Evolution of the can opener

[Dunc]

This morning I had to open some food cans and I grabbed a pst to use , while it opened to tin it was hard work and left the tin edges very jagged and mangled , I also found it hard to compleatly remove the lid without it turning sideways and diving down into the can in some kind of final death throw and forcing the can contents out and ending up in a mess . I put this at first down to it being an old used and worn pst and thought the can opener was probably blunt so I got my late unused model and that was exactly the same . Finally I used my Wave on a third can and it was a joy to use . So PST can openers suck although they do open bottles ok . Now if we go back 10 years or so and the great vic versus lm debate and how vics can opener was far superior to lm I can honestly say that was true but nowadays I wouldn't be so sure and would put the two on level pegging .

[Dunc]

As my thinking about this continues I remembered the Wingman/Sidekicks can opener , while its an acceptable can opener it falls very short as a bottle opener as it is too sharp at the point and tends to pierce the centre of the cap rather then use it as a pressure and pivot point . No big deal but when you open as many bottles of beer as me  you get to know which ones are smoother to operate .

[Zed]

As my thinking about this continues I remembered the Wingman/Sidekicks can opener , while its an acceptable can opener it falls very short as a bottle opener as it is too sharp at the point and tends to pierce the centre of the cap rather then use it as a pressure and pivot point . No big deal but when you open as many bottles of beer as me  you get to know which ones are smoother to operate .

Oddly the bottle opener is one tool i could live with out as being a guiness drinker  but i do find can openers a issue on some MT's but not one that puts me off as the drivers are more a issue with me 

[dks]

This got me thinking about Corkscrews.

I used the one on my LM Flair a few  times during the Holidays and whilst it sort of works it is still very thin, short and fragile looking.

It cannot go deep enough into the cork, if you want to use the bottle opener as a lever for removing it and it tends to bend and twist in a worrying manner... though I have not damaged it yet.
It, however, looks quite sexy ! and has a fork and pretty vine pictures on.... 

The Swiss Army ones, however have always (way before LM was created) been a lot more solid and user friendly.

I have not yet tried any newer LM corkscrews (Juice and?) so I do not know if they have also improved.

[AimlessWanderer]

This got me thinking about Corkscrews.

I used the one on my LM Flair a few  times during the Holidays and whilst it sort of works it is still very thin, short and fragile looking.

It cannot go deep enough into the cork, if you want to use the bottle opener as a lever for removing it and it tends to bend and twist in a worrying manner... though I have not damaged it yet.
It, however, looks quite sexy ! and has a fork and pretty vine pictures on.... 

The Swiss Army ones, however have always (way before LM was created) been a lot more solid and user friendly.

I have not yet tried any newer LM corkscrews (Juice and?) so I do not know if they have also improved.

I think the biggest evolution in terms of can opener is the ring pull cans  I still like Vic and Wenger style, but don't think I've ever used a LM to try and open a can other than a comparison test with a SAK with a Juice - the Juice failed to even get started 

I like corkscrews, but since putting a Tru Utility Twistick in my wallet, it doesn't matter if I have a SAK with corkscew or not. I still prefer the inline phillips over the backspring variety, but I can now carry my Deluxe Tinker without having a corkscrew crisis  I don't miss the eyeglasses driver either if I've got my gadget ring as there's a Wenger Pocket Tool Chest on it which covers that nicely 

[Mr. Whippy]

Hmm...

In my head to head tests, the Vic can opener is best.  It handles a wide variety of cans and leaves a very clean edge.

The Leatherman (Charge ALX) can opener came in second.  It did fine on cans up to the 15 oz size, but when the big, industrial cans came out, it took significantly more work with less clean edges.  It beat out the Wenger only because the Leatherman opener locks in place.

The Wenger came in third.  It was also fine up to the 15 oz size can, but in large commercial/industrial sized cans, the opener would stick and fold closed on itself.    Really a lot of work to open the larger cans.

[AimlessWanderer]

The Wenger scores bonus points for me for being a good general purpose pokey thing 

To be honest though I don't tend to open any cans with multitools or SAK's unless I'm stuck (if standard kitchen opener breaks for example), and I've always reached for a SAK purely out of habit 

[jan.]

[Threeme2189]

(Image removed from quote.)

Epic win.

[J-sews]

(Image removed from quote.)

Epic win.

Funny