Now I expect a video on cans. From the hard soldered ones, that could be quite dangerous if done improperly, through the war year ones, to the modern ones with liners that essentially eliminate problems with botulism. And all the rabbit holes to square cans, flat cans, integrated openings, whether key, pop top, etc, to the self heating cans for military, and survival use. Easily another video or two in there.
Dang it, now that you've invoked cans so much, I'm bound to get the Engineerguy video on the evolution of the aluminum drink can in my sidebar again and go on another total binge of his channel. It happens once or twice a year.
I wouldn't be surprised if he did a clever voice over in editing just in that part to mask out the can noise, it seems unlikely but you can't rule anything out in this channel
@@tomascarrasco371 I've set up some interesting contraptions in the past to deaden the sound of tossed-on-video objects. Just a large throw rug in a big box (and a few takes so you actually hit it and not the box) is usually enough for lighter objects ;)
I just wanted to let you know that your videos have fundamentally changed the way I look at technology and machines around me. They've also majorly changed how I interact with many things in my life I took for granted. No one does "in depth lessons" on how a dish washer works or how to use one effectively, but your videos helped me make basic changes that turned what I thought was basically a useless hunk of junk into one of the most convenient time-savers in my house. And that's just one example! Thank you a thousand times doing what you do.
As a little side note if you hold the can in the air while using a traditional can opener it will not destroy the teeth on it and your can opener will last forever I have found holding it on the counter rounds the teeth off
I found his channel a few days ago and it is the only thing keeping me sane this week lol. I am a huge tech geek myself, but my field of study is something else entirely. I just like tech as a hobby so I don't dig too deeply. But his videos have also shaped the way I view and understand certain technologies, and his dry jokes are always fun. "In depth lessons," as you put it, are something I wish we had more of today. It's what I loved about Bill Nye when I was a kid; he explained things in a way that made it easy to understand. Not everyone understands things intuitively. For example, I understand physics on a completely intuitive level, but I couldn't tell you a single formula I remember. To me, physics just makes sense. But what doesn't make sense to me are old cameras, which this TC also explained in-depth! After that video I was shocked I never knew about how old cameras even worked! It was especially ironic because I took a black and white photography class when I was in high school, but the cameras were never explained to us; we were just told to take pictures and process them and never go into the red room when the door is closed. To think I missed out on so much knowledge because I had a lazy teacher... yeesh! I'm glad this guy popped up in my recommended feed one day. His channel is the brain food I've been craving after rotting away on the internet for so long. It's like the more you learn, the more you feel in touch with the world around you, and the easier it is to step away from this oversaturated false paradise. You were kind for commenting, and correct for thanking him. TC is changing lives, no doubt!
also on the "someone will have taught you how to use a can opener" assumption, I want you to picture three 20 year olds standing around a kitchen counter trying to figure out how to open a can of tomato paste bc somehow all three of them were never taught how to use a can opener. That is one of my most formative life experiences
Did you do it as my neighbor across the street did when she just moved in? I watched her hit the can with quite some force for a long 20 minutes. Other kitchen utensils were used too.
It's quite sad when people don't know how to do simple things like that when the parents should have taught them. Currently im 25 and I was taught at 7 how to use one.
@@Wtrxprs007able Some people have kinda shitty parents. Or sometimes even parents who aren't shitty but don't know how to do things. That's why it's important for basic life skills to also be available to be taught... outside of schools. Not like that happens though...
I randomly got one of these for Christmas a few years back, and I love it. As someone with small hands and MS, it's nearly impossible for me to squeeze a normal can opener. These have given me so much more freedom in the kitchen. I have no idea why they're not more common.
@@justinm16 Multiple sclerosis! It's a nerve condition that, in my case, affects my ability to feel and use my hands properly (eg: not being able to squeeze things).
We also got one of these a while ago and tho my grandma was confused at first once she learned how it's used it has certainly been easier, and ours even has a tiny grabber to grab the lid if it doesn't come off by itself.
I have carpal tunnel syndrome real bad in both my hands and I find the regular can openers are not only a pain but the gears tend to be mild steel and they wear out too quick. I open a lot of cans so I'm wondering how well these wear cuz the only can openers I've used that I actually liked are the big ol foodservice ones that you gotta bolt onto the counter.
This fits oddly well with the side discussion: “I’ve come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies,” writes Douglas Adams in The Salmon of Doubt. 1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. 2. Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. 3. Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things."
That must have been before people were raised to believe everything from before they were born is heresy of the highest regard and must be tossed out and replaced with its exact opposite no matter how extreme.
@@KairuHakubi So, you are saying "every societal development past me being 35 is against the natural order of things"? Thanks for being such a ideal example!
It's funny! I had seen the safety opener a long while back used by somebody. I thought it was a very good product and looked for it and instead got the 2nd type of opener you mentioned which didn't work well at all. For a long time I thought what I had seen was a hallucination until you mentioned it here! I'm going to get it now that I know it is real!
Hi @ElectoBOOM, didn't expect to see you here! Apparently people with similar interests watch similar videos. Did you, like I did for a moment, think an electric can opener would be possible? Touching the can against two electrodes, with a frequency high enough to only penetrate and heat up the upper layer, and high enough current to melt it? Seems safe enough for me. Since I'm a father of two without a yt channel, I would love to see a video of somebody (that is not me) experimenting on that!
You may be disappointed by it. I like the side cutter style, but I have also found enough cans that it won't work on because they have different shape seams that I have reverted to the regular style because it always works.
9:35 having worked in a grocery store, i can say with absolute certainty that the taper is there for better stacking. The ravioli cans will slide off the rim of another can easily, while the taper makes it impossible without also knocking down the can beneath it. Those cans are a blessing when stocking shelves
I'm pretty sure British ones have regular shaped tops with the ringpull, and tapered bottoms. You can still use a tin opener on the top ringpull side. (Well, except Heinz that just refuses to make stackable tins.)
But there are some cans that don’t stack well on top of others. I’ve had cans from differing brands that would stack together, but the can would stack fine on other cans of the same brand. I hate canned food in general. I usually opt for fresh; however, I do like a can of green beans occasionally
this is why the taper on the bottom is now common on many cans. I had an older one of these with a squeeze grip the anvil (cutting part) eventually wore out. this is the 2.0 version of these
I remember when my grandmother bought one of these back in the early 00's. It's definitely good for the kids making a snack that might not be as careful with sharp edges. But it also made recycling a lot easier, we would remove the labels from cans take the top and bottom off, wash all of it and then smush the now unsupported tube flat, which saved a great amount of space in our recycling bin having just a bunch of flat cans and flat lids
9:00 When I got a "safety" can opener for the restaurant I work at, my main reason for doing so was that the cooks could get a spatula in the cans to get more product out of the cans without the burrs left by traditional can openers slicing up the spatulas. A can opened with a safety opener is far less likely to damage a rubber spatula and cause physical contamination concerns.
“My boy Ardee” got me. This channel is exactly what youtube was made. No cheesy elongated intros, no repetitive pleadings for likes and subscribes, no overpriced generic merch. Humor, history, science and technology.
UA-cam was made for people to upload home videos. the things you described absolutely make this channel very enjoyable and pleasant to watch, but to make claims about what UA-cam is 'supposed to be' is nonsensical
I suggest you look at a channel called eating history. Its fairly interesting where he cooks meals from history while giving a small lesson about the time period it was found in.
I like to imagine sometimes that I'm an archeologist four thousand years in the future. I have a can opener in front of me, and I have no idea what it's for. Thankfully, the internet still exists in some form, and after some electronic archeology, I come across a few videos. Maybe some of them explain what a can opener is used for, broadly speaking. But maybe they're not too detailed about it, and I still have questions. And then I find this video. It goes into such fine, unnecessary detail. It's a goldmine. A godsend. It not only explains, and describes, but visually demonstrates. It goes into the why, as well as the how. It's every bit of information I could wish for on just what a can opener is, as a far future archeologist. And, as this archeologist, I could just kiss the author, because they so distinctly call out that one pitfall of history. "It's a fact of life. Everyone knows how to use one of these." Maybe everyone did four thousand years ago, but not anymore. When a given piece of society becomes so ubiquitous that nobody bothers to explain it anymore, it leaves historians tearing their hair out, so I appreciate the effort to preserve information even about things so mundane as a manual can opener.
When I found your channel I was amazed at how you had the ability to make a 25 minute video about detergent in dishwashers interesting even for your target audience of curious people. I was pleasantly surprised at not 1, not 2 but 3 video essays about Christmas lights. So I don't know why my first reaction at seeing the title of this video was "has he gone too far, is a 20 minute video about can openers really needed?". I'm sorry I doubted you. This was great.
as an older person I had a hard time with traditional can openers, so I tried the side (seam) cutting can opener. it is easer on my wrist and hands, cuts clean and with little effort. I find it to be very effective. This is coming from a mechanical designer with over 40 years experience. I highly recommend this for older people, or people with medical issues.
I got one for my parents a while back, expecting that. The issue we found was that it tended to leave the top of the can sharp, while the standard style only leaves sharp edges *inside* the can, and on the piece removed. It might just be the one we had however.
The day after this video was published I bought this can opener and threw out my old one. This thing is so much easier to use, works far better than the traditional style, and leaves no sharp edges (though the sharpness seems to vary from can brand to brand).
Congratulations! Even I could not come up with 20 minutes on this subject. That being said, I converted to the "safety" can opener 20 years ago and just had to replace it for this first time this year. I would never go back as it is great for pet food, if you don't want to serve the whole can at once. The lid is fine for the fridge between pet meals. No sharp edges and minimal contamination is a great thing to me. Thanks for letting everyone know to look out for one.
I’ve got one of those several years ago, and when I initially got it, I was utterly confused as to how to operate it. I ended up just throwing it in junk drawer where it sat for like 2 years. About a year ago, I could not find my Swiss Army knife for can opening, and had to figure out this can opener, poked around for couple of minutes, and exactly as described: felt like I was not making any progress at all. And then the lid came off in the cleanest way possible, that was mind blowing experience.
@@RotGodKing Could be camping habits. I mean it doesn't get much more straightforward than that. Plus you can stick the opener tip under the lid to pry it up so that it doesn't just fall into the can
This is exactly why I love this channel. You never know what you’re going to get next. An in-depth takedown of dishwasher detergent packs? Yep. A continuation of a years-long hot take about Christmas lights? Sure, why not. A video about a weird can opener? You betcha.
The tapered top of the "chunky soup can" allows nesting when they are stacked on the shelf. I learned this when trying to stock shelves of cans that were the same diameter on top and bottom.
@@EntropicTroponin Yeah basically all designs around here are stackable (again). After the "we put everything on paper trays and stack those" they weren't often stackable but they changed again. Both sides are almost identical, I guess the radius differs by the width of the rim
Perhaps it's a Europe/America thing, but I've only ever seen cans with the taper on the bottom. I normally open the bottom of cans because it's easier to get the contents out if it's something like baked beans or a chunky soup, which means tapered and ring-pull cans go in the cupboard upside down.
My father opens cans using the "traditional" double-cog opener, however does it backwards: the cut is along the outside (cutting through the label rather than the lid / holding the rotating handle facing up instead of sideways). This solves a couple of problems, the whole thing comes off so it's easy to get food out, and the lid can't fall in. However, it takes a bit more effort to cut, and still leaves sharp edges. It's a good compromise however!
I was about to say the same thing! That is how I was taught and it seems way more intuitive than cutting a hole into the top of the can. Sure it is a little more work but it still isn't that difficult to do.
You need a good strong can opener to do it this way. I used to, but then I started breaking cheap can openers doing it. I swear they're getting less durable every year
@@ShukenFlash same mine keep dying and videos like this make me think I'm doing it wrong, but that's how I learned it. I not have a rotating knob one that doesn't rotate anymore, I just use it like a cutter and cut a series of holes into the can all the way around, that works too!
I blundered into getting one of these about a year ago, and I still giggle quietly when pulling the lid free. I’m positively stunned that the design is so old, and that it hasn’t made more headway. I may have to start a conspiracy theory about the nebulous and wicked Big Can Opener.
I grew up with a safety can opener, except mine did actually have a lever, similar to the standard can opener. When I found out about the older type of can opener that left sharp edges, I just assume that it was an antiquated piece of technology that people only used because they haven't needed to replace their can opener yet. When I found out people actually default to buying to old type of can opener, I was genuinely surprised.
Did your can opener say Pampered Chef on it? Those are a Garbage piece of metal; they look like a standard but have the parts on each lever the top part on one and the bottom part on another and have to be set up right before use or they suck thus making an old design less effective. My mom still has hers but uses a standard as this particular version has a hard time with cutting the tops on some generic cans from a Statewide Chain of Grocery stores in South Dakota. There are several reasons why we stopped using the stupid piece of crap.
@@caseysmith544 actually it was Good Chef, made of plastic, but still worked 99% of the time. The 1% it didn't you could usually flip the can over and open the bottom instead
When you've grown up with that old style of can opener for so long it just becomes the default thing because you're so used to it. If someone handed it to me I instinctively know how to use it without instruction whereas the newer style never "looked easy" to use. If I didn't see this video I probably would've continued to think that.
I still have the old type of can opener but I didn't default to it. It's just that until I saw this video I didn't know the other kind existed. I never even noticed the difference between the old styles that drag the blade across vs. the ones that use a wheel to cut. I've used both but never realized they were different. But since he showed me the nuances I definitely want to use his kind from now on. I've always been frustrated with can openers but I just thought that's the way things were and that opening cans was just a pain in the butt.
I can't believe I just watched a 21 minute video about can openers, and I was fascinated and engaged all the way through. I felt like a person on an informercial "no way, it opens without cutting??" Well done
When I was a teenager, the lawnmower my parents owned had a self propelling feature which didn't work. This made the lawnmower a heavy push mower. The need for a replacement wasn't very high for my parents despite my complaints. This one worked just fine. When I moved out, however, they promptly bought a riding mover.
I'm a home-brewer and sometimes use pre-mixed wort in stonking great cans. These cans have killed more can openers than I care to admit, and for the last several years I've been using the the careful application of the back end of a claw hammer to get into them. I now have a new can opener in the mail and a sense of optimism I haven't felt since before I started getting report cards.
ARGH! You are PUNISHING yourself with that canned wort! I brew all-grain but I use the Brew In A Bag method, and "chill" with the Australian style "no-chill" method. I pull off a quart of wort first, ice bath chill it, and use it for my starter. The next day, I pour the wort in the fermenter and pitch my starter so at pitch time it is already going crazy and the yeast already "knows" the wort it is getting pitched to. It is way cheaper too. I can make a 10% imperial stout for about 60 cents a pint. Session ales for half that. But yeah I have seen those cans. They are beasts. Almost makes you want to buy a drum cutter.
I'm a bit late to the party here, but this is just to weird to me. What part of Germany are you from? I grew up in north east Germany and have lived in Saxony most of my adult life and have never in my life seen this design.
Way back in the early '70s, our kitchen can opener was the same two handle gadget as described at the start of the video. However ours had a magnet attached to an arm that held the lid of the can so that top would not sink into the cans contents.
@@tonydibartolo7985 I looked those up, and yes, basically, but, actually, no, there was a non-folding variety in europe, I don´t even know if it was military, it was really just a stamped piece of sheet metal with a bent-up sharp hook, no hinge, so you wouldn´t actually want to put it in your pocket, but it was rugged, practical, sturdy, efficient and genius, and it got the job done.
I'd just like to once again show appreciation for the thought and care that goes into the captioning. The trademark symbol on Fine was a nice touch, absolutely top notch.
I just need to say that I'm at awe at how good and tight your scripts are nowadays. Great choice of words and pace. One of my favourite UA-cam channels!
I want to say. This is the first time I buy something because of a YT video. This can opener type is marvelous, I was excited as a 6yo while waiting for delivery... It is SO practical and I don't feel nervous anymore about cutting myself or making a mess THANKS TO YOU. Such a little thing, that hardly changes anything in one's life but suddenly makes a small common task so much more enjoyable. Thank you!
I've used one of these for ~5 years now. Could be the same model! No noticeable reduction in cutting ability. When my mother's old-fashioned electric opener shat the bed a few years ago, I got her an electric version of this. It was built by (wait for it!) Black & Decker. No complaints once she learned how to hold the can.
The side-cutting one I bought my mother was the rechargeable kind that you put on the can and it drove itself around the can. Made by... Black & Decker.
I remember being Very Excited about those can openers when they first came out, and I was totally going to get one when the one we had eventually needed to be replaced. Three decades later when that workhorse finally went lame, I had completely forgotten the existence of the safety can opener.
That's another point. Can openers are really not something frequently brought, if at all. I never needed to buy one. I am still using a ancient one from the 60`s previously owned by my grandma thats not even the clamp design but the one handled "rips the lid apart" ratchet one.
I discovered these “safety can openers” after my mom got a pretty gnarly cut on her finger from a jagged can edge, and gave these out for Christmas a few years ago. Now this is all we use. I didn’t realize that they’d been around for decades.
I appreciate your channel and especially the one I just watched on smoke detectors. Even the obscure stuff about lava lamps fascinates me. Your knowledge, presentation and wit are excellent. Have a beer on me. Thank you!
I’ve often looked at the different staplers in my office and wondered which spring assembly is the most efficient. I always thought it was neat one spring operates the feed and tensions the loading gate. I wonder what innovations in staplers exist.
@@SeJoHu yeah, those are useful for people who don't need to bind more than 10 pages at a time. IIRC, the recommended thickness is just 5 pages. For anyone who's curious how the staple-less staplers work, they punch a hole in the paper and fold it into itself to bind the sheets together. If you hate holes in your paper, DO NOT use them. Stick with a standard stapler and use good quality staples so you don't mangle the paper any more than you need to.
I've been tasked with repairing an office's supply of jammed and broken staplers, and I no longer question the necessity of an auto-stapling printer. Didn't staple? JAM HARDER THAT'LL WORK
I have been using can openers like this for years and will gladly expound on their virtues to anyone who will listen. A fantastic analysis! You're hair also looks fantastic for being in a frictionless vacuum with that can.
1. I have LOVED this style of can oper ever since my mom first gone one in...later 1990s maybe early 2000s. It's quite nice to see someone else excited about them. 2. Your outtakes at the end actually helped me with an assignment for college this semeser when I had to make a video essay style project. It helped me not get too upset when i would constantly butcher a line. So thanks for those.
Excellent commentary. I lived for a long time in Japan and that idea of, “That’s just the way it is” in many ways explains the entire culture there. A common Japanese response to any questions a foreigner might have as to why something was this way or that was simply, “That’s just the Japanese way.” Questioning things was not a cultural trait you saw very often and the Japanese have a fantastic skill in “soldiering on”, even when something is difficult or unwieldy or inconvenient. They seem to live by the motto, “That’s just the way it is.”
I opened a can with one of these last week and one of those little threads of metal was actually more like a little needle-sharp piece of swarf, about 1cm long - and it did end up on my plate somehow (the product was a pie that is baked in the can after removing the lid, so perhaps the top crust grabbed the metal piece as it rose up)
After I watched your videos about the sunbeam toaster, I showed them to my mom and she went online to find a similar model. She found it after a while, and it just came in the mail a few days ago. My entire household (about 7 people) stood in the kitchen and watched it work. It was absolutely mesmerizing to all of us.
I can remember when my Mother upgraded to a Whirlpool Automatic washing machine from the old Hoover twin tub, and we would stand around watching it do its thing and as young kids found if interesting.
@@steviebboy69 Funny you mentioned that! When my son was about 4 he was helping my Mum to load the front loading washing machine and actually sat down to watch it wash the clothes. The only washing machines that he had seen before were top loaders. I must admit that I found front loaders to be rather strange when I first saw them, and so was the old Hoover Twin Tub. Mark from Melbourne Australia
@@markfryer9880 I remember the spin bowl for the twin tub really revved up fast and dried even more than the large automatic machine. Im in wangaratta so not that far away.
I have both designs in my drawer, and I have to say that I use the older design quite a bit more often. The most frequent need for a can opener in my household is for canned tuna in water. The older top cutting design gives me the ability to use the lid to keep the tuna contents in the can, while draining the water and pressing some of the remining water out of the tuna before prepping for my tuna salad. In the situations where I don't need to use the lid for draining, (soups, tomato sauces, beans, etc...) I prefer the newer seam cutting model.
@@JamesTM I do the tuna crushing (almost wringing) as well, only the tuna cans I get around here (Germany) usually don´t need a can opener. They usually have those weird tear of lids that seem to never work properly, but they leave to small a rim to use a regular can opener as it will tear up the lid at the precut for opening.
Because of this video, now I also have one of the superior can openers! My favorite part about it is that it's more hygienic - the regular can openers use a blade that is dragged not only through the lid, but also through the can contents themselves and they leave the risk of the lid drowning in the can contents which is also sub-optimal. Because of how this double seam cutting can opener works, its blade doesn't make contact with food at all - the only things it does contact with during normal operation are metal, lacquer and compound. Sometimes I can even see how the compound stretches and rips when I lift the lid off a can, further proofing that nothing that may have been left on the can opener's cutting wheel has a chance to make contact with food
Had one of these "safety" models for years, and I have been so impressed that I bought another for my brother. As a consequence, I now have two can openers, such was my brother's hostility to using this type. And we're English, nowhere near the midwest. Some people can't be helped.
During the introduction I immediately thought, "_Safety_ can opener? People don't want to be called weak so of course it's not popular if that's what they're called." Even without such terminology, innovations can develop a negative stigma because their early adopters will be those who need the innovation the most, which will tend to be those viewed as weak like the disabled and children, unless you (the seller) specifically push against that. Velcro shoes, for instance. How are voice assistants advertised, for example? Probably not as a way to make computers easier to use but rather as a mere convenience. (Disclaimer: I don't watch ads and don't use voice assistants.) They're probably framed as friends or lean into the high status of having a personal butler or maid or something.
Harkening back to the storm lantern video, an amazing fact about can openers is that hundreds of millions of people in other countries who regularly eat food out of cans have never heard of can openers, and open cans with knives. A friend of mine from Brazil, upon seeing one for the first time in America, immediately purchased a dozen to send back to her friends and family. This was around 2009. I’m not talking about people who live way out in the boonies either, I’m talking people who live in the major cities, have cars and are online and go to coffee shops, but if you handed them a can to open would go get a kitchen knife and methodically tap the point straight down around the circumference of the lid of the can. I watched another friend from a large city in China have the same experience; had never seen a can opener, purchased several to send back.
@@Hackanhacker yes, but to be clear, I am saying that they generally don’t use can openers in Brazil and China. I’m not just referring to those two specific individuals.
If something as nefarious as a can opener (Schultz 1971) can make it's way into the vaunted cultures of China and Brazil I say do away with metallically canned food altogether
I bought one of these newer openers from a famous Chinese shopping channel. I never knew they had been available for so long. To me, it was something new. It came with no instructions, but eventually, I worked it out for myself. On first use I thought it hadn't worked. The tin still looked the same. Curiosity made me try to lift the lid, and voila, the lid came off. Clean, not sharp, and yes, the tin contents slid out effortlessly into a bowl. Great. But it was quite an effort to operate. I wished the wings for turning were longer, perhaps offering more leverage. My Mum, who has arthritis in her hands is unable to use it easily. I decided to persevere with it, and actually, either I have got more used to its operation, or it has, like a new car, run in. I love it now. Also, the safety angle of it strikes me as being great not only in the home but when out camping or caravanning, with no sharp edges of freshly cut lids. Better for the user, and those who deal with the discarded cans in the rubbish.This video connected with me on every level. You took the lid off the subject perfectly.
I can not tell you how much I appreciate your videos. Your fine puns and deep insights, camouflaged as a video about a can opener. Brilliant :) Thank you very much.
I really like the "safe" can openers specifically because I like to re-use my cans as catch-buckets for screws, washers, nuts, and other small components, and I don't have to file down the sharp edges before using. It also makes it easier to scrape _all_ of the can's contents out with a spatula without damaging the spatula. Less waste both ways.
While watching this video, when you mentioned the question of "how many things in our life have been drastically improved, yet we dont adopt them as a society?" I was really hoping you would mention some other tools that are exactly that. I think making a video centered around that question would be something I for sure would love to watch. I'm sure im not the only one.
Video Idea: potato peelers. Someone figured out how to make a knife that only cuts as deep as the peel and there's so many different models and designs of them
You are right. TC could make an entire channel of this, call it Technology Disconnections, If you think of technology as an ever moving train, those items that don't evolve further have been disconnected from the train. As a side note, my friend and I coined a phrase "Zenith Acquisition". It means acquiring the best of a technology before it evolves into another format. Like vinyl record players giving way to CD players, vacuum tubes to solid state, etc.Given that the 1.0 version of any new thing is usually terrible, the best of the last technology will serve you well for years to come.
I was introduced to this can opener when I met my wife over 15 years ago. I've never looked back and have been using the 'Allison Can Opener' ever since. I named it after her because until this video I've still never seen any evidence that anyone else has ever used one. I'm glad to see them getting the credit they deserve.
I think it's kind of amazing that a can opener can cause you to reassess your cultural/personal preferences. I also think it's commendable that you did so. And I enjoyed the somewhat philosophical nature of this video.
Never thought I ever would discover something new about can openers. This looks so satisfying to use. I immediately bought one online and just tested it on a can of smoked fish. The only thing that makes me sad now is that I have no more cans to open at the moment.
Bought one of these after slicing my thumb open badly on a sharp can lid....for the 3rd time... Literally changed my life. I cook with more cans now, specifically more beans and lentils, which has improved my diet. Everyone should own one.
Having gone through a few of the new design openers, I can tell you that they do in fact wear out faster than the old style. It's not the cutting edge that wears out but rather the knurled edge of the driving wheel. I generally need to replace mine once every four to five years, while the old style opener that I brought with me to college 30 years ago (which was already 20 years old at that time) is still working fine. That said, I keep replacing the newer one because it is simply better in every other respect.
I bought a “standard” can opener from the dollar store, 6 months in it started to bend and it’s useless at this point. Expected from something from the dollar store, but not really from something made completely of metal! Also, my wife is left handed which makes it’s use impossible! Next one is gonna be an ambidextrous-outside-rim can opener. It’s crazy how they’re not the standard.
@@norm1320 Me neither, but I do have what is essentially an ambidextrous version of the most simple pattern. No handle to speak of, just a tiny tab to open and close the blade and a fold-away crank, once it's closed on the can you can just hold the can and turn the crank, the blade stays closed until you decide to open it. We got it as an extra in an emergency kit more than 30 years ago and it still works perfectly, even after 30 years of constant use.
I had that problem as well but if you disassemble it you can add a washer inside to fix it, The tip isn't wearing down its just that the gripper ring doesn't pull in close enough
@@infinitepurelive Not quite the same problem. In my case it was wearing out in that turning the handle no longer turned the mechanism, it just didn't get enough traction. At least that's how I remember it (it's been a long time).
Oddly enough, I grew up using the safer can opener at home. It was a relative shock when I started visiting friends and they had nothing similar. I've used just about every possible means of opening a can by now primitive or otherwise and the safety can opener is 10/10.
@@snow-js4te I respect that, I'm definitely just biased to the safety opener. It's always fascinating to think there's so many ways to do a simple task and none necessary or at all wrong.
@@aDistantLight I would suspect that they don't actually fall into the food as you open the can, but as you pour out its contents. So cleaning the seam before pouring might prevent that. Also, I'd assume it's a function of age of the can opener. It's still a blade, after all, and every blade becomes dull through usage at some point. I'd suspect that those bits of metal are caused by dullness or insufficient quality (or both) of the blade.
I love the seam-cutting can opener variety! That's all we've used for about 8 years now. Mine has two pieces to the handle similar to a traditional opener and opening and closing the handle moves the wheel forward and back. Open, clamp, close, turn, just like a regular can opener, except you're lining it up flat on top of the lid instead of along the side of the can and it does the seam-splitting thing. Bonus: It doesn't let go of the lid until you open the handle again so you don't have to touch the lid at all.
I think I have the same thing @@kj181560 mine can only be lined up with the cutting disc horizontal into the side of the can. There aren't multiple ways to make it work
@@kj181560 I find regular can openers used sideways put the cutting wheel below the fold. This leaves a can which has a sharp top edge and tries to flex out of your grip.
This brings back memories. Back in 1996, I worked for a short time with the person who invented this design. (or so they said as there was no Google back then). One of my first jobs was transferring the hand drawn design into Autocad. At the time this Can Opener was a huge headache for this very small company. They were trying to release a redesign of the Can Opener, but Starfrit had copied it illegally. The Starfrit copy was a bad reverse engineered version that didn't work properly, giving this style a bad image. On top of that, the owner went to a lawyer for legal advice on sueing Starfrit on the patent infringement. The lawyer said that Starfrit legal department was so big, his company was sure to go bankrupt before they could win. I left the company after a month but the owner was a brilliant engineer. I did notice about a year later, the design I copied into Autocad for them being sold in a store and so I bought two on the spot.
I just saw on Amazon a version of this can opener that also includes a magnet attached to the metal loop so the lid comes off with the opener when you lift it off which I think is a pretty neat minor improvement over the original design.
That's definitely a good addition to a usual "cut into the lid" can opener, as it comes with the danger of the lid falling into the can (in fact, the electric can opener at my parents' place does have a little magnet crane for exactly that reason). I don't see why you would need it for such a save can opener, since the lid won't go anywhere anyway and is easy to take off by hand.
The one advantage of the old style can openers is that the lid falls into the can, which for the purpose of tuna allows you to squeeze the water out of the tuna when draining it. I use an old style one for tuna, and a newer one that cuts the side of the can for other things.
My parents can open cuts the side (not sure if it cuts the seam or can wall), in i like that it doesn't fall in, i just pick the lid off, offset it slightly and then use ot to strain the juices out. I genuinely think its works much better for straining when the lid doesn't fall into the can and can be placed at an angle, i have the basic wheel and gear design now and its definitely sub par, and thats before considering the electrification of my parents opener.
So happy I came across your channel recently! Never a dull moment. And a fellow Midwesterner to boot! I've gone through three or four can openers in the past two years- one threw in the towel New Year's Eve in the middle of me preparing a big soup. Quality has been hard to find to say the least. But I've read of this being fairly common now, even with can openers recommend by professional chefs. I looked at electric can openers but I saw a lot of negative reviews, even from the same brand as my mother's electric can opener that has worked relatively fine for half my life or more. I *think* I saw one or two safety can openers somewhere in the mix but I passed over them. I'll give them a try one my current can opener dies. Thanksgiving is just around the corner so I'm sure it won't be long. I'm sure it wants to be a cut above its predecessor! ...I'll be sure to buy a replacement in advance 😅
The BEST can opener I've ever used is the OXO Smooth Edge can opener. It kind of combines the "safety" can opener with the lever action of the older lid piercing ones. Never leaves a sharp edge or bits of metal in the food, and even has a little set of pliers built in to grab the lid and pull it off the can.
@@criadx I was actually interested enough to look it up on Amazon. And just bought their garlic press, potato ricer, and Y peeler. But wound up not buying the can opener, because even though I like the idea, I'll wait til my normal one ever annoys me to replace it. Toxic midwesterner
We bought an OXO Smooth Edge can opener after my wife cut her hand BAD after trying to catch a falling lid cut with an old can opener. Like, visit the ER and get surgery bad. We've had it for 15 years now, and it's still doing strong. I don't recall ever noticing any metal slivers.
I’ve lost track of how long I’ve been using an Oxo Smooth Edge opener. With the Oxo I’ve never seen the little metal slivers mentioned in the video. Don’t recall any problems with those slightly tapered soup cans, either. The can opener has been getting relatively frequent use, mostly for canned dog food. I dislike canned veggies as most of them are too salty. But aside from that I don’t look down on canned food.
That ending speech works as a great thesis for the channel as a whole. Ever since that dishwasher video, I took the advice and it's made my life better. Thank you Technology Connections for helping us to think differently.
I've never had a dishwasher however I believe similar is true for washing machines regarding tablets. My mum uses washing powder and fabric conditioner. I've done the same, largely because it's cheaper. Little did I realise, that the cheaper way of the way I'm doing it, is the better way of doing so. That, and in addition I see what he's getting at with regards to heat pumps. I've not heard of heat pumps until I bought a tumble dryer, however I did have a bad experience with robot vacuums a decade or so ago A whole decade has passed and they've for a heck of a lot better.
The dishwasher episode convinced me to learn how to use mine properly. Never bothered before because they "didn't work". I very seldom hand wash dishes now and they are all clean because I actually know how to use the dang thing now.
Love the final point of this video. My mom was ADAMANT to never get a pressure cooker because one exploded in her house when she was a child (in the 60s). When I finally ignored her concerns and got myself a beautiful, sturdy modern pressure cooker, she ended up loving it so much I left it at her house when I moved out!
To be fair, having a bomb full of boiling water exploding in your kitchen as a child _would_ be a pretty traumatic event. If she had been standing in the wrong place, it could've actually killed her.
Sometimes when cooling the rubber bung gets sucked into whatever you are cooking and Mum would ask us to chew carefully. Later revisions of the bung have a valve in it preventing it being sucked in. In another memorable day, we were all watching the wrestling on TV when there was this great roaring noise. All of the liquid in the pressure cooker had gone up the flue creating a mess. The meat and vegetables remained behind. The rubber bung was never found, probably still in the ceiling cavity. I was happy because I hated Mum’s vegetable soup and it was cancelled. Someone is always less fortunate and our neighbour had the lid of her pressure cooker fly up and imbed in the ceiling, an event related in hushed tones years later.
Hi! Great video! Thank you for posting it. I do quality control in a factory where we put vegetables in cans. Beans, lentils, red cabbage and such. For certain quality control points we have to open the cans using these safety openers. They have two drawbacks in my opinion. 1st : they don't last that long. Admittedly we use them more often than most households. About 18 cans a day per production line. Times three to five production lines; you can do the math. After a few weeks we need new ones because they will not cut deep enough anymore to open the cans. So we buy them by the dozens. We use the 'normal' ones as well (for other control purposes) and these last endlessly. We have a few spare ones just in case one breaks down, but otherwise we never have any problems with them. 2nd (related to no. 1): we use cans of different sizes. Now larger cans (for instance 800 ml - sorry, we use metric 😁) are made of thicker material than the smaller sizes - say 125 ml. Now when we use the safety can openers on the large cans, we can't use them anymore on the smaller ones due to the difference in total thickness of the seam. So we have to have an opener dedicated to the small cans and another one for the larger cans. The 'normal' can openers do not have this problem at all. Other than that I completely concur with your findings : safer, no rim to restrain the goodies in the can from coming out easily, clean, et cetera. Love your videos. Please keep them coming!
Definitely. My family had one of the safety openers as a replacement for a busted standard one, but it ended up breaking far sooner than the normal one. The problem isn't the cutting edge going dull, it's the wheel no longer clamping onto the seam. Also, you could probably use the can openers from the small cans to open the big ones after they stop being able to open the small ones if it's the clamps going bad.
You'd have thought that the wear issue would have been sorted by now - the original Metal Box Company one that came out here in the UK in 1969 had exactly the same problem.
@@galaxyanimal About how many years did it last? I've got an OXO-branded safety can opener that I received when I moved into my current home, been using it at least twice weekly for over 6 years now and it still seems to be working fine.
@@pshalleck I think it was just a couple years, compared to close to 10 for the conventional opener. It might have just been a cheap can opener. I think it kind of worked for a while because we had just the safety opener for a while, then got a conventional one because it was starting to have trouble opening some cans. However, I do come from a big family, so we almost always had at least 2 cans of anything.
To add to the can being invented before the can opener: The "can" was also invented before softer alloys used in cans today, meaning in many cases, you had to literally break out a hammer and a chisel to open your beans.
@Natural Creature Yup, some of them have terrible handles that tear your skin off (or at least cause bruising and pain) due to terrible design. For me, I would rather deal with a pull tab and have to fish the food out with a knife than use a cheap can opener and have to deal with bruising, pain and most importantly, me slamming the lot in the trash because f*ck that sh*t.
Man, you pegged me and gave me a lot to think about. I remember seeing these advertised on TV as a kid and thought they were awesome. When I got my first apartment and was buying a can opener, I actually looked for these in the store but couldn't find a single one. I figured there had to be a reason they were no longer sold. I settled on a regular can opener and never looked back. Now that you've reminded me of them and it's possible to buy anything on the internet, I'm going to finally get one. I'm also going to think about other things I wanted but wrote off.
Bought one of these on a whim about a month ago because it looked more durable than the one id just broken. Was worried I'd bought some sort of gimmick product that didn't really work when I tried it the first time, almost apologized to my partner and went back to the store before I picked the can up and the lid just came off clean. Week later I see this glowing review of exact thing I just bought down to the brand. I'm definitely calling this a win
The only thing I dislike is the glue that rips apart when you remove the lid. I have to remove it all before pouring the can to avoid glue in the food.
@@ShihammeDarc I do clean the can lids as well. ...But I'm not obsessive about it. Is a quick rinse good enough to eliminate all chance of rat lungworm disease? ...I'd rather have a slitter can opener than scrub every can rim...
I've had one since the 90s and it still works fine. It opens every can I ever tried. My favorite part of owning it is watching other people who aren't aware of this type of can opener try to use it. The 25 seconds of ensuing chaos and confusion is fun every time.
_"The 25 seconds of ensuing chaos and confusion..."_ Which is why the new style hasn't been widely adopted. People can't see how it's supposed to work. And looking at it, it doesn't even look like it _can_ work. There doesn't even seem to be any sharp blade to cut into the can with. What kind of sorcery is this!?!?? So I'm not surprised that most people aren't willing to take a chance on it. But for me....frankly, what initially attracted me to this new design was its very weirdness and seeming impossibility. I remember looking at it and thinking, "WTF? I gotta see how this works!"
I have a standard can opener but my life changed when I learned you can also cut the lid seam with them like the safety opener does! If you clamp the wheels to the inner and outer sides of the lip, so the handles both are parallel to the lid, it pops the whole top off cleanly! Makes me crazy that I could have been doing that my whole life.. Thank you for shining a light on such over looked and ever faithful kitchen utensils!
In fact, they were originally designed to cut through the side of the can below the seam rather than through the lid, similar to old-style cans with a key that pealed off a strip of the side of the can. And they're actually less effort and more reliable to use that way. Everybody's been using them wrong this whole time, just like they open the wrong end of a banana. Cutting through the seam itself is nicer, but is kinda fiddly with a traditional can-opener.
@@fwiffo Yup. It's still got a sharp edge, but it's on the can's sides where it's far less likely to cause injury if you're just pouring the contents into another container. YMMV for folks who eat straight out of cans, I suppose.
So funny to be reading this after watching the video, especially in light of his conclusion about going through life oblivious to what simple improvements could make life easier. I tested the method and it can be a bit rough on the lid edge and the lid cannot be put back so nicely, so I would still prefer the safety opener.
Thankyou! It's one of the things you should be taught... Like using the TcTac lid as a dispenser or pouring the milk from the milk carton from the right side...
This video has changed my life more than any other UA-cam video. This is incredible. I will never go back to opening cans with a traditional can opener because I hurt myself on them all the time.
I have felt the "it’s good enough and perfectly fine” for my hands vs dishwashers for a decade up until I saw your vids on them. now my hands thank you for the pain they no longer feel from extended dishwashing.
And the dishwasher is the perfect place to put dirty dishes as you use them. Keeps the sink empty and available all day. Plus my hands are weak and I tend to drop dishes a lot...
True story, I grew up with one of these in my house. When I moved out at the age of 22, I bought a "regular" can opener and I did not know how to use it. I ended up holding it "horizontally" and cutting the whole top of the can off.
I actually prefer this way with the regular can openers instead of cutting into the lid, because its much easier to just grab the top off. I rarely use them anyway and when i do i don't mind the slightly harder squeeze and turning action as a trade-off
I was going to mention that regular can openers can do this too. When I was a kid we had one that looked like a conventional can opener, but only worked on the side of the can. My mom was obsessed with it because she was always irrationally afraid of the sharp part of the removed lid. The top of the decapitated can becomes the new sharp bit though, with this design.
This is how I use my regular can opener. I can’t stand the risk of the top falling into the can and then needing to fish out a round, jagged razor blade from my tomato paste or artichoke hearts
This is one of the coolest, most interesting channels on youtube. I love everything about it... the topics, the delivery... the host. Thanks for such awesome content!
There are several designs of "safety" can openers. Many have problems with variation in the lid seam size. The one you're showing has a particularly clever mechanism to get around this issue.
Yeah, I remember having one in the 90s. It worked on some cans but not all so we kind of forgot about it. Might try one like this after all these years.
The part in the video where he turns the blades one way to "widen" the gap between the blade mechanism and the handle, places it on the can lid and then turns the blades the opposite way to clamp it on?
@@jimdabarbarian I think normal openers just use the rim as a guide/lip to hang onto as it cuts directly into the lid. So rim variety shouldn't matter much? That's what I got from this vid.
As someone who eats a lot of soup, I bought one of these can openers as soon as I saw this video. And wow, they are an absolute game changer. As you said, everything in the can slides right out! No fighting with sharp edges from the pull tab or a "regular" can opener. Thank you so much, you have saved me from endless (mild) inconvenience.
How is everyone even slightly struggling with regular can openers? You can buy reusable silicone lids for pennies if continued storage is your goal, and a child can learn to handle can edges so safely they avoid injury for the rest of their life. This thing failed to open a common soup can among others. I'm beginning to think the design was overlooked because the problems it solved were already solved, and meanwhile it introduced new problems
@@phildocs16223 1. The problem with regular can openers is that they leave a lip inside of the can, making it a pain to get all of the contents out of the can. With the can opener showcased in the video, there is no lip, as the lid is completely removed. This allows the contents of the can to slide out effortlessly, which is what I absolutely love about this can opener. 2. It failed to open one brand of coup cans, because of the dumb design that Campbell's did with their cans. Also, Campbell's cans open just fine if you flip the can upside down, and use the opener on the bottom of the can. The bottom is sealed just like a normal can, and works perfectly with the opener showcased in the video.
@SpeedNintendo Thanks for your reply. I bought a leading brand safety opener recommended all over these comments and tested it out of curiosity. It failed to part the seam on 3 different common can types. Meanwhile the standard opener I inherited from my great great ancestors for free has never failed. This takes priority over the rest of the pro/con analysis but there's more to mention Assuming the safety opener did work, you could extract the full contents more easily, I'll give you that. However this comes at the expense of being able to strain, which is frequently necessary as many canned foods come in liquid meant to be discarded. Also realistically that lip is only retaining the
My problem was I never believed the advertising of no sharp edges, I thought the sharp edge was just moved from inside the rim to the top because I always believed it was just the same mechanism just moved to the side, so the opened cans always looked like they were going to slice your wrist open instead of just cutting your finger.
As a bred, born, and raised Midwesterner, the mindset of making do with what you have is one definitely ingrained, but one that also definitely frustrates me. I'm always on the lookout for the best new innovations in whatever I'm purchasing! It's one of the reasons I love this channel. Thanks for bringing this into light for me.
Making do with what you have is fine as long as the old thing still works the way it's supposed to (that includes SAFELY). If they really do both work fine and it's just a matter of style preference, then hey. Also sometimes it can be fun to figure out how to make do with what you have--but only in ways that aren't going to hurt anybody. Making a nice-looking picture with only MSPaint, for example.
I used to work at a large, nationwide outdoor gear retailer co-op. We got great employee discounts, but eventually you get to a point where there will always be a newer, lighter tent or rain jacket, but is it really worth replacing what you have if it isn't broken.
Fascinating. This video made me realize I've never actually used a "normal" can opener, only these safety ones. Didn't realize they were less common. Does explain why my roommates were so baffled by my can opener though.
How about having never used a "spinny" type of can opener at all. I've only ever used the type that's a single handle and a weird hooky bit of bent metal that hooks around the edge of the can for leverage and pokes into the lid, then you move it a little, poke again and work your own way round like that.
@@zendricvoider That's the portable military type mentioned in the video, the official name is the P-38 can opener. Or maybe a Church key or bull's head opener.
9:37 This tapered top (or more often, bottom) allows for easier stacking of cans. Instead of both rims being the same circumference, the smaller rim fits into the wider rim, allowing them to be stacked on top of each other without slipping.
This might not be the exact reason for the taper on the chunky soup can, but from working retail I can say (no pun intended) that those are great to stack. The narrow top part fits perfectly into the wide base. Cans that don't have a taper don't stack nicely without cardboard between them. Also, I think they put it on the top for stability. I think it's the same reason that cranberry sauce cans open from the bottom, its better to have the squared off edge on the bottom so they don't fall everywhere.
We have stackable cans in UK but they don't look anywhere near as extreme as the one in the video, they don't mess with my safety can opener anyway. Also cans that don't stack suck. Heinz I'm looking at you
Mildly interesting fact about cranberry sauce can orientation: Pretty sure I saw this in a video by Ocean Spray explaining that the can was upside-down so jellied cranberry sauce would come out more easily as a "log." With the can that way, gas inside the can rises to the top so when you break the vacuum by sticking a butter knife around the sides of the can, the "log" just slides right out.
@@glaorenz Would it surprise you if I said I don't use the butter knife method, I take a big kitchen knife and poke a hole in the bottom to slide it out? It lets the air in and it comes out so nicely.
I recently got one of these after thinking about it for months. I open tuna fish cans regularly, and the can opener was always getting all tuna juicy-y. So i'd rinse it and leave it open and face down on a towel to dry. They would rust pretty fast. So I got a safety can opener just because they stay clean! I love it!
The best can opener I’ve ever used is a Tupperware can opener, it also does not leave any sharp edges but it’s sort of a hybrid between the two types shown here in this video. It also comes with a small gripper on the side to grab the lid in case you don’t want to touch it. I’ve never encountered a can it couldn’t open and it leaves no metal shavings/flakes/pieces. Oh and it’s also very ergonomically designed, with nice large handles that are curved for humans hands and a big knob/turning thingy for cutting the can.
I have one of those too, it took me a few tries to work out how to use it (you hold it against the top of the can, rather than at the side) but it must work in a similar way, because it cuts the whole top off like the one shown here. It still has two handles, so it's familiar, but you don't need to actually use them to hold tension.
9:35 "they have a very tapered top for some reason" it's for stacking! i worked stocking grocery store shelves for a while, and that specific style of soup can was the absolute uncontested KINGS in terms of shelf-stackability. i've also seen cans that are cast with a single piece, like an aluminum drink can. the worst offenders were the cheap single-pressed cans that literally have zero stacking interface. whoever made the executive decision to keep making cans that have the exact same top and bottom profile should be shackled in the town square to stack cans for days, so we can laugh at them when they all come crashing down on them!
I hated these and still do. Most of them are made soda can style and pressed out of a single 'side and bottom' piece. Which means that you can't cut the bottom out and crush it flat for not wasting a ton of space in the recycling bin.
Heinz (in the UK at least) make their cans like that - they don't stack. Presumably it's so that they get the extra in-store advertising from having to stay in the cardboard trays that they are shipped in. Heinz was banned in my kitchen for that reason, then we discovered other brands are superior (and stack!) so that marketing trick backfired.
Yea, I worked a t a Safeway for the winter months a couple years ago, and we had to stack Campbell's chicken noodle soup 3 cans high and two cans deep along a 6' stretch of shelf. If there was the slightest unlevel spot or bump, you got to spend another half hour stacking them again. Why do *some* of Campbell's cans come with tapered tops, but *some don't*? The guy who made that decision is the one who needs to be shackled in the town square
Please make this into a series. I love the idea of improving mundane, day to day objects you wouldn't even normally think about. Really though, what else out there do we assume can't be improved and just move on with? Think about the progression of the razor. New razors are "safer", but more expensive, less effective and of a lower build quality than older style metal safety razors with replaceable blades, and those are *much* safer than a straight razor, but are less effective. Your "goldilocks razor" is going to depend on you, but is there an objective "best"? It'd be really awesome to hear you talk more about stuff like that. Also more HVAC please. :)
Razors... that seems like a topic ripe for Alec to discuss! I used "Trac 2" plastic razors for decades, and started to feel bad about throwing away so much plastic. Razors with more blades never seemed to offer any improvements. I've taken a step backwards in technology and am using safety razors now, along with shaving soap and brush, and really like the results. Perhaps a straight razor would be better, but that seems like something that should be handled by a fully alert barber, and not some sleepy guy who just stumbled out of the shower.
@@SkyhawkSteve And you can get 1000 blades for around 50-75 bucks or 100 blades for around 10 bucks. Besides the benefit to the environment by reducing plastic waste, you'll save yourself a ton of money if you shave every day. I wouldn't dare try a straight razor either, but they're said to give the highest quality shave.
there's even a step in between the safety razor and the straight razor: the injector razor. safety razor style handle design gives it the same maneuverability of a safety and hard-limits the severity of any accidents, but the replaceable blade is thick and inherently rigid like a straight razor. the blade loading process is somewhat more involved and forceful, however, requiring a specialized loading cartridge.
CARTRIDGE RAZORS ARE SUCH A SCAM, OMG. Way more difficult to use! I've barely cut myself since I switched to safety. It cost £15 for a dirt cheap safety razor and over a year's worth of blades, which took up less space than 3 individually wrapped cartridge blades. I thought it might be only work for people who do facial shaving, but no, it's been easier *everywhere*. Gimmicks like swiveling heads and 5 blades couldn't approach it. Changing the blade isn't scary at all; it's a butterfly closure so you barely need to touch the blade at all. Water doesn't collect so it doesn't rust or mold. If I ever replaced it, it would be to get something that looked even prettier. Just. Can't emphasis it enough. Perfect.
It took me a while to decide. I wanted to get one of these and I’ve had mine for probably six months and probably only used it twice. But I loved it. And I really agree with the whole ravioli not getting stuck on the ledge thing. Thank you. ❤
Since growing up with a "safety opener" I honestly thought that the older knife style can opener were just a thing of the past shown in tv shows, movies and the like. Had no idea people were "crazy enough" to still be using them, haha They've always seemed so archaic to me
After we moved out, my brother and I fought over which of us would get the can opener my mom had been using our entire childhood. I won. Its like 25 years old and works so much better than any modern opener I've ever used. Cheap ones break, this one is an absolute BEAST. It's like example 2 in the video but better. Hefty. Rubber handles. I will never give it up!
Next time you're in the supermarket, check out the kitchen tools section and see what can openers are for sale... ...or maybe wait for the pandemic to taper down a bit before loitering in stores. It's been that kind of a decade.
I have never had any other model than a small single piece of metal with a blade and a hook, which you press with your thumb. It's about 3-4cm long and works for ages, nothing really that could break. I have never seen anything else but the safety opener in the wild out the ones in the video :)=
We ended up with the safety opener in our kitchen utils drawer, and after having grown up with the first two kinds, I was quite taken with how easily it opened, how the lid didn’t fall in to the can, how it wasn’t sharp to hold, and generally how even totally pedestrian tools can be improved upon in small but substantial ways.
I’m just glad you addressed turning the can opener backwards! I was questioning the way I had always used a can opener. Then I remembered how I used mine backwards when it was dying, and started thinking I killed it by making it moonwalk all over my cans it’s whole life. I love your videos. Thank you!
This channel's content never ceases to amaze me. I too bought this esoteric masterpiece after my existing can opener disassembled itself. I had a fleeting lapse of consciousness upon using it as I questioned everything I thought I knew about life, but this video legitimizes my experience.
I have rediscovered my dishwasher because of you and have eaten healthier because of that. I greatly value your suggestion to question the things and ways of being we take for granted. Thank you!
I have two of these, one manual and one electric. I absolutely love them, having been introduced to the concept when I worked in France for a few months back in 1996. ANYway: with both manual and electric, I have encountered certain cans that are very difficult to open with these tools. Common denominator: they have all been canned fish or shellfish (e.g. clams). But with a little extra effort, the wheel blade eventually pushes through and Bob's your uncle.
I think there may be two separate new technologies coming into play here: 1) cutting along the seam and 2) pulling the narled wheel towards the seam. I also have a can opener that cuts along the seam, however it uses a lever just like the old type ones, except you hold it horizontally on top of the can.
For years I also had a can opener that cut along the seam and also had a lever, they definitely do exist out there! Regretfully I lost it during a move, and all the can openers I've tried since then have become unusable within a year of use. Maybe I'll go looking for the one Alec's got next time I need a new one...
growing up we had one like that. It was waaaay worse to use than a "normal" one. This screw setup makes me want to buy this kind next time i need a new can opener, so in 30 or so years.
Thank you I am NOT crazy this whole video I was thinking wait that's how I've opened cans my whole life, cutting the seam but ours has a handle. Couldn't you just angle the conventional ones so that the cutting bit goes on the side of the can?
Right, I also have one of these with two levers and a wheel that has to be turned on top, not at the side of the can. The levers stand 90 degree from the rim so basicly it looks like a small pan when you open a can.
Even though it was patented back in the 80’s, it’s still cutting edge technology.
😏
I see what you did there.
So is my lawn mower lol
Ba dum tsshhh
Can you explain?
Now I expect a video on cans. From the hard soldered ones, that could be quite dangerous if done improperly, through the war year ones, to the modern ones with liners that essentially eliminate problems with botulism. And all the rabbit holes to square cans, flat cans, integrated openings, whether key, pop top, etc, to the self heating cans for military, and survival use. Easily another video or two in there.
Check out engineerguy! He’s got some good stuff on cans
A can-do start to the year!
100% would watch
Then the video on can-openers would have been invented before the video on cans!
Dang it, now that you've invoked cans so much, I'm bound to get the Engineerguy video on the evolution of the aluminum drink can in my sidebar again and go on another total binge of his channel. It happens once or twice a year.
6:01 - I was wondering how that soda can fell with no sound, but then I remembered Alec is in a frictionless vacuum.
Nice catch
Love your raspi vids
I wouldn't be surprised if he did a clever voice over in editing just in that part to mask out the can noise, it seems unlikely but you can't rule anything out in this channel
I'm not even using headphones and I can hear a light thud after he's thrown it.
@@zaixai9441 my volume is all the way up and i can't hear a thing. im also deaf.
@@tomascarrasco371 I've set up some interesting contraptions in the past to deaden the sound of tossed-on-video objects. Just a large throw rug in a big box (and a few takes so you actually hit it and not the box) is usually enough for lighter objects ;)
I just wanted to let you know that your videos have fundamentally changed the way I look at technology and machines around me. They've also majorly changed how I interact with many things in my life I took for granted.
No one does "in depth lessons" on how a dish washer works or how to use one effectively, but your videos helped me make basic changes that turned what I thought was basically a useless hunk of junk into one of the most convenient time-savers in my house. And that's just one example!
Thank you a thousand times doing what you do.
As a little side note if you hold the can in the air while using a traditional can opener it will not destroy the teeth on it and your can opener will last forever I have found holding it on the counter rounds the teeth off
Because the can wants to be slightly angled in the opener and the counter does not allow that
I found his channel a few days ago and it is the only thing keeping me sane this week lol. I am a huge tech geek myself, but my field of study is something else entirely. I just like tech as a hobby so I don't dig too deeply. But his videos have also shaped the way I view and understand certain technologies, and his dry jokes are always fun.
"In depth lessons," as you put it, are something I wish we had more of today. It's what I loved about Bill Nye when I was a kid; he explained things in a way that made it easy to understand. Not everyone understands things intuitively. For example, I understand physics on a completely intuitive level, but I couldn't tell you a single formula I remember. To me, physics just makes sense. But what doesn't make sense to me are old cameras, which this TC also explained in-depth! After that video I was shocked I never knew about how old cameras even worked! It was especially ironic because I took a black and white photography class when I was in high school, but the cameras were never explained to us; we were just told to take pictures and process them and never go into the red room when the door is closed. To think I missed out on so much knowledge because I had a lazy teacher... yeesh!
I'm glad this guy popped up in my recommended feed one day. His channel is the brain food I've been craving after rotting away on the internet for so long. It's like the more you learn, the more you feel in touch with the world around you, and the easier it is to step away from this oversaturated false paradise. You were kind for commenting, and correct for thanking him. TC is changing lives, no doubt!
"Assume a standard can in a frictionless vacuum." This, this right here is why I love your videos. Thank you!
Problem is: a standard can opener does not not in a frictionless vacuum. Or, maybe, that is a deeper level of the joke...
As long as you don't asume a spherical one...
I giggled far too hard at that
For me, it was "...baked beans..."
4:56 I cackled when Mr Technology Connections said that.
also on the "someone will have taught you how to use a can opener" assumption, I want you to picture three 20 year olds standing around a kitchen counter trying to figure out how to open a can of tomato paste bc somehow all three of them were never taught how to use a can opener. That is one of my most formative life experiences
That generation will just Google that and find some video like this one teaching them.
Did you do it as my neighbor across the street did when she just moved in? I watched her hit the can with quite some force for a long 20 minutes. Other kitchen utensils were used too.
It's quite sad when people don't know how to do simple things like that when the parents should have taught them. Currently im 25 and I was taught at 7 how to use one.
@@Wtrxprs007able Absolutely. But it's also a beautiful thing to watch a full grown human in the process of connecting the dots.
@@Wtrxprs007able Some people have kinda shitty parents. Or sometimes even parents who aren't shitty but don't know how to do things. That's why it's important for basic life skills to also be available to be taught... outside of schools. Not like that happens though...
a 22 minute video about can openers? YES PLEASE
tbh this one is more like a 5 minutes video about can openers and 15 minutes of filler
LOLLLLLLL
I actually shared this video with several people specifically because of the "filler".
@@innercityprepper "But anyway, I digress" is one of my favorite lines from informational youtubers. Because you know it's going to be good.
He has a very specific audience. 😂
I randomly got one of these for Christmas a few years back, and I love it. As someone with small hands and MS, it's nearly impossible for me to squeeze a normal can opener. These have given me so much more freedom in the kitchen. I have no idea why they're not more common.
whats MS?
@@justinm16 Multiple sclerosis! It's a nerve condition that, in my case, affects my ability to feel and use my hands properly (eg: not being able to squeeze things).
@@luminationbutthisisforvide522 oh ok
We also got one of these a while ago and tho my grandma was confused at first once she learned how it's used it has certainly been easier, and ours even has a tiny grabber to grab the lid if it doesn't come off by itself.
I have carpal tunnel syndrome real bad in both my hands and I find the regular can openers are not only a pain but the gears tend to be mild steel and they wear out too quick. I open a lot of cans so I'm wondering how well these wear cuz the only can openers I've used that I actually liked are the big ol foodservice ones that you gotta bolt onto the counter.
This fits oddly well with the side discussion:
“I’ve come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies,” writes Douglas Adams in The Salmon of Doubt.
1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.
2. Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.
3. Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things."
I always loved that quote, and it is so accurate.
Come back, Douglas, I still need you! 😭
That must have been before people were raised to believe everything from before they were born is heresy of the highest regard and must be tossed out and replaced with its exact opposite no matter how extreme.
@@KairuHakubi Why do I have the feeling there's some undertones to this
@@KairuHakubi So, you are saying "every societal development past me being 35 is against the natural order of things"? Thanks for being such a ideal example!
It's funny! I had seen the safety opener a long while back used by somebody. I thought it was a very good product and looked for it and instead got the 2nd type of opener you mentioned which didn't work well at all. For a long time I thought what I had seen was a hallucination until you mentioned it here! I'm going to get it now that I know it is real!
When can I expect a collaboration between you two?
120v + can opener coming soon...
Hi @ElectoBOOM, didn't expect to see you here! Apparently people with similar interests watch similar videos.
Did you, like I did for a moment, think an electric can opener would be possible? Touching the can against two electrodes, with a frequency high enough to only penetrate and heat up the upper layer, and high enough current to melt it? Seems safe enough for me.
Since I'm a father of two without a yt channel, I would love to see a video of somebody (that is not me) experimenting on that!
You may be disappointed by it. I like the side cutter style, but I have also found enough cans that it won't work on because they have different shape seams that I have reverted to the regular style because it always works.
Not sure if Walmart is in Canada mister Mehdi, but a quick online search revealed several options regarding safety can openers.
9:35 having worked in a grocery store, i can say with absolute certainty that the taper is there for better stacking. The ravioli cans will slide off the rim of another can easily, while the taper makes it impossible without also knocking down the can beneath it. Those cans are a blessing when stocking shelves
I'm pretty sure British ones have regular shaped tops with the ringpull, and tapered bottoms.
You can still use a tin opener on the top ringpull side.
(Well, except Heinz that just refuses to make stackable tins.)
@@AndrooUK Heinz are unforgivable for that shit, the only time I have tins falling out of the cupboard, Heinz are always the culprit
But there are some cans that don’t stack well on top of others. I’ve had cans from differing brands that would stack together, but the can would stack fine on other cans of the same brand. I hate canned food in general. I usually opt for fresh; however, I do like a can of green beans occasionally
this is why the taper on the bottom is now common on many cans.
I had an older one of these with a squeeze grip
the anvil (cutting part) eventually wore out.
this is the 2.0 version of these
i hate nothing more than cans that won't stack
looking at you La Choy water chestnuts
I remember when my grandmother bought one of these back in the early 00's. It's definitely good for the kids making a snack that might not be as careful with sharp edges.
But it also made recycling a lot easier, we would remove the labels from cans take the top and bottom off, wash all of it and then smush the now unsupported tube flat, which saved a great amount of space in our recycling bin having just a bunch of flat cans and flat lids
9:00 When I got a "safety" can opener for the restaurant I work at, my main reason for doing so was that the cooks could get a spatula in the cans to get more product out of the cans without the burrs left by traditional can openers slicing up the spatulas. A can opened with a safety opener is far less likely to damage a rubber spatula and cause physical contamination concerns.
You know you're getting old when it's Saturday and watching a video about the evolution of can openers is actually one of the better options you have.
Why you gotta call me out like that
Watching this nine hours later than you did. But on *Sunday* morning. Is this even worse?
I felt that in my joints...
Hey, it's the first nice Saturday of fall here and two years later but I'm in your exact shoes!
“My boy Ardee” got me.
This channel is exactly what youtube was made. No cheesy elongated intros, no repetitive pleadings for likes and subscribes, no overpriced generic merch. Humor, history, science and technology.
UA-cam was made for people to upload home videos. the things you described absolutely make this channel very enjoyable and pleasant to watch, but to make claims about what UA-cam is 'supposed to be' is nonsensical
I feel that as well. Also use a years old compact camera or an iPad for filming, and a very basic PC for editing.
I suggest you look at a channel called eating history. Its fairly interesting where he cooks meals from history while giving a small lesson about the time period it was found in.
@@xourbo8734 contrarian much
@@gorillaboardwalk4443 is it contrarian to correct people
I like to imagine sometimes that I'm an archeologist four thousand years in the future. I have a can opener in front of me, and I have no idea what it's for. Thankfully, the internet still exists in some form, and after some electronic archeology, I come across a few videos.
Maybe some of them explain what a can opener is used for, broadly speaking. But maybe they're not too detailed about it, and I still have questions.
And then I find this video. It goes into such fine, unnecessary detail. It's a goldmine. A godsend. It not only explains, and describes, but visually demonstrates. It goes into the why, as well as the how. It's every bit of information I could wish for on just what a can opener is, as a far future archeologist. And, as this archeologist, I could just kiss the author, because they so distinctly call out that one pitfall of history. "It's a fact of life. Everyone knows how to use one of these." Maybe everyone did four thousand years ago, but not anymore. When a given piece of society becomes so ubiquitous that nobody bothers to explain it anymore, it leaves historians tearing their hair out, so I appreciate the effort to preserve information even about things so mundane as a manual can opener.
The opening and the "assume a standard can in a frictionless vacuum" hit me just right and I was howling with laughter
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Easily impressed
@MrPaxio sometimes a joke and it's delivery just get ya.
I thought it was a great physics teacher joke 😅
I happened to read this right as he said it 😂
Gotta love the random physics jokes!
When I found your channel I was amazed at how you had the ability to make a 25 minute video about detergent in dishwashers interesting even for your target audience of curious people. I was pleasantly surprised at not 1, not 2 but 3 video essays about Christmas lights. So I don't know why my first reaction at seeing the title of this video was "has he gone too far, is a 20 minute video about can openers really needed?". I'm sorry I doubted you. This was great.
A target audience of curious people. We are out there, that’s for sure.
Completely agreed! And now I actually use my dishwasher because I know what it was missing to make it work correctly 💪🏻
#DeathToDishwasherPods
I discovered the chanel through a video explaining why brown isn't a colour.
@@Dr._Geno This was a great video!
Never too far.
as an older person I had a hard time with traditional can openers, so I tried the side (seam) cutting can opener. it is easer on my wrist and hands, cuts clean and with little effort. I find it to be very effective. This is coming from a mechanical designer with over 40 years experience. I highly recommend this for older people, or people with medical issues.
I got one for my parents a while back, expecting that. The issue we found was that it tended to leave the top of the can sharp, while the standard style only leaves sharp edges *inside* the can, and on the piece removed.
It might just be the one we had however.
@@DanStaal it’s the one you had. Mine doesn’t.
I'd recommend the Kitchen Mama (or similar) smooth-edge electric can opener.
Look for a "wall mounted hand crank can opener" they work great for people with arthritis AND still work when the power goes out.
The day after this video was published I bought this can opener and threw out my old one. This thing is so much easier to use, works far better than the traditional style, and leaves no sharp edges (though the sharpness seems to vary from can brand to brand).
Congratulations! Even I could not come up with 20 minutes on this subject. That being said, I converted to the "safety" can opener 20 years ago and just had to replace it for this first time this year. I would never go back as it is great for pet food, if you don't want to serve the whole can at once. The lid is fine for the fridge between pet meals. No sharp edges and minimal contamination is a great thing to me. Thanks for letting everyone know to look out for one.
I’ve got one of those several years ago, and when I initially got it, I was utterly confused as to how to operate it. I ended up just throwing it in junk drawer where it sat for like 2 years. About a year ago, I could not find my Swiss Army knife for can opening, and had to figure out this can opener, poked around for couple of minutes, and exactly as described: felt like I was not making any progress at all. And then the lid came off in the cleanest way possible, that was mind blowing experience.
Kinda weird you used a Swiss army knife this whole time.
@@RotGodKing Could be camping habits. I mean it doesn't get much more straightforward than that. Plus you can stick the opener tip under the lid to pry it up so that it doesn't just fall into the can
@@RotGodKing you don't? Get mr moneybags over here
@@thinnedpaints6503 A $3 can opener or a $40 knife?
You were your own Bean Dad 😂
This is exactly why I love this channel. You never know what you’re going to get next. An in-depth takedown of dishwasher detergent packs? Yep. A continuation of a years-long hot take about Christmas lights? Sure, why not. A video about a weird can opener? You betcha.
Personally waiting for another box of junk on the other channel 😅
A series about the last 200-ish years of gas-fueled lighting? Sign me up.
not to forget an in depth rant why his toaster is better than ours
His dishwasher episode was a life saver for me.
@@DoctorNemmo Right?! I now use the correct amount of powder, and use the prewash cup. What a difference!
The tapered top of the "chunky soup can" allows nesting when they are stacked on the shelf. I learned this when trying to stock shelves of cans that were the same diameter on top and bottom.
Someone tell Heinz about this!
There are tapered designs where the taper is a lot less pronounced. So they stack, but also work with all can openers on both sides
@@EntropicTroponin Yeah basically all designs around here are stackable (again). After the "we put everything on paper trays and stack those" they weren't often stackable but they changed again. Both sides are almost identical, I guess the radius differs by the width of the rim
@@EntropicTroponin "... also work with all can openers on both sides". I did not know that. I love cans that stack and largely stay put.
Perhaps it's a Europe/America thing, but I've only ever seen cans with the taper on the bottom. I normally open the bottom of cans because it's easier to get the contents out if it's something like baked beans or a chunky soup, which means tapered and ring-pull cans go in the cupboard upside down.
"assume a standard can in a frictionless vacuum" actually made me pause to laugh
Funny seeing channels you enjoy having similar interests to you. Love your stuff
My father opens cans using the "traditional" double-cog opener, however does it backwards: the cut is along the outside (cutting through the label rather than the lid / holding the rotating handle facing up instead of sideways). This solves a couple of problems, the whole thing comes off so it's easy to get food out, and the lid can't fall in. However, it takes a bit more effort to cut, and still leaves sharp edges. It's a good compromise however!
this is the same way i generally open cans.
I was about to say the same thing! That is how I was taught and it seems way more intuitive than cutting a hole into the top of the can. Sure it is a little more work but it still isn't that difficult to do.
You need a good strong can opener to do it this way. I used to, but then I started breaking cheap can openers doing it. I swear they're getting less durable every year
@@ShukenFlash same mine keep dying and videos like this make me think I'm doing it wrong, but that's how I learned it. I not have a rotating knob one that doesn't rotate anymore, I just use it like a cutter and cut a series of holes into the can all the way around, that works too!
@@ShukenFlash I've been using one from the dollar tree for several years. Still going strong.
I blundered into getting one of these about a year ago, and I still giggle quietly when pulling the lid free. I’m positively stunned that the design is so old, and that it hasn’t made more headway. I may have to start a conspiracy theory about the nebulous and wicked Big Can Opener.
Good, someone has to fight the good fight against the utterly shameless and completely diabolical Big Can Opener
A can-spiracy theory?
@@MortimerSeptimus I've finally found my people. I'm home :-D
Dude they’re my favorite
I grew up with a safety can opener, except mine did actually have a lever, similar to the standard can opener. When I found out about the older type of can opener that left sharp edges, I just assume that it was an antiquated piece of technology that people only used because they haven't needed to replace their can opener yet. When I found out people actually default to buying to old type of can opener, I was genuinely surprised.
Did your can opener say Pampered Chef on it? Those are a Garbage piece of metal; they look like a standard but have the parts on each lever the top part on one and the bottom part on another and have to be set up right before use or they suck thus making an old design less effective. My mom still has hers but uses a standard as this particular version has a hard time with cutting the tops on some generic cans from a Statewide Chain of Grocery stores in South Dakota. There are several reasons why we stopped using the stupid piece of crap.
@@caseysmith544 actually it was Good Chef, made of plastic, but still worked 99% of the time. The 1% it didn't you could usually flip the can over and open the bottom instead
When you've grown up with that old style of can opener for so long it just becomes the default thing because you're so used to it. If someone handed it to me I instinctively know how to use it without instruction whereas the newer style never "looked easy" to use. If I didn't see this video I probably would've continued to think that.
@@gena1384 based Good Chef enjoyer. i still have one.
I still have the old type of can opener but I didn't default to it. It's just that until I saw this video I didn't know the other kind existed. I never even noticed the difference between the old styles that drag the blade across vs. the ones that use a wheel to cut. I've used both but never realized they were different. But since he showed me the nuances I definitely want to use his kind from now on. I've always been frustrated with can openers but I just thought that's the way things were and that opening cans was just a pain in the butt.
"Assume a standard can in a frictionless vacuum" made me spit my tea out. Love it!
Why is that funny?
@@007nadineL nerd humor, keep walking
I can't believe I just watched a 21 minute video about can openers, and I was fascinated and engaged all the way through. I felt like a person on an informercial "no way, it opens without cutting??"
Well done
Same here.
I, too, was fully engaged.
edit:
I even paused to give myself a moment to imagine a hands-free version of this
Just wait till you see the toaster videos.
When I was a teenager, the lawnmower my parents owned had a self propelling feature which didn't work. This made the lawnmower a heavy push mower. The need for a replacement wasn't very high for my parents despite my complaints. This one worked just fine. When I moved out, however, they promptly bought a riding mover.
For them it works just fine until they have to deal with it
Something tells me this isn't the only example for you
Looks like the lawnmower your parents owned was you, not the machine
When you moved out, they then had the money to buy the rider.
This angers me.
I'm a home-brewer and sometimes use pre-mixed wort in stonking great cans.
These cans have killed more can openers than I care to admit, and for the last several years I've been using the the careful application of the back end of a claw hammer to get into them.
I now have a new can opener in the mail and a sense of optimism I haven't felt since before I started getting report cards.
To you
You've seriously never used a rim-cutting can opener before? They've been available since the 90s.
ARGH! You are PUNISHING yourself with that canned wort! I brew all-grain but I use the Brew In A Bag method, and "chill" with the Australian style "no-chill" method. I pull off a quart of wort first, ice bath chill it, and use it for my starter. The next day, I pour the wort in the fermenter and pitch my starter so at pitch time it is already going crazy and the yeast already "knows" the wort it is getting pitched to. It is way cheaper too. I can make a 10% imperial stout for about 60 cents a pint. Session ales for half that. But yeah I have seen those cans. They are beasts. Almost makes you want to buy a drum cutter.
Go all grain. Those cans are inferior and not nearly as satisfying! Get yourself a Guten, Brewzilla or a Grainfather or similar. You won't be sorry.
I am from Germany, and here i have seen the old style can opener only once at my Grandmas.
I always see the new style.
I'm a bit late to the party here, but this is just to weird to me. What part of Germany are you from? I grew up in north east Germany and have lived in Saxony most of my adult life and have never in my life seen this design.
Way back in the early '70s, our kitchen can opener was the same two handle gadget as described at the start of the video. However ours had a magnet attached to an arm that held the lid of the can so that top would not sink into the cans contents.
Yup, we had one of those as well. I much preferred the field ration opener. This little piece of bent stamp metal actually worked.
@@paavobergmann4920 you mean the p-38 or the larger p-51!
@@tonydibartolo7985 I have had a P-51 "John Wayne" on my keychain for about thirty years.
Wat a simple, but genius solution!
@@tonydibartolo7985 I looked those up, and yes, basically, but, actually, no, there was a non-folding variety in europe, I don´t even know if it was military, it was really just a stamped piece of sheet metal with a bent-up sharp hook, no hinge, so you wouldn´t actually want to put it in your pocket, but it was rugged, practical, sturdy, efficient and genius, and it got the job done.
I'd just like to once again show appreciation for the thought and care that goes into the captioning. The trademark symbol on Fine was a nice touch, absolutely top notch.
I'm glad someone else noticed, haha!
But what is a FINE product? I tried googling it but the word "fine" was being used as the cost of an infraction, a monetary fine. Please advise.
I just need to say that I'm at awe at how good and tight your scripts are nowadays. Great choice of words and pace. One of my favourite UA-cam channels!
ua-cam.com/video/3tyOVnOXGxw/v-deo.html
I want to say. This is the first time I buy something because of a YT video.
This can opener type is marvelous, I was excited as a 6yo while waiting for delivery...
It is SO practical and I don't feel nervous anymore about cutting myself or making a mess THANKS TO YOU.
Such a little thing, that hardly changes anything in one's life but suddenly makes a small common task so much more enjoyable.
Thank you!
I've used one of these for ~5 years now. Could be the same model! No noticeable reduction in cutting ability. When my mother's old-fashioned electric opener shat the bed a few years ago, I got her an electric version of this. It was built by (wait for it!) Black & Decker. No complaints once she learned how to hold the can.
can confirm, electric versions of these are mom friendly. (hamilton beach in this instance though)
The side-cutting one I bought my mother was the rechargeable kind that you put on the can and it drove itself around the can.
Made by... Black & Decker.
I remember being Very Excited about those can openers when they first came out, and I was totally going to get one when the one we had eventually needed to be replaced. Three decades later when that workhorse finally went lame, I had completely forgotten the existence of the safety can opener.
ua-cam.com/video/3tyOVnOXGxw/v-deo.html
That's another point. Can openers are really not something frequently brought, if at all. I never needed to buy one. I am still using a ancient one from the 60`s previously owned by my grandma thats not even the clamp design but the one handled "rips the lid apart" ratchet one.
I discovered these “safety can openers” after my mom got a pretty gnarly cut on her finger from a jagged can edge, and gave these out for Christmas a few years ago. Now this is all we use. I didn’t realize that they’d been around for decades.
I appreciate your channel and especially the one I just watched on smoke detectors. Even the obscure stuff about lava lamps fascinates me. Your knowledge, presentation and wit are excellent. Have a beer on me. Thank you!
I’ve often looked at the different staplers in my office and wondered which spring assembly is the most efficient. I always thought it was neat one spring operates the feed and tensions the loading gate. I wonder what innovations in staplers exist.
There are staple-less staplers now. I have one and I love it. It's only good for a few sheets at a time, but it works.
@@SeJoHu yeah, those are useful for people who don't need to bind more than 10 pages at a time.
IIRC, the recommended thickness is just 5 pages.
For anyone who's curious how the staple-less staplers work, they punch a hole in the paper and fold it into itself to bind the sheets together.
If you hate holes in your paper, DO NOT use them.
Stick with a standard stapler and use good quality staples so you don't mangle the paper any more than you need to.
ua-cam.com/video/3tyOVnOXGxw/v-deo.html
@Technology Connections needs to do a video on this...
I've been tasked with repairing an office's supply of jammed and broken staplers, and I no longer question the necessity of an auto-stapling printer. Didn't staple? JAM HARDER THAT'LL WORK
I have been using can openers like this for years and will gladly expound on their virtues to anyone who will listen. A fantastic analysis! You're hair also looks fantastic for being in a frictionless vacuum with that can.
I'll bite. What's your best fact about can openers? Also, it's fascinating how he manages to speak that well in that vacuum.
1. I have LOVED this style of can oper ever since my mom first gone one in...later 1990s maybe early 2000s. It's quite nice to see someone else excited about them.
2. Your outtakes at the end actually helped me with an assignment for college this semeser when I had to make a video essay style project. It helped me not get too upset when i would constantly butcher a line. So thanks for those.
Excellent commentary.
I lived for a long time in Japan and that idea of, “That’s just the way it is” in many ways explains the entire culture there.
A common Japanese response to any questions a foreigner might have as to why something was this way or that was simply, “That’s just the Japanese way.”
Questioning things was not a cultural trait you saw very often and the Japanese have a fantastic skill in “soldiering on”, even when something is difficult or unwieldy or inconvenient.
They seem to live by the motto, “That’s just the way it is.”
I opened a can with one of these last week and one of those little threads of metal was actually more like a little needle-sharp piece of swarf, about 1cm long - and it did end up on my plate somehow (the product was a pie that is baked in the can after removing the lid, so perhaps the top crust grabbed the metal piece as it rose up)
At first I thought it was you posting this video when it came up on my feed!
Cool to see you here, I just watched that video
You going make a video on pie in a can? Irc you all ready did a video of a full chicken in a can so that wouldn't suprise me.
I knew you would be in this comment section for sure
I was just about going to comment with some links to your can opener related videos then I saw your comment.
After I watched your videos about the sunbeam toaster, I showed them to my mom and she went online to find a similar model. She found it after a while, and it just came in the mail a few days ago. My entire household (about 7 people) stood in the kitchen and watched it work. It was absolutely mesmerizing to all of us.
I can remember when my Mother upgraded to a Whirlpool Automatic washing machine from the old Hoover twin tub, and we would stand around watching it do its thing and as young kids found if interesting.
@@steviebboy69 Funny you mentioned that! When my son was about 4 he was helping my Mum to load the front loading washing machine and actually sat down to watch it wash the clothes. The only washing machines that he had seen before were top loaders. I must admit that I found front loaders to be rather strange when I first saw them, and so was the old Hoover Twin Tub.
Mark from Melbourne Australia
I want this toaster so badly. However we are in a 240V country and could not find a suitable model and have up. May I ask where did you source yours ?
@@markfryer9880 I remember the spin bowl for the twin tub really revved up fast and dried even more than the large automatic machine. Im in wangaratta so not that far away.
You just can't say this and not share the model.
I have both designs in my drawer, and I have to say that I use the older design quite a bit more often. The most frequent need for a can opener in my household is for canned tuna in water. The older top cutting design gives me the ability to use the lid to keep the tuna contents in the can, while draining the water and pressing some of the remining water out of the tuna before prepping for my tuna salad. In the situations where I don't need to use the lid for draining, (soups, tomato sauces, beans, etc...) I prefer the newer seam cutting model.
Yup, same here! Glad to know I'm not the only crazy tuna crusher.
@@JamesTM I do the tuna crushing (almost wringing) as well, only the tuna cans I get around here (Germany) usually don´t need a can opener. They usually have those weird tear of lids that seem to never work properly, but they leave to small a rim to use a regular can opener as it will tear up the lid at the precut for opening.
I do that too... it's how my parents always did it.
idk how else people are draining their tuna :P
Curious only, why use canned tuna when there is pouch tuna (that needs no draining? (I'm not wanting to start anything nefarious, curiosity only.)
@@JS-wc4xs At least here in the US, canned tuna is immensely cheaper and much more widely available. It's sold in practically every store.
Because of this video, now I also have one of the superior can openers! My favorite part about it is that it's more hygienic - the regular can openers use a blade that is dragged not only through the lid, but also through the can contents themselves and they leave the risk of the lid drowning in the can contents which is also sub-optimal. Because of how this double seam cutting can opener works, its blade doesn't make contact with food at all - the only things it does contact with during normal operation are metal, lacquer and compound. Sometimes I can even see how the compound stretches and rips when I lift the lid off a can, further proofing that nothing that may have been left on the can opener's cutting wheel has a chance to make contact with food
Had one of these "safety" models for years, and I have been so impressed that I bought another for my brother.
As a consequence, I now have two can openers, such was my brother's hostility to using this type. And we're English, nowhere near the midwest.
Some people can't be helped.
It seems your brother secretly has a masochistic tendencies... 😄
During the introduction I immediately thought, "_Safety_ can opener? People don't want to be called weak so of course it's not popular if that's what they're called."
Even without such terminology, innovations can develop a negative stigma because their early adopters will be those who need the innovation the most, which will tend to be those viewed as weak like the disabled and children, unless you (the seller) specifically push against that. Velcro shoes, for instance.
How are voice assistants advertised, for example? Probably not as a way to make computers easier to use but rather as a mere convenience. (Disclaimer: I don't watch ads and don't use voice assistants.) They're probably framed as friends or lean into the high status of having a personal butler or maid or something.
yep, that's how schisms develop. . just look at the protestant churches.
This is the only channel that can make a 21 minute video on a can opener something I watch immediately
Harkening back to the storm lantern video, an amazing fact about can openers is that hundreds of millions of people in other countries who regularly eat food out of cans have never heard of can openers, and open cans with knives. A friend of mine from Brazil, upon seeing one for the first time in America, immediately purchased a dozen to send back to her friends and family. This was around 2009. I’m not talking about people who live way out in the boonies either, I’m talking people who live in the major cities, have cars and are online and go to coffee shops, but if you handed them a can to open would go get a kitchen knife and methodically tap the point straight down around the circumference of the lid of the can.
I watched another friend from a large city in China have the same experience; had never seen a can opener, purchased several to send back.
There is always a tool someone dont know :D
@@Hackanhacker yes, but to be clear, I am saying that they generally don’t use can openers in Brazil and China. I’m not just referring to those two specific individuals.
@@asmodiusjones9563 i see i see
@@asmodiusjones9563 KInda odd given how many of the can openers are made in China.
If something as nefarious as a can opener (Schultz 1971) can make it's way into the vaunted cultures of China and Brazil I say do away with metallically canned food altogether
I bought one of these newer openers from a famous Chinese shopping channel. I never knew they had been available for so long. To me, it was something new. It came with no instructions, but eventually, I worked it out for myself. On first use I thought it hadn't worked. The tin still looked the same. Curiosity made me try to lift the lid, and voila, the lid came off. Clean, not sharp, and yes, the tin contents slid out effortlessly into a bowl. Great. But it was quite an effort to operate. I wished the wings for turning were longer, perhaps offering more leverage. My Mum, who has arthritis in her hands is unable to use it easily. I decided to persevere with it, and actually, either I have got more used to its operation, or it has, like a new car, run in. I love it now. Also, the safety angle of it strikes me as being great not only in the home but when out camping or caravanning, with no sharp edges of freshly cut lids. Better for the user, and those who deal with the discarded cans in the rubbish.This video connected with me on every level. You took the lid off the subject perfectly.
I can not tell you how much I appreciate your videos. Your fine puns and deep insights, camouflaged as a video about a can opener. Brilliant :) Thank you very much.
Agreed!
they don't just use a seamer they use food grade glue or silicone to seal the can
You can only imagine how much effort he puts into these scripts.
I really like the "safe" can openers specifically because I like to re-use my cans as catch-buckets for screws, washers, nuts, and other small components, and I don't have to file down the sharp edges before using.
It also makes it easier to scrape _all_ of the can's contents out with a spatula without damaging the spatula.
Less waste both ways.
Yep, I love this aspect too. One of those cans is still sitting on my shelf as a cup for pens.
While watching this video, when you mentioned the question of "how many things in our life have been drastically improved, yet we dont adopt them as a society?" I was really hoping you would mention some other tools that are exactly that. I think making a video centered around that question would be something I for sure would love to watch. I'm sure im not the only one.
Video Idea: potato peelers. Someone figured out how to make a knife that only cuts as deep as the peel and there's so many different models and designs of them
You are right. TC could make an entire channel of this, call it Technology Disconnections, If you think of technology as an ever moving train, those items that don't evolve further have been disconnected from the train.
As a side note, my friend and I coined a phrase "Zenith Acquisition". It means acquiring the best of a technology before it evolves into another format. Like vinyl record players giving way to CD players, vacuum tubes to solid state, etc.Given that the 1.0 version of any new thing is usually terrible, the best of the last technology will serve you well for years to come.
it is genuinely depressing how often a new invention isn't able to be sold on tv for 19.99 so nobody gets to have it.
@@garyleewebb That must be why Zelda games keep coming out at the very end of a console's life..
Or you could do as he intended and think critically for yourself. You don't need someone else to do it for you.
I was introduced to this can opener when I met my wife over 15 years ago. I've never looked back and have been using the 'Allison Can Opener' ever since. I named it after her because until this video I've still never seen any evidence that anyone else has ever used one. I'm glad to see them getting the credit they deserve.
I think it's kind of amazing that a can opener can cause you to reassess your cultural/personal preferences. I also think it's commendable that you did so. And I enjoyed the somewhat philosophical nature of this video.
The mere fact that he gave it any thought whatsoever elevates him into the 1% of human intelligence.
Never thought I ever would discover something new about can openers. This looks so satisfying to use. I immediately bought one online and just tested it on a can of smoked fish. The only thing that makes me sad now is that I have no more cans to open at the moment.
Same here! I was cackling like a madman when I used it the first time and lifted off the lid. 🤣
"And Alexander wept, for there were no more cans to open"
@@boudewijnNL The way it felt seeing that lid come off must have been like how it felt to watch the first rocket launch.
@@jimbarino2 🤣
Bought one of these after slicing my thumb open badly on a sharp can lid....for the 3rd time...
Literally changed my life. I cook with more cans now, specifically more beans and lentils, which has improved my diet.
Everyone should own one.
Having gone through a few of the new design openers, I can tell you that they do in fact wear out faster than the old style. It's not the cutting edge that wears out but rather the knurled edge of the driving wheel. I generally need to replace mine once every four to five years, while the old style opener that I brought with me to college 30 years ago (which was already 20 years old at that time) is still working fine.
That said, I keep replacing the newer one because it is simply better in every other respect.
I bought a “standard” can opener from the dollar store, 6 months in it started to bend and it’s useless at this point. Expected from something from the dollar store, but not really from something made completely of metal!
Also, my wife is left handed which makes it’s use impossible!
Next one is gonna be an ambidextrous-outside-rim can opener. It’s crazy how they’re not the standard.
@@jafogx didn't realize there were ambidextrous-outside-rim can openers. I've never seen one.
@@norm1320 Me neither, but I do have what is essentially an ambidextrous version of the most simple pattern. No handle to speak of, just a tiny tab to open and close the blade and a fold-away crank, once it's closed on the can you can just hold the can and turn the crank, the blade stays closed until you decide to open it. We got it as an extra in an emergency kit more than 30 years ago and it still works perfectly, even after 30 years of constant use.
I had that problem as well but if you disassemble it you can add a washer inside to fix it,
The tip isn't wearing down its just that the gripper ring doesn't pull in close enough
@@infinitepurelive Not quite the same problem. In my case it was wearing out in that turning the handle no longer turned the mechanism, it just didn't get enough traction. At least that's how I remember it (it's been a long time).
Oddly enough, I grew up using the safer can opener at home. It was a relative shock when I started visiting friends and they had nothing similar. I've used just about every possible means of opening a can by now primitive or otherwise and the safety can opener is 10/10.
I had it too, but I never opened cans any where else so I never knew until this video that other types even existed
@@snow-js4te I respect that, I'm definitely just biased to the safety opener. It's always fascinating to think there's so many ways to do a simple task and none necessary or at all wrong.
@@aDistantLight I would suspect that they don't actually fall into the food as you open the can, but as you pour out its contents. So cleaning the seam before pouring might prevent that.
Also, I'd assume it's a function of age of the can opener. It's still a blade, after all, and every blade becomes dull through usage at some point. I'd suspect that those bits of metal are caused by dullness or insufficient quality (or both) of the blade.
Cut the crap out of myself while visiting family because I just instinctively grabbed the lid on a non-safety opener opened can.
My preferred method of opening cans is a thermite reaction. It's extremely safe, assuming you don't intend to use whatever was in the can.
I love the seam-cutting can opener variety! That's all we've used for about 8 years now. Mine has two pieces to the handle similar to a traditional opener and opening and closing the handle moves the wheel forward and back. Open, clamp, close, turn, just like a regular can opener, except you're lining it up flat on top of the lid instead of along the side of the can and it does the seam-splitting thing. Bonus: It doesn't let go of the lid until you open the handle again so you don't have to touch the lid at all.
Yup! I have the exact one in the video. When I get to the end I just twist it in like I'm rolling the lid and it comes pulls it right off
I've got the same - Tupperware brand.
I think I have the same thing
@@kj181560 mine can only be lined up with the cutting disc horizontal into the side of the can. There aren't multiple ways to make it work
yep, got one of these from Ikea.
@@kj181560 I find regular can openers used sideways put the cutting wheel below the fold. This leaves a can which has a sharp top edge and tries to flex out of your grip.
Just had one delivered and it works brilliantly; nothing sharp left and the top fits back on nicely to form a lid. Thanks for the recommendation.
This brings back memories. Back in 1996, I worked for a short time with the person who invented this design. (or so they said as there was no Google back then). One of my first jobs was transferring the hand drawn design into Autocad.
At the time this Can Opener was a huge headache for this very small company. They were trying to release a redesign of the Can Opener, but Starfrit had copied it illegally. The Starfrit copy was a bad reverse engineered version that didn't work properly, giving this style a bad image. On top of that, the owner went to a lawyer for legal advice on sueing Starfrit on the patent infringement. The lawyer said that Starfrit legal department was so big, his company was sure to go bankrupt before they could win.
I left the company after a month but the owner was a brilliant engineer. I did notice about a year later, the design I copied into Autocad for them being sold in a store and so I bought two on the spot.
What is the name of the original company that made this design?
that's really cool
I just saw on Amazon a version of this can opener that also includes a magnet attached to the metal loop so the lid comes off with the opener when you lift it off which I think is a pretty neat minor improvement over the original design.
That's definitely a good addition to a usual "cut into the lid" can opener, as it comes with the danger of the lid falling into the can (in fact, the electric can opener at my parents' place does have a little magnet crane for exactly that reason). I don't see why you would need it for such a save can opener, since the lid won't go anywhere anyway and is easy to take off by hand.
Then you have to remove the lid from the magnet though lol
Steel cans are pretty uncommon aren't they?
My can opener comes with a tiny grabber, which is helpful when the lid sticks a bit.
Magnet equipped can openers have been around at least 30 years (when I bought mine).
The one advantage of the old style can openers is that the lid falls into the can, which for the purpose of tuna allows you to squeeze the water out of the tuna when draining it. I use an old style one for tuna, and a newer one that cuts the side of the can for other things.
I was literally about to write this exact comment 😂 I'm totally getting one of these weird can openers now though.
Kitties like the tuna juice too.
I actually have both types. the old type is hard to find in shops, but still best for tuna cans.
My parents can open cuts the side (not sure if it cuts the seam or can wall), in i like that it doesn't fall in, i just pick the lid off, offset it slightly and then use ot to strain the juices out. I genuinely think its works much better for straining when the lid doesn't fall into the can and can be placed at an angle, i have the basic wheel and gear design now and its definitely sub par, and thats before considering the electrification of my parents opener.
Yes, this.
So happy I came across your channel recently! Never a dull moment. And a fellow Midwesterner to boot!
I've gone through three or four can openers in the past two years- one threw in the towel New Year's Eve in the middle of me preparing a big soup. Quality has been hard to find to say the least. But I've read of this being fairly common now, even with can openers recommend by professional chefs.
I looked at electric can openers but I saw a lot of negative reviews, even from the same brand as my mother's electric can opener that has worked relatively fine for half my life or more.
I *think* I saw one or two safety can openers somewhere in the mix but I passed over them. I'll give them a try one my current can opener dies. Thanksgiving is just around the corner so I'm sure it won't be long. I'm sure it wants to be a cut above its predecessor!
...I'll be sure to buy a replacement in advance 😅
The BEST can opener I've ever used is the OXO Smooth Edge can opener. It kind of combines the "safety" can opener with the lever action of the older lid piercing ones. Never leaves a sharp edge or bits of metal in the food, and even has a little set of pliers built in to grab the lid and pull it off the can.
I read this in the voice of the wife on the Truman Show
I promise I'm not an ad bot, but I was also someone who was tired of bad can openers and found what I think is the perfect one
@@criadx I was actually interested enough to look it up on Amazon. And just bought their garlic press, potato ricer, and Y peeler. But wound up not buying the can opener, because even though I like the idea, I'll wait til my normal one ever annoys me to replace it. Toxic midwesterner
We bought an OXO Smooth Edge can opener after my wife cut her hand BAD after trying to catch a falling lid cut with an old can opener. Like, visit the ER and get surgery bad. We've had it for 15 years now, and it's still doing strong. I don't recall ever noticing any metal slivers.
I’ve lost track of how long I’ve been using an Oxo Smooth Edge opener. With the Oxo I’ve never seen the little metal slivers mentioned in the video. Don’t recall any problems with those slightly tapered soup cans, either.
The can opener has been getting relatively frequent use, mostly for canned dog food. I dislike canned veggies as most of them are too salty. But aside from that I don’t look down on canned food.
That ending speech works as a great thesis for the channel as a whole. Ever since that dishwasher video, I took the advice and it's made my life better. Thank you Technology Connections for helping us to think differently.
Yeah I started using my dishwasher and it changed my life.
I've never had a dishwasher however I believe similar is true for washing machines regarding tablets.
My mum uses washing powder and fabric conditioner. I've done the same, largely because it's cheaper. Little did I realise, that the cheaper way of the way I'm doing it, is the better way of doing so.
That, and in addition I see what he's getting at with regards to heat pumps. I've not heard of heat pumps until I bought a tumble dryer, however I did have a bad experience with robot vacuums a decade or so ago
A whole decade has passed and they've for a heck of a lot better.
The dishwasher episode convinced me to learn how to use mine properly. Never bothered before because they "didn't work". I very seldom hand wash dishes now and they are all clean because I actually know how to use the dang thing now.
Love the final point of this video. My mom was ADAMANT to never get a pressure cooker because one exploded in her house when she was a child (in the 60s). When I finally ignored her concerns and got myself a beautiful, sturdy modern pressure cooker, she ended up loving it so much I left it at her house when I moved out!
To be fair, having a bomb full of boiling water exploding in your kitchen as a child _would_ be a pretty traumatic event. If she had been standing in the wrong place, it could've actually killed her.
@@deusexaethera Knowing me, I'd buy one, just to blow it up for fun...
Just be aware it can happen again if there's an issue with the pressure relief valve or lid seal. It's important to regularly inspect them.
Sometimes when cooling the rubber bung gets sucked into whatever you are cooking and Mum would ask us to chew carefully. Later revisions of the bung have a valve in it preventing it being sucked in.
In another memorable day, we were all watching the wrestling on TV when there was this great roaring noise. All of the liquid in the pressure cooker had gone up the flue creating a mess. The meat and vegetables remained behind. The rubber bung was never found, probably still in the ceiling cavity. I was happy because I hated Mum’s vegetable soup and it was cancelled.
Someone is always less fortunate and our neighbour had the lid of her pressure cooker fly up and imbed in the ceiling, an event related in hushed tones years later.
@@darylcheshire1618 indeed pressure cookers are to be used by people that know how to maintain them ;-)
I absolutely love the digression to the history of the tool/appliance/christmas lights and would 100% watch a comprehensive history of can openers.
Hi! Great video! Thank you for posting it.
I do quality control in a factory where we put vegetables in cans. Beans, lentils, red cabbage and such. For certain quality control points we have to open the cans using these safety openers. They have two drawbacks in my opinion.
1st : they don't last that long. Admittedly we use them more often than most households. About 18 cans a day per production line. Times three to five production lines; you can do the math. After a few weeks we need new ones because they will not cut deep enough anymore to open the cans. So we buy them by the dozens. We use the 'normal' ones as well (for other control purposes) and these last endlessly. We have a few spare ones just in case one breaks down, but otherwise we never have any problems with them.
2nd (related to no. 1): we use cans of different sizes. Now larger cans (for instance 800 ml - sorry, we use metric 😁) are made of thicker material than the smaller sizes - say 125 ml. Now when we use the safety can openers on the large cans, we can't use them anymore on the smaller ones due to the difference in total thickness of the seam. So we have to have an opener dedicated to the small cans and another one for the larger cans. The 'normal' can openers do not have this problem at all.
Other than that I completely concur with your findings : safer, no rim to restrain the goodies in the can from coming out easily, clean, et cetera.
Love your videos. Please keep them coming!
Definitely. My family had one of the safety openers as a replacement for a busted standard one, but it ended up breaking far sooner than the normal one. The problem isn't the cutting edge going dull, it's the wheel no longer clamping onto the seam. Also, you could probably use the can openers from the small cans to open the big ones after they stop being able to open the small ones if it's the clamps going bad.
You'd have thought that the wear issue would have been sorted by now - the original Metal Box Company one that came out here in the UK in 1969 had exactly the same problem.
@@galaxyanimal About how many years did it last? I've got an OXO-branded safety can opener that I received when I moved into my current home, been using it at least twice weekly for over 6 years now and it still seems to be working fine.
@@pshalleck I think it was just a couple years, compared to close to 10 for the conventional opener. It might have just been a cheap can opener. I think it kind of worked for a while because we had just the safety opener for a while, then got a conventional one because it was starting to have trouble opening some cans. However, I do come from a big family, so we almost always had at least 2 cans of anything.
To add to the can being invented before the can opener: The "can" was also invented before softer alloys used in cans today, meaning in many cases, you had to literally break out a hammer and a chisel to open your beans.
Nice
Truly a man's meal
So you spent at least 50% of the calories just opening the can 😅
@Natural Creature Yup, some of them have terrible handles that tear your skin off (or at least cause bruising and pain) due to terrible design.
For me, I would rather deal with a pull tab and have to fish the food out with a knife than use a cheap can opener and have to deal with bruising, pain and most importantly, me slamming the lot in the trash because f*ck that sh*t.
Man, you pegged me and gave me a lot to think about. I remember seeing these advertised on TV as a kid and thought they were awesome. When I got my first apartment and was buying a can opener, I actually looked for these in the store but couldn't find a single one. I figured there had to be a reason they were no longer sold. I settled on a regular can opener and never looked back. Now that you've reminded me of them and it's possible to buy anything on the internet, I'm going to finally get one. I'm also going to think about other things I wanted but wrote off.
Bought one of these on a whim about a month ago because it looked more durable than the one id just broken. Was worried I'd bought some sort of gimmick product that didn't really work when I tried it the first time, almost apologized to my partner and went back to the store before I picked the can up and the lid just came off clean. Week later I see this glowing review of exact thing I just bought down to the brand. I'm definitely calling this a win
Personally I like the fact that the lid doesn’t dip into the soup and mix in the dried rat pee from the warehouse rats.
Nah it's missing that characteristic tang
The only thing I dislike is the glue that rips apart when you remove the lid. I have to remove it all before pouring the can to avoid glue in the food.
If you take an issue with that, just clean the cans?
big selling point for me as well
@@ShihammeDarc I do clean the can lids as well. ...But I'm not obsessive about it. Is a quick rinse good enough to eliminate all chance of rat lungworm disease? ...I'd rather have a slitter can opener than scrub every can rim...
I've had one since the 90s and it still works fine. It opens every can I ever tried. My favorite part of owning it is watching other people who aren't aware of this type of can opener try to use it. The 25 seconds of ensuing chaos and confusion is fun every time.
I too have had one for a long time now, and some cans cannot be cut, like sardine cans, but many can. I love it, and dont even have the old style.
I've only ever had this kind and have repeatedly struggled to use a "regular" can opener until I watched this video.
_"The 25 seconds of ensuing chaos and confusion..."_
Which is why the new style hasn't been widely adopted. People can't see how it's supposed to work. And looking at it, it doesn't even look like it _can_ work. There doesn't even seem to be any sharp blade to cut into the can with. What kind of sorcery is this!?!?? So I'm not surprised that most people aren't willing to take a chance on it.
But for me....frankly, what initially attracted me to this new design was its very weirdness and seeming impossibility. I remember looking at it and thinking, "WTF? I gotta see how this works!"
@@sunglint What's a many can? Would this can opener work on it?
I have a standard can opener but my life changed when I learned you can also cut the lid seam with them like the safety opener does! If you clamp the wheels to the inner and outer sides of the lip, so the handles both are parallel to the lid, it pops the whole top off cleanly! Makes me crazy that I could have been doing that my whole life.. Thank you for shining a light on such over looked and ever faithful kitchen utensils!
In fact, they were originally designed to cut through the side of the can below the seam rather than through the lid, similar to old-style cans with a key that pealed off a strip of the side of the can. And they're actually less effort and more reliable to use that way. Everybody's been using them wrong this whole time, just like they open the wrong end of a banana. Cutting through the seam itself is nicer, but is kinda fiddly with a traditional can-opener.
@@fwiffo Yup. It's still got a sharp edge, but it's on the can's sides where it's far less likely to cause injury if you're just pouring the contents into another container. YMMV for folks who eat straight out of cans, I suppose.
So funny to be reading this after watching the video, especially in light of his conclusion about going through life oblivious to what simple improvements could make life easier.
I tested the method and it can be a bit rough on the lid edge and the lid cannot be put back so nicely, so I would still prefer the safety opener.
Thankyou!
It's one of the things you should be taught... Like using the TcTac lid as a dispenser or pouring the milk from the milk carton from the right side...
Ya know, maybe the ones I’ve bought are just crap but. I’ve never been able to get a common can opener to do that.
This video has changed my life more than any other UA-cam video. This is incredible. I will never go back to opening cans with a traditional can opener because I hurt myself on them all the time.
I have felt the "it’s good enough and perfectly fine” for my hands vs dishwashers for a decade up until I saw your vids on them. now my hands thank you for the pain they no longer feel from extended dishwashing.
And the dishwasher is the perfect place to put dirty dishes as you use them. Keeps the sink empty and available all day. Plus my hands are weak and I tend to drop dishes a lot...
You never heard of dish gloves?
@@angelbear_og I have eczema and they exacerbate my condition.
True story, I grew up with one of these in my house. When I moved out at the age of 22, I bought a "regular" can opener and I did not know how to use it. I ended up holding it "horizontally" and cutting the whole top of the can off.
It depends but some can openers can cut both ways but you really shouldn't since it can be a little too hard on the hinge point.
I actually prefer this way with the regular can openers instead of cutting into the lid, because its much easier to just grab the top off. I rarely use them anyway and when i do i don't mind the slightly harder squeeze and turning action as a trade-off
I was going to mention that regular can openers can do this too. When I was a kid we had one that looked like a conventional can opener, but only worked on the side of the can. My mom was obsessed with it because she was always irrationally afraid of the sharp part of the removed lid. The top of the decapitated can becomes the new sharp bit though, with this design.
Same
This is how I use my regular can opener. I can’t stand the risk of the top falling into the can and then needing to fish out a round, jagged razor blade from my tomato paste or artichoke hearts
This is one of the coolest, most interesting channels on youtube. I love everything about it... the topics, the delivery... the host. Thanks for such awesome content!
There are several designs of "safety" can openers. Many have problems with variation in the lid seam size. The one you're showing has a particularly clever mechanism to get around this issue.
Yeah, I remember having one in the 90s. It worked on some cans but not all so we kind of forgot about it. Might try one like this after all these years.
Wouldn't normal can openers have that issue too?
They just need to be shimmed with washers inside
The part in the video where he turns the blades one way to "widen" the gap between the blade mechanism and the handle, places it on the can lid and then turns the blades the opposite way to clamp it on?
@@jimdabarbarian I think normal openers just use the rim as a guide/lip to hang onto as it cuts directly into the lid. So rim variety shouldn't matter much? That's what I got from this vid.
As someone who eats a lot of soup, I bought one of these can openers as soon as I saw this video. And wow, they are an absolute game changer. As you said, everything in the can slides right out! No fighting with sharp edges from the pull tab or a "regular" can opener. Thank you so much, you have saved me from endless (mild) inconvenience.
How is everyone even slightly struggling with regular can openers? You can buy reusable silicone lids for pennies if continued storage is your goal, and a child can learn to handle can edges so safely they avoid injury for the rest of their life. This thing failed to open a common soup can among others. I'm beginning to think the design was overlooked because the problems it solved were already solved, and meanwhile it introduced new problems
@@phildocs16223
1. The problem with regular can openers is that they leave a lip inside of the can, making it a pain to get all of the contents out of the can. With the can opener showcased in the video, there is no lip, as the lid is completely removed. This allows the contents of the can to slide out effortlessly, which is what I absolutely love about this can opener.
2. It failed to open one brand of coup cans, because of the dumb design that Campbell's did with their cans. Also, Campbell's cans open just fine if you flip the can upside down, and use the opener on the bottom of the can. The bottom is sealed just like a normal can, and works perfectly with the opener showcased in the video.
@SpeedNintendo Thanks for your reply. I bought a leading brand safety opener recommended all over these comments and tested it out of curiosity. It failed to part the seam on 3 different common can types. Meanwhile the standard opener I inherited from my great great ancestors for free has never failed. This takes priority over the rest of the pro/con analysis but there's more to mention
Assuming the safety opener did work, you could extract the full contents more easily, I'll give you that. However this comes at the expense of being able to strain, which is frequently necessary as many canned foods come in liquid meant to be discarded. Also realistically that lip is only retaining the
My problem was I never believed the advertising of no sharp edges, I thought the sharp edge was just moved from inside the rim to the top because I always believed it was just the same mechanism just moved to the side, so the opened cans always looked like they were going to slice your wrist open instead of just cutting your finger.
I don’t understand how you people made it to the 2020s without knowing about these.
As a bred, born, and raised Midwesterner, the mindset of making do with what you have is one definitely ingrained, but one that also definitely frustrates me. I'm always on the lookout for the best new innovations in whatever I'm purchasing! It's one of the reasons I love this channel. Thanks for bringing this into light for me.
Making do with what you have is fine as long as the old thing still works the way it's supposed to (that includes SAFELY). If they really do both work fine and it's just a matter of style preference, then hey. Also sometimes it can be fun to figure out how to make do with what you have--but only in ways that aren't going to hurt anybody. Making a nice-looking picture with only MSPaint, for example.
I used to work at a large, nationwide outdoor gear retailer co-op. We got great employee discounts, but eventually you get to a point where there will always be a newer, lighter tent or rain jacket, but is it really worth replacing what you have if it isn't broken.
I just watched a 20 min video on can openers and barely touched my phone. Your channel is the best.
Fascinating. This video made me realize I've never actually used a "normal" can opener, only these safety ones. Didn't realize they were less common. Does explain why my roommates were so baffled by my can opener though.
Same here.
How about having never used a "spinny" type of can opener at all. I've only ever used the type that's a single handle and a weird hooky bit of bent metal that hooks around the edge of the can for leverage and pokes into the lid, then you move it a little, poke again and work your own way round like that.
@@zendricvoider That's the portable military type mentioned in the video, the official name is the P-38 can opener. Or maybe a Church key or bull's head opener.
@@marsilies More like a military style one yeah, not 100% what I've got but close enough.
9:37 This tapered top (or more often, bottom) allows for easier stacking of cans. Instead of both rims being the same circumference, the smaller rim fits into the wider rim, allowing them to be stacked on top of each other without slipping.
Heinz doesn't do that and it's annoying af. You can't stack their cans.
you can do that and still have a cylindrical can which can be opened with one of these
reminds me of a Mitchell and Webb sketch
So lots of cans in Brazil have tapered bottoms. Same benefit, zero downsides.
@@Y.M... and thats numberwang...
This might not be the exact reason for the taper on the chunky soup can, but from working retail I can say (no pun intended) that those are great to stack. The narrow top part fits perfectly into the wide base. Cans that don't have a taper don't stack nicely without cardboard between them.
Also, I think they put it on the top for stability. I think it's the same reason that cranberry sauce cans open from the bottom, its better to have the squared off edge on the bottom so they don't fall everywhere.
We have stackable cans in UK but they don't look anywhere near as extreme as the one in the video, they don't mess with my safety can opener anyway. Also cans that don't stack suck. Heinz I'm looking at you
Mildly interesting fact about cranberry sauce can orientation: Pretty sure I saw this in a video by Ocean Spray explaining that the can was upside-down so jellied cranberry sauce would come out more easily as a "log." With the can that way, gas inside the can rises to the top so when you break the vacuum by sticking a butter knife around the sides of the can, the "log" just slides right out.
@@glaorenz Would it surprise you if I said I don't use the butter knife method, I take a big kitchen knife and poke a hole in the bottom to slide it out? It lets the air in and it comes out so nicely.
@@grantgranby good idea, maybe an "original" can opener could poke the relief hole easier?
@@SuperBrainAK there is no lip for it to lever on though
I recently got one of these after thinking about it for months. I open tuna fish cans regularly, and the can opener was always getting all tuna juicy-y. So i'd rinse it and leave it open and face down on a towel to dry. They would rust pretty fast. So I got a safety can opener just because they stay clean! I love it!
The best can opener I’ve ever used is a Tupperware can opener, it also does not leave any sharp edges but it’s sort of a hybrid between the two types shown here in this video. It also comes with a small gripper on the side to grab the lid in case you don’t want to touch it. I’ve never encountered a can it couldn’t open and it leaves no metal shavings/flakes/pieces.
Oh and it’s also very ergonomically designed, with nice large handles that are curved for humans hands and a big knob/turning thingy for cutting the can.
I have one of those too, it took me a few tries to work out how to use it (you hold it against the top of the can, rather than at the side) but it must work in a similar way, because it cuts the whole top off like the one shown here. It still has two handles, so it's familiar, but you don't need to actually use them to hold tension.
9:35 "they have a very tapered top for some reason"
it's for stacking! i worked stocking grocery store shelves for a while, and that specific style of soup can was the absolute uncontested KINGS in terms of shelf-stackability.
i've also seen cans that are cast with a single piece, like an aluminum drink can. the worst offenders were the cheap single-pressed cans that literally have zero stacking interface. whoever made the executive decision to keep making cans that have the exact same top and bottom profile should be shackled in the town square to stack cans for days, so we can laugh at them when they all come crashing down on them!
Seriously, can we add to the list the companies that try to hide or camouflage the expiration/best by date.
I hated these and still do. Most of them are made soda can style and pressed out of a single 'side and bottom' piece. Which means that you can't cut the bottom out and crush it flat for not wasting a ton of space in the recycling bin.
Heinz (in the UK at least) make their cans like that - they don't stack. Presumably it's so that they get the extra in-store advertising from having to stay in the cardboard trays that they are shipped in.
Heinz was banned in my kitchen for that reason, then we discovered other brands are superior (and stack!) so that marketing trick backfired.
Yea, I worked a t a Safeway for the winter months a couple years ago, and we had to stack Campbell's chicken noodle soup 3 cans high and two cans deep along a 6' stretch of shelf.
If there was the slightest unlevel spot or bump, you got to spend another half hour stacking them again.
Why do *some* of Campbell's cans come with tapered tops, but *some don't*? The guy who made that decision is the one who needs to be shackled in the town square
@@williamreynolds6132 I don't pay too much attention to those, unless it's beans or the can is rusted/bulged
Please make this into a series. I love the idea of improving mundane, day to day objects you wouldn't even normally think about. Really though, what else out there do we assume can't be improved and just move on with? Think about the progression of the razor. New razors are "safer", but more expensive, less effective and of a lower build quality than older style metal safety razors with replaceable blades, and those are *much* safer than a straight razor, but are less effective. Your "goldilocks razor" is going to depend on you, but is there an objective "best"? It'd be really awesome to hear you talk more about stuff like that. Also more HVAC please. :)
Asking for more HVAC content will just get us another explanation of the refrigeration cycle ;)
Razors... that seems like a topic ripe for Alec to discuss! I used "Trac 2" plastic razors for decades, and started to feel bad about throwing away so much plastic. Razors with more blades never seemed to offer any improvements. I've taken a step backwards in technology and am using safety razors now, along with shaving soap and brush, and really like the results. Perhaps a straight razor would be better, but that seems like something that should be handled by a fully alert barber, and not some sleepy guy who just stumbled out of the shower.
@@SkyhawkSteve And you can get 1000 blades for around 50-75 bucks or 100 blades for around 10 bucks. Besides the benefit to the environment by reducing plastic waste, you'll save yourself a ton of money if you shave every day. I wouldn't dare try a straight razor either, but they're said to give the highest quality shave.
there's even a step in between the safety razor and the straight razor: the injector razor.
safety razor style handle design gives it the same maneuverability of a safety and hard-limits the severity of any accidents, but the replaceable blade is thick and inherently rigid like a straight razor.
the blade loading process is somewhat more involved and forceful, however, requiring a specialized loading cartridge.
CARTRIDGE RAZORS ARE SUCH A SCAM, OMG. Way more difficult to use! I've barely cut myself since I switched to safety. It cost £15 for a dirt cheap safety razor and over a year's worth of blades, which took up less space than 3 individually wrapped cartridge blades. I thought it might be only work for people who do facial shaving, but no, it's been easier *everywhere*. Gimmicks like swiveling heads and 5 blades couldn't approach it. Changing the blade isn't scary at all; it's a butterfly closure so you barely need to touch the blade at all. Water doesn't collect so it doesn't rust or mold. If I ever replaced it, it would be to get something that looked even prettier.
Just. Can't emphasis it enough. Perfect.
It took me a while to decide. I wanted to get one of these and I’ve had mine for probably six months and probably only used it twice. But I loved it. And I really agree with the whole ravioli not getting stuck on the ledge thing. Thank you. ❤
Since growing up with a "safety opener" I honestly thought that the older knife style can opener were just a thing of the past shown in tv shows, movies and the like.
Had no idea people were "crazy enough" to still be using them, haha
They've always seemed so archaic to me
After we moved out, my brother and I fought over which of us would get the can opener my mom had been using our entire childhood. I won. Its like 25 years old and works so much better than any modern opener I've ever used. Cheap ones break, this one is an absolute BEAST. It's like example 2 in the video but better. Hefty. Rubber handles. I will never give it up!
Next time you're in the supermarket, check out the kitchen tools section and see what can openers are for sale...
...or maybe wait for the pandemic to taper down a bit before loitering in stores. It's been that kind of a decade.
The older style is still extremely good and useful.
I have never had any other model than a small single piece of metal with a blade and a hook, which you press with your thumb. It's about 3-4cm long and works for ages, nothing really that could break.
I have never seen anything else but the safety opener in the wild out the ones in the video :)=
We ended up with the safety opener in our kitchen utils drawer, and after having grown up with the first two kinds, I was quite taken with how easily it opened, how the lid didn’t fall in to the can, how it wasn’t sharp to hold, and generally how even totally pedestrian tools can be improved upon in small but substantial ways.
I’m just glad you addressed turning the can opener backwards!
I was questioning the way I had always used a can opener.
Then I remembered how I used mine backwards when it was dying, and started thinking I killed it by making it moonwalk all over my cans it’s whole life.
I love your videos. Thank you!
This channel's content never ceases to amaze me. I too bought this esoteric masterpiece after my existing can opener disassembled itself. I had a fleeting lapse of consciousness upon using it as I questioned everything I thought I knew about life, but this video legitimizes my experience.
That's simply uncanny!
I have rediscovered my dishwasher because of you and have eaten healthier because of that. I greatly value your suggestion to question the things and ways of being we take for granted. Thank you!
I have two of these, one manual and one electric. I absolutely love them, having been introduced to the concept when I worked in France for a few months back in 1996. ANYway: with both manual and electric, I have encountered certain cans that are very difficult to open with these tools. Common denominator: they have all been canned fish or shellfish (e.g. clams). But with a little extra effort, the wheel blade eventually pushes through and Bob's your uncle.
I think there may be two separate new technologies coming into play here: 1) cutting along the seam and 2) pulling the narled wheel towards the seam. I also have a can opener that cuts along the seam, however it uses a lever just like the old type ones, except you hold it horizontally on top of the can.
For years I also had a can opener that cut along the seam and also had a lever, they definitely do exist out there! Regretfully I lost it during a move, and all the can openers I've tried since then have become unusable within a year of use. Maybe I'll go looking for the one Alec's got next time I need a new one...
growing up we had one like that. It was waaaay worse to use than a "normal" one. This screw setup makes me want to buy this kind next time i need a new can opener, so in 30 or so years.
Thank you I am NOT crazy this whole video I was thinking wait that's how I've opened cans my whole life, cutting the seam but ours has a handle. Couldn't you just angle the conventional ones so that the cutting bit goes on the side of the can?
I love that typo! It's "knurled". On second thoughts, i like it your way better.
Right, I also have one of these with two levers and a wheel that has to be turned on top, not at the side of the can. The levers stand 90 degree from the rim so basicly it looks like a small pan when you open a can.