Manual Can Openers : Target.Robot or human?
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- The Best Can Openers of Home Cook-Tested
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You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings , which can also be found in the footer of the site. Kitchen Gadgets. By Donna Currie. Donna Currie. Donna Currie is a food writer and blogger specializing in recipes and kitchen gadgets. Sharon Lehman, RDN. Sharon Lehman is a freelance writer and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist specializing in food, health, and wellness topics.
Our Top Picks. Best Overall:. Jump to Review. Best Splurge:. Best Safety:. Best Heavy-Duty:. Best Budget:. Best One-Handed:. Best Crank:. Best with Magnet:. In This Article Expand. Our Picks. How We Tested. What to Look For. Why Trust The Spruce Eats? What We Don't Like Small learning curve. What We Like Heavy-duty stainless steel construction Safe and smooth side-cutting and replaceable lid Blade never comes in contact with food. What Our Testers Say "Not only is the brushed stainless design sleek and attractive, it feels smooth, solid, and extremely well-built.
What We Don't Like Not as comfortable as other models. View On Amazon. What Our Testers Say "Everything about this can opener feels smooth. The 8 Best Canned Salmon of What We Don't Like Not as durable as some other models. What Our Testers Say "I could see this opener being ideal for weaker or arthritic hands since there's no squeezing involved and it's lightweight. What We Like Ideal for those with weaker hand strength Safe and smooth side-cutting Multi-use bottle and jar opener.
What We Don't Like Blade only turns in one direction. Mack Mor, a senior product engineer at the company, told us that safety-style openers fail sooner because of the depth of the cut. But on a traditional rotary opener, the blade cuts through the thin top side of the can up to 12 times deeper, depending on how tightly you squeeze the handles.
That said, some users prefer the smooth-edged, reusable top the safety-style opener creates and are willing to take the risk of having to buy a new model every few years or so. We recruited three people to act as testers, a mix of righties and one lefty, with varying hand sizes and strengths. In the end, we found things we liked about each style of can opener.
Overall, the traditional rotary-style openers usually cut the fastest through the thin lids, requiring the fewest thumbwheel rotations. Not surprisingly, this most common type of opener tends to be the most intuitive to use.
The exception is our winning compact Super Kim, which takes a little getting used to before latching it onto the can becomes second nature.
The safety can openers were often slower, and the thumbwheel, while smooth, required more effort to turn; this makes sense, since they were cutting through a thicker band of metal. Because they usually mount on top of the lid, with the thumbwheel positioned like helicopter blades, you can open nearly any size can while it rests on the countertop, without the thumbwheel bumping the work surface.
If you prize portability—and the ability to clean the can opener without fear of rust jamming up the gear system that rotary openers have—then fixed can openers work well.
Their simple design, with nothing more than a sharp tooth and catch for leverage, has no tight spaces or gears that can trap food or liquids, and they can be washed without any risk.
To select specific models to test, we cross-referenced reviews on Amazon, America's Test Kitchen subscription required , Consumer Reports subscription required , The Wirecutter , Fine Cooking , and Epicurious. A good can opener has to work on a wide range of cans. We tested with standard-size cans of tomato paste, pitted olives, kidney beans, peas, and tuna.
Beyond the standard supermarket offerings, we scoured Asian markets for imported cans, like fermented mustard greens from Thailand and roasted eel in oblong tins from Taiwan, to see if they posed a challenge. We also included rectangular containers of anchovy fillets, which we tested all our winners on. We lined up testers, a mix of righties and lefties, and noted how many turns of the thumbwheel each model needed to completely sever the lid.
The good news is, most openers made it around a standard-size can of olives in four and a half to seven rotations. We disqualified any particularly slow models. Our winning rotary-style openers fell in the five- to six-and-a-half-rotation range.
Both of our winning fixed openers required more than a dozen punctures to open the olive can, but testers got faster with them over time. After a few rounds of testing, which narrowed the field to the faster-cutting models, we opened some more cans, this time adding imported and oblong-shaped cans.
In these rounds, testers assessed how well each model gripped the cans. The traditional-style can openers had a clear advantage here and latched on the most easily. It took a couple of uses of many of the safety-style openers to achieve the same level of ease. Because many safety openers mount to the top of the can, your line of sight is often obscured as you latch on. That forces you into some weird can-opener-yoga poses as you duck down to look under the tool, trying to nail the alignment.
Our winning Kuhn Rikon safety opener takes the guesswork out of placement with cutouts on the tool that help you align it with the round can top. Latching on, and not slipping off, is the hardest part of using the fixed-style openers, which employ a small hook to hold on to the can.
We found that the models with a deeper hook are easier to control. Most can openers should last at least a year, though many people have can openers that last for decades. In the interest of longevity, your best bet is to avoid buying the cheapest version you can and instead invest in something whose reviews indicate that it is durable. The most typical reason for can openers to stop working or malfunction is that the gadget itself is made from flimsy materials that bend or get misshapen.
Other times, the rollers get gunk on them or acquire rust. Whether you want an electric can opener or a manual one is a personal choice, depending on your dexterity—if you have mobility or strength issues, want the safest choice, or open large quantities of cans, it may be your best option. The only disadvantage is that you need to have ample storage space. Experts say that you should clean your can opener after every use, believe it or not.
Though smooth-edge openers accumulate fewer germs and bacteria, washing your opener with soapy water is still a good idea. If you notice the cogs and wheels getting grimy, you can clamp them onto a paper towel to get small bits out. After washing with hot water and dish soap, dry thoroughly to avoid rust. Lacey Muinos is a freelance writer specializing in food and drink, health, and wellness. As you can imagine a food writer would, she has an impressive array of kitchen gadgets, including her trusty can opener.
When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests.
You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings , which can also be found in the footer of the site. Best Kitchen Items. The Best Can Openers for Fuss-Free Opening Every Time It's a tool that's found in every kitchen and often overlooked, but finding a sturdy and reliable can opener can be daunting.
We did the research and tested some of the best ones to help. By Rebecca Treon. Rebecca Treon. Rebecca is a freelance writer specializing in food, travel, and lifestyles.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process. Lacey Muinos. Pin Share Email. The Rundown. Best Overall, Manual:. Jump to Review. Best Overall, Electric:. Best Ergonomic:. Best for Lefties:. Best for Safety:. Best Battery-Operated:.
You might wonder, "How can a can opener be more versatile than just opening cans? On one end of the Swiss-designed tool, you'll find a standard can opener plus a mini-plier to safely pull up the open lids without having to use your fingers. Look to the other end, and there's a bottle opener for crown caps, a bottle opener for screw tops, a little hook to handle pull tabs, and another hook for prying open vacuum-sealed jars.
Tackling everything from canned tomatoes to sardine tins to pickle jars to coke cans, this tool may become one of the most used gadgets in your kitchen.
This versatile can opener is a nice space saver if you want to avoid having too many single-use kitchen tools cluttering your flatware drawers. It may be tempting to throw it in the dishwasher, but it's really best if you hand wash it. The good news, though, is that the can opener is designed to cut from the side and not to touch the food in the can, so it really shouldn't get that dirty. The Details: Manual; measures 9 x 2.
There are many reasons to love this little gadget: It's electric but doesn't take up a lot of storage space, is easy for left- and right-handed people to use as well as those with limited hand mobility, and cuts smooth edges.
This small can opener fits in the palm of your hand but still can be used for cans of all sizes. To use it, place the blade and gear between the opposite side of the edge and press the power button. You don't even have to keep your hand on it while it works around the can, allowing you to continue prepping your meal.
Once you've opened the can, simply lift the lid off, and you're good to go. All in all, this electric handheld can opener is the best of both worlds, as it fits easily into drawers but requires zero effort. It's important to note that you'll need to purchase four AA batteries in order to use it. The Details: Electric; measures 7. One of the worst things that can happen when you're opening canned food is accidentally slicing your hand on any sharp edges left by the opener.
This can opener prevents that from happening by cutting into the side of the can rather than from the top, leaving a smooth edge just as its name promises. Because it's cutting from the side, you may find that you have to hold the can opener at a slightly different angle than your run-of-the-mill top-cut opener, but once you've figured it out, it's quick and easy work turning the big knob on the side to open the can.
Another nice feature of this tool that keeps your contact with the can to a minimum is the built-in lid pliers, which you can use to pick up the cut lid. Squeeze the nonslip grip handles together to pinch the mini pliers, and then you can lift and toss the lid without touching it with your bare hands. The Details: Manual; measures 6.
For those who prefer manual can openers, Zyliss Lock-N-Lift Can Opener is our favorite choice due to its convenient, user-friendly features.
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