Oil Hardened Steel Bottle Opener

Each of Tender’s bottle openers is cut in England from a solid block of steel. The corners are ground before the Plautus face is hand stamped into the side. Finally the whole thing is oil hardened, waxed, and polished. Oil hardening involves heating the steel, which is relatively soft, to red hot, then plunging it into oil, which chemically alters the surface on the metal, making it much harder and more resistant to knocks.

One shape is a reference to Victorian British Railway nails, whose flat asymmetric heads were used to secure rails to sleepers. The tail of the opener is angled so that it rests flat on a table, and the weight of the head is balanced to make it easy and satisfying to use.

The other shape is traced from the original graphic for Tender’s elephant label, taken from a 19th Century advertising poster. The trunk has been tapered and angled so that it fits under a bottle cap.