Re: Bottle opener what's-it?
aquachigger ~
I saw your
green check mark but didn't think you would mind this additional tid-bit of information regarding your "cap lifter." (Which is what they were typically called at first).
Based on what I know about early openers, yours could very well be one of the earliest made for "Crown Closure" soda and beer bottles. As you can see in the following pictures, your opener is "almost" identical to the style patented by William Painter in 1894. (Painter also invented and patented the crown closure bottle in 1892).
(The only thing that confuses me is that the hook part on your particular opener is on the open end. Painter's is on the handle end. I will do some additional research and see if I can determine whether William Painter patented a variation. Plus, I will go back and see what I can find regarding the two illustrations I posted below that show the hook on the open end like yours).
The little hook on the end was primarily intended to remove the seal on what were referred to as "Loop Seal closures," which were still in use at the time when the Crown was invented. The Loop Seal closure was patented in 1891. Once the loop seal bottles were phased out around 1900, the hook was used for a multitude of things, including the opening of milk bottles.
As for the wide part, that was intended as a sort of "bottle stopper" after the bottle was opened.
Regarding the term "Church Key," the following says it best ...
"The expression church key is much older than the device that leaves a triangular hole in beer cans. It goes back to early days of the brewing business when beer was first dispensed in bottles. The expression church key is old in the brewing business because it looked like the open end of the kind of heavy ornate key used to unlock church doors."
I hope you find this information helpful and of interest. If you can somehow clean up your opener, and it has the "William Painter" name or patent number on it, you could really have something there.
Too bad its rusted.
SBB
Pictures ...
1. William Painter Patent # 514,200 February 6, 1894.
2. Loop Seal remover hook.
3. Bottle stopper (plug) aspect.
4. Church keys (antique - notice open ends).
5. Loop Seal Closure Patented April 7, 1891.
Thanks for taking the time to put it all together. 
. Merry Christmas everyone!
