The can opener is dying...

[Smaug]

More and more cans these days have pop tops.

When the day comes that this implement is obsolete, which tool would you like to see in its place?

I'm thinking either flat Phillips or a pull-type package opener, ala Leatherman Wingman.

Thoughts?

[CanadianLMfan]

I think that there should be an awl on the models with small blade and no awl.

[nate j]

flat Phillips

That has my vote, and I would be fine with making the switch today.  I probably run into more recessed Phillips screws than cans that require a can opener.

[enki_ck]

I would be fine with replacing the nail file on the Wenger with the flat phillips some of the Wenger models have. THere would be much more possibilities for the can opener place than a simple 2D phillips. But I would just leave the Wenger style can opener even if there were no cans to be opened. It's such a useful tool in so many ways, not just to open cans.

One of the best clam shell package openers on any multi or SAK, very good as an awl, scraper, scriber, ... In fact I think Vic should change their can opener to the Wenger style as well after the merger.

[Mr. Whippy]

I don't for see the end of can openers, especially the large 10 cans, but if the can opener became obsolete, my vote would be for an inline Phillips or magnifying glass

[ducttapetech]

long live the can opener!
if it has to go, then a quarter inch socket drive will work nicely.

[detron]

A bubble wand?

[enki_ck]

long live the can opener!
if it has to go, then a quarter inch socket drive will work nicely.

Good call on the 1/4" socket driver. Something like the SOG one.



Here's the in line 2D phillips driver I was talking about on a Wenger Swiss Sportsman.



And a good option for the can opener place is the T10 driver as found on the Wenger Computer Wiz.

[CanadianLMfan]

A bubble wand?

(Image removed from quote.)

 

[Smaug]

long live the can opener!
if it has to go, then a quarter inch socket drive will work nicely.

Good call on the 1/4" socket driver. Something like the SOG one.

Not really a good call, since a 1/4" driver would not fit in the space now occupied by the can opener.

[Smaug]

I would be fine with replacing the nail file on the Wenger with the flat phillips some of the Wenger models have.

You can do that yourself, right now, with about 3 seconds on a bench grinder, and you'd get to keep the nail file too.

[enki_ck]

long live the can opener!
if it has to go, then a quarter inch socket drive will work nicely.

Good call on the 1/4" socket driver. Something like the SOG one.

Not really a good call, since a 1/4" driver would not fit in the space now occupied by the can opener.

OK maybe not the opener layer, but a slightly thinner one could fit on the phillips/wrench layer instead of the phillips or wrench.

I would be fine with replacing the nail file on the Wenger with the flat phillips some of the Wenger models have.

You can do that yourself, right now, with about 3 seconds on a bench grinder, and you'd get to keep the nail file too.

I know, a few guys and girls did this already here but I'm thinking a slightly shorter one would not twist as easily. Anyone have one of those to check the length/thickness of the Wenger 2D philips?

[ducttapetech]

long live the can opener!
if it has to go, then a quarter inch socket drive will work nicely.

Good call on the 1/4" socket driver. Something like the SOG one.

Not really a good call, since a 1/4" driver would not fit in the space now occupied by the can opener.

If I have to lose the can opener, I will modded it to fit a 1/4 inch driver like the one on a sog.

sent from my mobile

[jzmtl]

Not sure why all the love for 1/4" adapter, I find the one I have on my SOG pretty useless, consider you'd have to carry extra sockets, which are heavy and space consuming, you might as well add a small ratcheting driver.

[ducttapetech]

I love it not so much for the sockets but for the 3d bits you can use. And it is handy for sockets but mainly for the 3D bits. And 3d bits are cheap.

sent from my mobile

[asmitty]

I don't see the can opener going away anytime soon.  It's just been around far too long.  But, if it ever does go away, I'd be be in favor or replacing the small blade with the Compact/Yeoman style "combo tool" and slimming most models by a layer.

[Bensasupertool]

  Yup, i wanna see a plunger. 

[MadPlumbarian]

I'm with ducttapetech, long live the can opener! Yes, more and more cans are using the peel lids, but still to many still require the opener, if anything the bottle opener is no longer required, just a quick twist, but it's still nice to have anyway! JR

[captain spaulding]

A bubble wand?

(Image removed from quote.)

It's like cleaning your knife every time you use it. 

[enki_ck]

Not sure why all the love for 1/4" adapter, I find the one I have on my SOG pretty useless, consider you'd have to carry extra sockets, which are heavy and space consuming, you might as well add a small ratcheting driver.

I love it not so much for the sockets but for the 3d bits you can use. And it is handy for sockets but mainly for the 3D bits. And 3d bits are cheap.

sent from my mobile

+1

That. There were a few attempts here at modifying the bottle opener or socket to accept the adapter. So having an 3D bit driver/adapter for your SAK.

A quick search in the Swiss forum and Mod Squad will show you a few examples of that but here's a few.



http://forum.multitool.org/swiss-forum/91mm-sak-bit-adaptor/


http://forum.multitool.org/swiss-forum/sak-mod-advice/

[RamoN]

I could see that the vic can opener could go due to the more specific nature of it, its hard to use it as something else, except the screwdriver tip but that can be replaced. But for me the wenger can opener is a great tool i use a lot for pry, open, cut, etc. maybe if there are no more cans to open i would reprofile the edge and make it thinner so it would have more cutting power, but i wouldnt like to loose that tool at all.

[Singh]

 The Vic can opener blade can be used to pop off the backs to watches. It works as a nice prying tool for small things, rather than ruining the edge of a knife blade.

The Vic can opener tool has a lot if uses. Even though the main purpose of the tool is to open cans, opening cans is really a tertiary function.

As long as there are metal cans, it'll always be handy to have a tool that can punch though them, pull tabs or no.

[Smashie]

 Is the can opener dying? Or the cap lifter? A first world problem I think. I can still buy a lot of canned goods in the UK that don’t have a pop top. I've also used a can opener on pop top cans when the smurfing ring pull has come off!

 
Move to 'value' brands or to other countries that have a lower income per household and you'll find that the pop top cans are nowhere to be found. If you buy stuff that comes in glass bottle in China (I spend a lot of time there) then you better have a cap lifter, screw tops cost more so they don't bother with them. Beer, soy sauce, chilli sauce pretty much all require a cap lifer. Just for kicks, cans of drink in China still have ring pulls that come off.

 
Pop top cans cost more to make, so in a lot of cases they don’t bother with them, everybody has a can opener, don’t they?

 
As Shamus said, it has more uses than just a can opener.

[nervium]

for most of the pop top cans in my country, that silly ring  breaks when you try to open it.also big size canned foods we use on disasters, field operations etc. don't have pop caps.i like having a can opener in my pocket.

and if you keep it sharp (for vics) it is a good pizza cutter

[Espen]

I want to see an Alastro Squirklinator in its place.

[Syph007]

PHillips driver makes sense.  Ive always thought of that layer as a driver layer, not an opener layer anyhow.

[sticktodrum]

You know, I eat a lot of canned tuna, and most of them that I've come across don't have the tabs. I use that can opener quite a bit. 

But...if I were to give it up a squashed Philips would be a great thing. Just don't get rid of the cap lifter, I need that thing. 

[Lynn LeFey]

I will never give up my beloved can opener, in any of its forms!

Change is BAD! 

[Rs217]

I vote for the bubble wand

[RoboYeti]

About the Wenger flat phillips, I have a Swiss Sportsman with one. I was excited to get this model. It looks perfect on paper for what I want. I was slightly disappointed though. The flat phillips tool fits most phillips screws fairly well in my experience, and the reach is ok. The problem is the backspring is too weak to keep it from folding on me whenever I give it even moderate use.

To be fair, I got a used model (they discontinued the Swiss Sportsman in the 1990s I think). The spring may be weak on mine compared to what the factory intended.