Fun bottle openers

For years I've had one of those old-fashioned bottle openers mounted on the wall of my kitchen. You know the kind: cast-aluminum with Coca-Cola in raised letters on it. When I was a kid it was the type that the downtown grocery store always had next to the giant, red Coca-Cola-branded cooler where they kept all the cold sodas. There's nothing like the convenience of a wall-mounted bottle opener, because you don't have to figure out where the last person who used it decided to put it down.

You can still get the old-fashioned cast-aluminum openers—with the logo of any beer, soda, or sports team you happen to favor. But here's a collection of out-of-the-ordinary openers.

1 This cast-iron gentleman is Mr. Top Hat. $13 from farmhouse wares.

2 The Roaring Lion opener is made of cold-cast resin (a very strong polymer) with a metallic finish. It's $30 from Things 2 Die 4

3 A cast-iron moose opener would look very cool on the wall; I might be tempted to get it even though at least one customer found that the moose's chin wasn't long enough to actually open a bottle. It's $19 from Orvis.

4 Yeah, this cast-iron guy is obviously determined to open your bottle. The Bulldog opener is $12.95 from Rejuvenation.

5 OK, this is my favorite. This hardened stainless steel Bottle Bunny is from a British company called Slam Designs. It's $14.50 from amazon.

6 And then there's really nothing wrong with the classic shape. This model is stainless steel and proclaims no particular allegiance, except to helping you open a bottle of Moxie. It's $10 from Homebrewers Outpost.