Has anyone else been having problems with opening tins? We found it really hard to open tins with a previous tin opener. So I got an old fashioned butterfly one and this didn't work very well, so bought another from Asda (35p) and found this didn't work. Finally went to John Lewis and paid for an expensive one (=A37) and have now found this doesn't work properly.
This made me think that maybe the manufacture of tinned goods has changed slightly.
We have a Culinare SafetyCan 2 opener. Has an interestingly slightly different mechanism - works OK. Not noticed anything very different recently. Mind, the rims of cans seem a bit neater/thinner than they used to be - are they welded rather than soldered these days?
This made me think that maybe the manufacture of tinned goods has changed slightly.
Forget the new fangled gimmicks and use an old fasioned "stab and cut" maual one. You'll prolly find them in a pound shop or chandlers.
Tim Decker formulated the question :
Our seem to work at first but they soon stop working.
The folded over lip does seem to be thinner. As a standby I keep a really simple tin opener which is intended for camping etc. and fits on a key ring. It is made from two bits of flat metal, one hooks onto the rim of the tin, the other is the blade hinged onto the first. I have had it for over twenty years on my car keys and it never fails to work. They might be called 'The Little Nipper' or similar. Most camping type stores will probably have them.
The message from Rod contains these words:
Many (but not all) cans are now made so that you're expected to to make a horizontal cut just under the rim, rather than a vertical cut inside the rim.
Buy an appropriate design of modern opener, make sure it's a quality one and use it in accordance with the design of the can.
I think it probably has. The "lift off" style of can opener which cuts the side of the can under the rim with a circular blade seems better suited than a traditional opener with a fixed blade and a hand driven cog wheel.
I have both these types, however my favourite can opener is one that resembles the lift off type in form, but has a safety cutter that cuts through the rim itself. It only ever takes one go to open the can, and the top is easily lifted off leaving no sharp edges at all.
I wish I had bought two, because I cannot remember where I bought it from and will need a replacement one day.
Then cut yourself on the jagged edges!
Are you accident prone then?
This made me think that maybe the manufacture of tinned goods has changed slightly.
Faultless opens a tin every time had one like this for 16 years,twas my mothers...few and far between now this type.
Not AFAIK
Like everything else just made thinner / cheaper.
derek
That was a mouse / rat trap. ;-)
Derek
This made me think that maybe the manufacture of tinned goods has changed slightly.
Maybe you have a bit of a weak wrist! I use an electric tin opener for the tins that don't have a ring on them. The only problem I see is for left handed people. I'm amazed you think a £7 one with a name is better than any other. I bet you have been ripped off so many times!
I bought a cheap Ikea one a few months ago - works great, although a little bit fiddly to locate on the rim until you get used to it.
Angle grinder :-)
That sounds like the opener that came in the boxes of 'compo' rations. We used to have a few of them, but they've gone/gotten lost over the years.
Which is much more likely nowadays. Instead of touching the cad and lid just once (to pour out the contents and drop the empty in the bin), we are expected to rinse off both lid and can and bin them separately.
I certainly have cut myself on cans due to this method of opening. Accident prone? Maybe. Trying where sensible to avoid wickedly nasty sharp edges? Yes, definitely.
Which is much more likely nowadays. We are expected to rinse off both lid and can and bin them separately. This might involve several additional handlings.
When I was looking for an opener suitable for a frail person, I though one of these looked ideal. It wasn't though. Removing the upper rim loses the upper rigidity of the can, and she couldn't then pick up the can without squashing it, resulting in spill over and possible dropping.
Yes, if you just try to grasp opposite sides of the tin.
You could eg place the tin on a plate, perhaps a largish soup-plate first, and plan to upset it as soon as it is open.
Or place it on a chopping board, open it, then slide it off the board so one can get one's hand under it as well as gripping part of the side of the can.
You are correct.
The opener I had in mind was one of these...
Ebay item 280263482172
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