Have any of you seen a bottle opener like this before ?

[Hickory n steel]

I was going through an old bucket of kitchen junk my mom gave me awhile back and found this interesting aluminum bottle opener.

it's marked Hamway on one side.

And patent pending on the other.

What I'm really not sure about is the purpose of this almost sharp- ish beveled edge.

I assume they tried to patent this because there was something unique or novel about it but I'm not sure what.
That edge probably had some kind of purpose, but I don't drink so I've got zero clue.

I found nothing about this particular product or the brand name HAMWAY on Google.

 

[Aardvark]

Hefty looking thing, very nice.
The casting looks rather rough, or maybe it's seen hard use. Maybe handmade, Patent Pending notwithstanding?

I have some friends in Guinda...

 

[Hickory n steel]

Hefty looking thing, very nice.
The casting looks rather rough, or maybe it's seen hard use. Maybe handmade, Patent Pending notwithstanding?

I have some friends in Guinda...

It had a bit of corrosion and I took some 0000 steel wool to it, but it does also seem to have been used quite a lot.
It's certainly possible that it wasn't exactly perfectly cast, but it seems like it was originally finished with some good consistency at least.

 

[Aardvark]

Hope you didn't read any criticism into my post. I would be proud to own something like that, production or otherwise.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Hope you didn't read any criticism into my post. I would be proud to own something like that, production or otherwise.

just to be clear I don't really care about bottle openers and have zero attachment to this one, I'm just intrigued here because it's different and some degree of old.
Once I find out whatever there is to know I'll give it to anybody I know who will take it.
To me it appears like it probably looked better than this when it was new, but I don't actually know it's original condition and could be completely wrong.

 

[killgar]

That is what's known as a combination bottle opener and muddler. The patent was filed in 1945 (patent below). A muddler is used by bartenders to crush ingredients for drinks like fruit, etc.

I found another identical Hamway bottle opener/muddler with a patent number on it (pics below). Patent number 148535. I looked it up and found the patent.

I'm not exactly sure what the connection is between the patent holder Frank E Hamilton and the company/brand Hamway, but the first three letters of Hamilton are H-A-M, just like Hamway. A bit more research would be required to track down the company. I did also find a vintage battery powered drink mixer from Hamway, so it appears they made more than one product.

 

[Hickory n steel]

That is what's known as a combination bottle opener and muddler. The patent was filed in 1945 (patent below).

I found another identical Hamway bottle opener/muddler with a patent number on it (pics below). Patent number 148535. I looked it up and found the patent.

I'm not exactly sure what the connection is between the patent holder Frank E Hamilton and the company/brand Hamway, but the first three letters of Hamilton are H-A-M, just like Hamway. A bit more research would be required to track down the company. I did also find a vintage battery powered drink mixer from Hamway, so it appears they made more than one product.

Thanks for the info.
How did you manage to find this ?

 

[killgar]

Thanks for the info.
How did you manage to find this ?

You're welcome.

The bottle opener I found on ebay. The patent I found using Bing. Sometimes Google comes up short.

 

[Hickory n steel]

You're welcome.

The bottle opener I found on ebay. The patent I found using Bing. Sometimes Google comes up short.

I don't know if it's a settings issue or something but it seems for the past 6-8 years I can no longer really turn up anything that's not for sale with the exception of an occasional worth point page.
I used to find pictures of old stuff and information, now unless it's something old for sale on Ebay it's a " vintage style " piece of junk that just left a factory in China.