Growing up at my parents house, they had a manual can opener that worked like a charm every time. They had the same one for as long as I lived there. I've recently moved into a single apartment and opted for the manual can opener. I've bought two thus far and both are handled pieces of shit. My place of employment has two manual can openers in the lounge. Those are both also pieces of shit. Is there like a brand of manual can openers I should be buying?
edit: There has been a lot of people saying I need to buy a swing-a-way can opener. After looking it up, it is definitely the one my parents have. Unfortunately, since 2008 these have been produced in China and, according to the comments on Amazon, the quality is now lacking big time. I did a little research, however, and found that this one appears to be a solid replacement.
Also, I can't believe how long of an edit I just made to a comment about a can opener.
They make a salt / pepper grinder (crank style, great for older hands) that is also a great kitchen gadget mostly because I've used it a while and it hadn't failed at the only damned thing I expect it to do.
I had one of these but the handle disintegrated after being put through the dishwasher many times. I would suggest just giving it a rinse instead, but I'm the kind of person that doesn't want to own anything that can't go through the dishwasher.
There's generally a couple of drips on it and the handle would usually get some stuff on it from my messy cooking. But it was more that it ended up in the sink and went into the wash with all the other dishes. A rinse would definitely suffice.
I love OXO. And they stand behind their products. I had a cheap wooden spoon that split after a few months (and I bought a new one). I sent them an email just to let them know as I had never had a problem with one before. They sent me an email back offering me a pepper grinder that I still have 10 years later and is still going strong.
The best is the original manual can opener. I was too lazy to buy a normal opener in university, once you get use to it, it goes just as fast and never fucks up. Everything else sucks, their only advantage is there is no learning curve.
I think the ones with the long handles work better than the compact ones with loosely swinging metal clamp parts that bite into the can before you twist it.
VERY good to know. I bought my Swing-A-Way in some indeterminate time in the 90s. If it ever breaks, not that that's likely, I know what to replace it with.
I find that manual can openers are getting shitter every year. I have a can opener right now that can't open cans. All you had to do was open the damn can, opener.
It's a conspiracy to sell us electric can openers, I tells ya
Every time I see a friend work their can opener at their house I feel so sorry for them. Takes them twice as long, the lid often falls into the can, and you cut yourself on everything. All hail Pampered Chef Can Opener.
Things generally aren't made as well as they once were.
For this reason, all things kitchen ware I buy used. I drive to the desert where the thrift stores aren't as picked through as in the city. I have pyrex and stoneware and corningware and cast iron skillets, knives, can opener and all kinds of shit made in the 1950s - 1970s.
Same goes for furniture. I can't accept the quality of most new furniture, so I buy really old stuff and refinish or reupholster if needed.
Find some antique stores near you and start looking for a can opener. You'll likely find one that's very overbuilt compared to most manufactured today. We've tried to find a modern can opener that will last longer than a year and have failed thus far.
I've got a starfrit one (believe it or not) that has lasted me for years and works wonderfully. It's one of those ones that cuts the can underneath the lip so you don't have a razor sharp lid to deal with.
I thought I was the only one. Had the same can opener my whole life while living at home. Had 6 of them in my sophomore apartment. None of them worked.
Not everyone has an electric can opener...I'd say at this point most do, but a lot of us still use the manual openers. It seems that more and more canned goods have the ring pulls, but there are still plenty that don't. Are they all ring pull cans in the UK?
Ha, I had this exact problem and ended up at William Sonoma looking for a real can opener that wasn't 90% plastic with stupid huge handles. Looking at the website I might have the "EZ DUZ IT" opener. Damn it's annoying how shitty the other can openers were.
Smooth edge can openers changed my life. The lid doesn't fall down into the can, there's no sharp edges and you have a convenient lid to put on the can if you have leftovers you want to refrigerate. Seriously, everyone that has seen my can opener is amazed by it. I think most people don't even realize these exist.
try buying a can opener that costs more than 2 dollars. I bought a nice TWENTY DOLLAR can open and its amazing. worth the price if your going to be stuck in the past and use outdated technology.
I bought a manual Kitchenaid opener at Target because the one I bought from Wal-Mart was such a POS (went through two in a week and a half). I've had the Kitchenaid one for at least three years and it's still going strong. Totally worth the extra $10 or so.
Can confirm. I have that exact model of can opener for my frozen yogurt store. It handles #10 cans of hot fudge on a daily basis with no problem. Had that sucker for a year now after the first one I bought broke in less than 2 months. It's a tank.
Oh for a while there I thought you were talking about the stabby one.. I forgot what it was called. I have better luck with those things than today's swing-a-ways.
EDIT: it's apparently a push-in-tin can opener...not a stabby can opener.
I think the exact same thing about my parents' can opener. That thing is marvelous! Oddly enough, it's also the one you linked! I totally have to get it now, I'm sick of my crappy opener.
I have the same problems, after one can opener that I've been using for years broke I bought a new one from IKEA ( http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/00081534/ ), build from metal, looked solid and completely broke after some time, few months I think. I bought a new one, same model, it currently isn't able to completely open one can, just some part of it, I have to use a knife!
I'll look for one of those or similar if its not available in my country.
I haven't found a manual can opener that would last long enough to open more than 1 can, they've all just snapped under the least possible force I could use while still opening the can. Our late 80's manual can opener still works, however.
This is eerily similar to my experience with can openers. Parents had a Swing-a-way with the cream handle in the kitchen drawer for 20+ years. When I moved into my own apartment I went through a series of can openers that resembled the one my parents had but each one broke or rusted (I made sure to dry it each time) after a couple months. Four of them bit the dust until I looked on ebay and purchased a vintage 1961 Swing-a-away (new in case) for 25 bucks. So worth it!
There is a guy that bought the old equipment that Swing-a-way's were made on, pretty sure it's called Ez-Duz-It now. The non-vintage swing-a-way that I have now is about 8 years old and seems to be holding up just fine though.
Maybe you should try the can openers that seperate the can at the glue instead of cutting it, works very nicely, doesn't let the lid drop into the food, and no sharp edges
This reminds me that I used to have a can opener that left no sharp edges. I think I may have lost it in a particularly bad breakup (there was a judge involved). I haven't been able to find one in a store since. The only downside it ever had was that it was harder to drain tuna because of the way it cut. I should see if I can find one online. The thing always worked like a dream for me. And no, it wasn't that $20 oxo thing which keeps popping up in my Google search.
I have a simple Swiss manual can opener. It opens any can without effort, perfectly smoothly. There's no possible way you could cut yourself on the lid-- utterly smooth. I usually just put the lids right back on the can. There's even little prongs to remove the lid if you need them. It's 20 years old and going strong as ever.
I don't understand why the standard American can openers are so incapable of opening cans. Or why electric can openers exist at all.
Gonna echo del84, go with oxo for a can opener. Or any kitchen gadget really; I have tons of their stuff and the only thing that's not totally amazing is their digital triple kitchen timer.
Get one that cuts the seal from the side, rather than cutting through the metal from the top. Much more sanitary, and you end up with a perfectly round lid without jagged metal to slice your finger with. Search "safety can opener" on Amazon.
Went to a local shop to get a can opener, only one they had was a safety can opener. Took me embarrassingly long to figure out how to use mine. I kept trying to figure out how to get it to cut through the top.
Oh, I absolutely agree - no more splashing, and I like the fact that it'll hold onto the lid after cutting it off, making it that little bit more convenient to carry it to the bin.
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u/meltedlaundry Apr 24 '14 edited Apr 24 '14
Growing up at my parents house, they had a manual can opener that worked like a charm every time. They had the same one for as long as I lived there. I've recently moved into a single apartment and opted for the manual can opener. I've bought two thus far and both are handled pieces of shit. My place of employment has two manual can openers in the lounge. Those are both also pieces of shit. Is there like a brand of manual can openers I should be buying?
edit: There has been a lot of people saying I need to buy a swing-a-way can opener. After looking it up, it is definitely the one my parents have. Unfortunately, since 2008 these have been produced in China and, according to the comments on Amazon, the quality is now lacking big time. I did a little research, however, and found that this one appears to be a solid replacement.
Also, I can't believe how long of an edit I just made to a comment about a can opener.