillar! 

I've been waiting all day for the Syroco Painted Clown auction to end!  And it finally ended....  I jumped into "Highest Bidder" position with 13 seconds left @ $899 and then I got bumped with 3 seconds to go.... 

Congrats to "Mr.Corkscrew", but I'm sorry my snipe was set @ $1150!!

I guess I will just have to find some other corkscrews to spend the PayPal account on........

I've always been a fan of the John Hasselbring bar sets.  It's so cool to find them in their original wooden box sets.  They were produced with as little as 3 pieces and I've seen them go up to 14 piece sets.  They vary from simple bar sets to elaborate carving sets.  Another nice feature was that the came with different handles made from bakelite w/ sterling caps, stag horn w/ sterling caps, or in this case all sterling silver.  I'm happy to finally get this piece after waiting 3+ weeks!   

P.S.
Did you see Josef's latest find!!  Check it out:

http://vintagecorkscrews.spaces.live.com/

The latest arrival to the island is a Williamson Lead Handle w/button.  A very unique piece given how heavy it is.  I've never had one, and at under $25, I'm happy with the bargain.

 I must admit that the island is very self sufficient, as it has everything you need to "get by", but sooner or later you are bound to take a trip to the mainland.  This usually ends up being a 25-45 min commute depending on your car ride or ferry boat ride.  SO....I'm updating my Ipod with some fresh tunes.  Mostly 80's rock and the occasional hip hop hit song or 3.  Josef will be glad the the current list does not include Rage Against the Machine, as he still blames me for the occasional headache, claiming it to be a "flashback" from our last JFO trip.....

Here's to wishing Josef Good Luck at his gallery showing today!  Cheers!

A Painted Syroco Clown was listed yesterday!  As most of us sat back waiting for a BIN, the bidding frenzy began right at 7pm with an opening bid of $32.95!  Overnight it has soared to $400!  As if it's not hard enough to just find a painted clown, this one is in Great shape!  Good luck to everyone, but stay out of my way!

As we are all searching for hidden treasures, you sometimes need to look "outside" the box.  I've made good progress in refining my searches to be more specific, but this only weeds out some of the commons.  Juggling nearly 60 searches can be time consuming.  But all these yield AVAILABLE CORKSCREWS.  A new search is now in effect!  Yielding NOT AVAILABLE CORKSCREWS!

My first score!

Though this Thomason Type is a more recent production, I don't mind taking the risk of using this one, opposed to a authentic Thomason.  Especially when the price is right!

Today I ventured off the island, through the city, and headed south!  I headed to Centralia, WA. where they have a nice strip of antique shops and malls to pick over.  There were lots of salt & pepper shakers and TONS of glass!  Needless to say, the corkscrews were very scarce.  So, I settled on 2 Beer Serving trays (just testing the waters), and a Syroco Codger Towel rack.  At least there was a 30% off sale.  Time for some more Olympics!  GO USA!   

P.S.
Since we are very close to the Canadian border, our Comcast pics up on the CBC network.  It's great!  We actually see MORE olympic coverage than the US networks!  Very few comercials, and a lot less drama / controversy (as they are covering "Canadian" athletes).  Lucky for us, the USA teams are vertually in all events, and are placing well, so we get to see non stop coverage!

Last week I was fortunate enough to have been the high bidder on this Thomason w/ windows.  The corkscrew gods have been good to me this month!  I've never had one until it arrived in the mail yesterday.  It's a very nice piece, despite the missing "screw in" brush.  I hope to find one online, unless someone has a spare laying around?

Last week I came across a fairly large lot of openers.  Amongst them, I noticed a few corkscrews and some curious openers.  And upon closer inspection, I noticed a Henshall and Blatz Girl Pocket Knife w/Corkscrew.  I decided to set the snipe and forget all about it.  As luck would have it, I won!  They arrived today as one of the heaviest packages I've seen.  Here's the lot.  Mixed in the booty was an old mouse trap!  Pretty cool, but clearly once used!  Yuck!

Today was spent shipping this weeks auctions.  About half going overseas!  After making a quick trip to town, I returned home to a pleasant surprise in the mailbox.  An Anri Bar Set!  It's in great shape.  I can only hope that 2 collectors get into a bidding war over the piece, starting Sunday.  The crosby pup is currently in a bidding war between two collectors, what a lucky seller!

I also was able to score 3 1/2 BIN's this evening.  Nothing too crazy, but a BIN is a BIN!  A stag horn w/diamond shank, a chip chop in box, Williamson's Bullet w/advertising badge, and a lot of 27 Clough's of the same kind!

Finally, I came across this odd beer advertising corkscrew.....I can't find it in any books.....Anyone else have one?

Ah yes.....3 more flashes to add to the collection.  It's been a while for me as I've been out sniped on the last 23 by "willbuy".  It's tough being the 2nd highest bidder......but, that's ok as these three cost me the same at each one he out sniped me for.  I really enjoy the hunting just as much as winning, so I guess I can't loose!  ;-)

The mail has been pretty consistent lately.  Yesterday a Pewter Viking arrived to the island.  I'm happy to have him in the collection again. 

AND today the Austiran pair arrived.  Though there are no marks on the dragonfly, he will be a nice piece of trade bait for Josef.  The bottle opener is marked HANDMADE IN AUSTRIA.  Maybe it will make tomorrows listings on Ebay.  Good luck if you decide to bid!