A corkscrew is a tool for drawing stopping corks from bottles. Generally, it is comprised of a pointed metallic spiral attached to a handle. The user grips the handle and screws the metal point through the cork, entwining the cork and corkscrew so that moving one moves the other. Corkscrews are necessary because corks themselves, being small and smooth, are difficult to grip and (elegantly) remove. The handle of the corkscrew, often a horizontal bar of wood attached to the screw, allows for a fine, commanding grip making removal of the stopper relatively easy. Many corkscrew handles incorporate levers that further increase the amount of force that can be applied outwards upon the cork.
Its design was derived from the gun worm which was a device used by musketmen to remove unspent charges from a musket's barrel in a similar fashion.
Corks are largely associated with wine bottles, although they are being replaced with other closures such as screwcaps on a proportion of wines.