sharp can opener

Ever hone the disk of a can opener?

Reply to
J Burns
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No, is this manual or electric? Mostly they get sticky and need a clean and lube. Possibly, the cutter-wheel is replaceable...

Reply to
bob_villa

It's an EZ-DUZ-IT manual. I thought my Swingaway would last forever, but I guess it wore out. I got a deluxe heavy-duty no-name model at the corner store. It seemed very strong but soon broke.

Some say Swingaway isn't what it used to be, and EZ-DUZ-IT is like the old Swingaways. So I got one.

It worked fine on 15-ounce cans, but 27-ounce cans are made of heavier steel. Turning the handle was so hard that I was sure the opener wouldn't last long.

There was a burr on the cutting disk. Maybe it came from the factory with a burr, or maybe the original edge was too acute for a heavy can. I honed it, and it cuts a lot easier.

I like WD-40 for cleaning gunky can openers. It would hazardous to inhale but is evidently harmless to ingest in trace amounts. I wonder if it does any harm by driving out lubricant. Why don't can openers have Zerk fittings!

Reply to
J Burns

I have 2 old Swing-A-Way (they got the name from the wall mount model). I remove the cutter disk and clean the entire opener in soapy hot water, then lube the mechanism with peanut oil.

Reply to
bob_villa

Zerks would increase the consumer price.

BTW, spray can of white lithium grease might do some good.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I'd rather take it apart to clean, but this one doesn't come apart. I believe I cleaned it with WD-40 on a cotton swab.

Reply to
J Burns

Would it get to the shafts of a can opener that won't come apart?

Reply to
J Burns

One time, I noticed the layers of dried crud on my Swing A Way. Some oven cleaner and tooth brush to clean it up. Don't want multiple generations of bacteria and disease in my canned dinner.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I'd think yes. Especially if you spray and crank at the same time, to move the lith in.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I've been using 2-handled hand can openers. The only thing better is wall-can openers, and hand can openers have the advantage that you can put a heavy can on the table and not worry that it will fall on the floor if the wall can opener somehow loses its grip. . No electricity in either case.

When one stopped working, I saw one at the supermarket at half price and bought and used it.

Then I used WD-40 on the first one and now I have two.

Then I needed one for a picnic and bought one at the dollar store. Definitely not as good as either of the others, both harder to squeeze in the first time and harder to turn the handle, , but also only a dollar.

Reply to
micky

And yes, harmless. First I doubt if 1/1000th of a gram total ever gets to the food. The things lubed are the cutting wheel axle and the crank axle. But say some gets ont the cutting wheel. Wipe it off, for gosh sakes. And if you don't, most gets wiped off on the inside of the can, Well, for the first rotation of the cutting wheel. After that it's pretty clean. If you pour the food past that part of the can, much of what's on the can gets wiped into the food. Let's assume it's spinach, which is heavy and wipes the can pretty well. It's still not enough to worry me. If I had a kid, I'd wipe the WD-40 off the cutting wheel.

Reply to
micky

We have a left hander in the family.

Canopeners are all but impossible to operate left handed.

Reply to
TimR

My phrase "trace amounts" was sort of exaggerated. This is from the MSDS.

"Ingestion: This product has low oral toxicity. Swallowing may cause gastrointestinal irritation, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. This product is an aspiration hazard. If swallowed, can enter the lungs and may cause chemical pneumonitis, severe lung damage and death."

As long as you don't drink enough for vomit to end up in your lungs, you should be fine.

Reply to
J Burns

In my two hand-held openers that failed, I don't recall sloppy bearings. I think one had instructions with a warning not to submerge it. Maybe rust, not wear, is the potential problem for bearings. Maybe WD-40 is a great lubricant for that purpose. I hope Stormy doesn't read this. A flame war is a terrible thing, once it gets started.

Can manufacturer are always looking for metals that are a little thinner and lighter. Maybe these new metals are harder. That might explain why I didn't experience my first failure until I was over 60, and my second came shortly afterward. It could also explain why Amazon customers say Swingaways aren't as good as they once were. Maybe they are as good, but some cans are tougher.

Amazon has a good hand-cranked table model for $114.

Reply to
J Burns

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Reply to
Scott Lurndal

I think so too.

Once I told my brother, a board certified radiologist, that I had inhaled some insulation off an electric wire, (I guess because I stripped it with my teeth.). He said, Don't worry about it.

Reply to
micky

I have one of those, and keep it with my camping stuff, but a) I've only hiked overnight once, a 4-day hike, and I didn't take any cans with me. b) I mostly car-camp and still don't take cans with me but if I did, I'd take a full-size can opener. c) I keep the one you have there with my camping stuff anyhow and take it with me, just in case there's an emergency and I have to open a can.

Reply to
micky

So operate it right-handed. I've been a southpaw all my life, and can openers present no problem.

Cindy Hamilton

Reply to
Cindy Hamilton

I sort of doubt the metal is any tougher. I can more easily imagine that it is thinner, and the design of the opener depends on dimensions of the can being the same. Of course, how thinness could make things not work i haven't figure out yet!

For that money it should be good.

I'm on my second Swingaway. The second one used the same bracket as the first, so that was good. But right now there are boxes in the way fo the closet so I ccan't get to it. That means it won't wear out, which is good, but if there are cans it can't open, I won't know until Spring cleaning. And I doubt that you and I eat the same things.

Reply to
micky

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

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