Kicking back with a refreshing beverage might be the definition of relaxation, but find yourself away from home without a bottle opener and you plans could be upended. Fortunately there are a number of alternative ways to liberate your beverage and keep the party going. After testing some of the most popular ways to open a bottle without a bottle opener, we’ve decided to toast these eight effective techniques. And if you're looking to open a bottle of wine, check out four ways to open it without a corkscrew.

First, Double Check the Bottle Is Not a Twist Off

More and more bottles these days are twist offs, even beer bottles, so first give the cap a firm twist to make sure it’s not one before venturing further. Even bottles that aren’t labeled twist-off sometimes are.

Second, Never Use Your Teeth or a Sharp Knife

Attempting to pry a cap off with your teeth could chip or severely damage your teeth, so never resort to this. And also don’t try any method for opening a bottle with a sharp knife; even if the technique seems safe a slip from too much pressure or the wrong angle could be disastrous.

The Eight Best Ways to Open a Bottle Without a Bottle Opener

We tested these eight methods and found them not only effective but also fun once you get the hang of it. All fall into two categories. The first involves resting the lip of the cap against a surface or object and using a sharp rap to deliver enough force to pop the cap. The second uses common household items to pry the cap off by employing leverage against your hand. Both are simple, although getting the correct angle can take several attempts so be patient. While everyone will have their favorite and one that plays into their skills, we’ve listed our favorite eight techniques below loosely on how effective and useful we found them.

One note about hand strength: Those with bigger, stronger hands might have a slight advantage with leveraging techniques, although remember that the correct angle will make any of these a cinch. Anyone feeling less muscled might try the table edge, screwdriver or hammer techniques for extremely easy opening that’s also nicely impressive.

1. On the Edge of a Table or Counter

This is a simple, almost foolproof method that’s also quite fun to demonstrate. But choose your surface wisely: The edge of the cap could bite into soft surfaces like wood or mark or chip harder ones; think about trying it on a worktable, picnic table or on an inconspicuous corner of a counter. And the heel of your striking hand could sting a little from the impact; wearing an oven mitt helps a bit but could be awkward.

Step 1: Position the bottom rim of the cap directly on the edge of a table or counter; make sure the edge is a sharp 90 degrees, not rounded.

Step 2: Hold on to the bottle firmly with one hand, then bring the heel of other hand down and strike the cap with a good amount of force but not so much that you hurt your hand. It may take more than one attempt, but the cap should pop off.

2. With a Key

The appeal of this method is easy to see: Most of us always have a key on hand, even if we’re at the beach or camping. Remember to be moderate with pressure; if you press too hard on the key and it slips you risk grazing your index finger on the sharp ridges of the cap.

Step 1: Choose a heavy key, preferably one with good edges and indentations, and hold it in your dominant hand.

Step 2: Grasp the bottle very firmly around the neck with your other hand. Work the ridged edges of the key under the cap and use your thumb on the bottle to help give you leverage. Placing the bottom of the bottle on a stable surface can help.

Step 3: Push and wiggle the key under the cap to pry the edge up while using your thumb for leverage. Keep working the key under the cap until it pops off; you can also use the tip of the key if you find that works better.

3. With a Spoon

This technique is one of the easiest. Since you can hold the handle of the spoon at a distance you can build quite a lot of leverage — and more leverage means less need to muscle through it. And don’t try this with fine dinnerware since it could bend.

Step 1: Grip the neck of the bottle firmly with your non-dominant hand, but leave your thumb out. Hold a soup spoon in your other hand and slip the tip of the spoon under the lip of the bottle cap, bracing the back of the spoon on the thumb holding the bottle.

Step 2: Push down on the spoon handle and use leverage off your thumb on the bottle to pry the cap up; work gently, and remember that holding the spoon further back on the handle will give you more power. One you get the right angle the cap will pop.

4. With a Table Knife

Never use a sharp knife like a paring knife or a chef’s knife for this technique. Even though you’ll work with the dull edge of the blade, applying pressure at the wrong angle could cause it to slip and injure you. And don’t use any kind of fine dinnerware as it could be nicked or bent.

Step 1: Choose a table knife or butterknife (never use a sharp knife). Grasp the bottle with your non-dominant hand right below the cap. Wedge the back (not the blade) of the knife just below the cap, using the side of your thumb on the bottle to steady the knife and give you leverage.

Step 2: Pry the cap up several times, turning the bottle neck to pry it up it several places if necessary. It might take a bit of back and forth until you get it loose enough, but eventually it will pop.

5. With a Screwdriver

Here’s another method that uses a quick bop on a sturdy surface rather than leverage to open a bottle. Once you get the hang of it this method is so easy and fun you might never use a bottle opener again. Choose a flat-head (not Philips) screwdriver and one that’s a good bit longer than your bottle for convenient maneuvering.

Step 1: Grasp the neck of a bottle with your non-dominant hand. Position the head of a flat screwdriver under the lip of the cap with your dominant hand; gently wrap the thumb of the hand on the bottle over the top of the screwdriver to steady it.

Step 2: The screwdriver handle should be pointing down at about a 45-degree angle. Lift everything up so the handle of the screwdriver is about 6 inches off a cutting board or another sturdy surface. Tilt the bottle so the bottom of the handle faces down and give it a firm, quick rap on the cutting board and the cap should fly off.

6. With a Hammer

Surprise, there’s no smashing here — if you happen to have a hammer around this is a remarkably easy way to open your bottle with the “bop” method rather than with leverage. Work over a cutting board or other sturdy surface to avoid any possibility of damaging a good table.

Step 1: Grasp a hammer just under the head with your non-dominant hand, handle facing down. Place the lip of the bottle on the edge of the hammer’s flat head with your dominant hand and hold it there.

Step 2: Lift the hammer and bottle up together until the hammer handle is about 6 inches off a cutting board or other very sturdy surface. Bring the handle down firmly on the board and the cap should fly off.

7. With Scissors

This method is fun and surprising: You don’t use the cutting side of the scissors for this but the plastic handles instead. You’ll need sturdy, full-size scissors with a rigid plastic handle.

Step 1: Grasp the handle side of the scissors with your dominant hand so your palm is facing down and an inch or two of the bow-like handles extend beyond your index finger.

Step 2: Use your other hand to grasp the bottle around the neck. With the bottle resting on a table or other sturdy surface, brace one handle against the crook of your thumb holding the bottle and slip it under the lip of the cap.

Step 3: Turn your wrist so the handle pries the cap up. It may take a few tries to get the right angle, but when you do the cap will pop.

8. With Another Bottle

Although this method works, we found it just as likely to loosen the cap of second bottle (the assisting bottle), and that one’s upside down during this operation. If it does, liquid spurts out and creates a bit of a mess — and a smelly mess if it’s beer, or a sticky mess if it’s soda. That said, we can definitely imagine instances when this could be the only option; if so, go for it!

Step 1: Place one bottle on a sturdy surface and grip it securely around the top of the neck with your non-dominant hand.

Step 2: Hold a second bottle securely with your other hand just below the neck. Turn the second bottle upside down and wedge the edge of the second bottle’s cap under the edge of the other cap. Wrap your bottom thumb around the second bottle to brace it.

Step 3: Leveraging the second bottle against the crook of your thumb, exert pressure to pry up the cap on the first bottle. You may have to do this a few times, and you may end of loosening the cap of the upside down bottle, causing it to leak; if this happens you can switch the positions of the bottles and keep prying.

Related Links:

Recipes for Cooking With Beer

22 Camping Recipes

Best Backyard Barbecue Recipes