how many of you guys use a can opener

Redguy said:
A good knife should be able to open an ordinary can easily without any damage. Sometimes I use a manual can opener, but when I'm lazy, I use my knife for this task without hesitation.
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I'm not saying the knife will be broken or trash after you're done. What I am saying is that after you use a knife to completely remove or open the lid of a tin can the edge WILL be toast. I would also bet that more often than not the edge will need more work than a normal stone can give it. It just makes no sense, sure if you're out and about and have no other option you do what you must. But to be sitting at home and use a knife instead of a can opener is foolish. It's like using your remote control to drive a nail because it's closer than walking to the tool box for a hammer.
 
I've noticed 90% of the cans I buy now don't need a can opener, they have a pull top. I'm starting to think in another couple years the can opener will go the way of the non-twist off bottle cap.
 
I only use dedicated can opener in the kitchen. I use my knife to open letters. Right tools for right jobs. My wife use the letter opener to tear the letters open. :barf:
 
Redguy said:
A good knife should be able to open an ordinary can easily without any damage. Sometimes I use a manual can opener, but when I'm lazy, I use my knife for this task without hesitation.
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More like a knife with a thick, sharpened pry-bay / axe / meat clever / type edge. So a knife has to be a big, heavy, almost blunt instrument so it won't be damaged by opening a can in order to be good? So a Sebenza with a thinnly ground edge with a hair popping razor edge is junk because if I use it to open a can I will most likely chip and fold over the razor edge? PLEASE.

Here's how that statement shold read "A piece of junk knife with a less than sharp edge, because the user has no clue how to put a razor edge on it in the first place, should be able to open an ordinary can easily without damage. If damage should occure the knife could be replaced for less than the price of a quality can opener anyway."
 
MrMojoRising said:
One of the fastest ways I know to ruin a good knife, right up there with using it as a screwdriver.
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Not really. Tin isn't that hard. I don't do it everday, in fact, I've only done it like 3 or 4 times, but only because nothing else was available, and it did turn out to be pretty easy to do. I was carrying a BM Ascent at the time, and it doesn't exactly have a super thick edge. The trick isn't to slice, but to stab and go around the can like that.
 
WadeF said:
So a Sebenza with a thinnly ground edge with a hair popping razor edge is junk because if I use it to open a can I will most likely chip and fold over the razor edge? PLEASE.
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No, it's not junk, but for my purposes having a knife with a razor edge is a major waste of time, since you have to sharpen it constantly and I use my knives on tough materials. I don't use them hard, I have never actually batoned a folder, but I cut rope and thick plastic all the time.
 
(Puts on flameproof suit)

Wow, gentlebeings I'm not try to start a flamewar here.

I never insisted that it is a wise thing to use any knife as a can opener, all I said, I'm lazy sometimes, and a good knife can't be ruined that way,but here it goes:

WadeF: "Here's how that statement shold read "A piece of junk knife with a less than sharp edge, because the user has no clue how to put a razor edge on it in the first place, should be able to open an ordinary can easily without damage. If damage should occure the knife could be replaced for less than the price of a quality can opener anyway."

Sorry, maybe there is a slight misunderstanding here. I DIDN'T say anything like this!
What I meant is something like Walking Man is trying to say. Cans are made from soft and thin metal, and knifeblades are hard, high-tech steel. If you use the proper technique and cut the top of the can really slow, less than 1 millimeter of the blade will be affected, near the choil.

That is low stress cutting compared to working on hardwoods, thick plastic or even cardboard (which is full of small debris of quartz), and no one ever told me that the cutting of these are abuse.

Sure, a very small portion of the blade will be slightly less sharp than before, but that is what sharpeners are for, right? I'm still saying, I can open an ordinary can with a reasonably wellmade knife without significant damage to the edge.

WadeF, you are right anyway, I don't keep my EDCs scary sharp, but they still shave my forearm hair reasonably. I just checked. Oh, and one more thing, I EDC tantos, and their tips are plenty strong for the first pierce through the can.

"So a Sebenza with a thinnly ground edge with a hair popping razor edge is junk because if I use it to open a can I will most likely chip and fold over the razor edge?"

No.

If you won't damage the edge intentionally in the process, a blade made from BG42 or S30V will not ever be chipped or rolled from opening a can. It is not a wise thing to do, but you can get away with a quick sharpening afterwards.

BTW I will not ever bash the Sebenza on the forums, because I wanna live long and prosper. :D
 
Redguy, there is no need to apologize, I don't think you wrote anything the least bit inflammatory, but I do think Wade's writing had an unnecessary tone of anger and sarcasm in it.
 
I've kept a P-38 can opener handy since I was in the scouts. My dad's a Vietnam vet, so he's carried a P-38 around since the 60's. TSA will confiscate them at the airport though, so be wary.
 
Redguy said:
I EDC tantos, and their tips are plenty strong for the first pierce through the can.

BTW I will not ever bash the Sebenza on the forums, because I wanna live long and prosper. :D
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I EDC a large tanto Sebenza. (But I'll still use a SAK to open cans. :D)

coolridelude said:
what is this SAK's everybody is talking about? i think i need one if i have never heard of it. can someone point me in the right direction?
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We've got a whole forum for Multi-tools & Multi-purpose Knives -- Swiss Army Knives and multitools.

Start with a Victorinox Classic for your keyring, then get one of the big, working models. :)
 
Walking Man said:
No, it's not junk, but for my purposes having a knife with a razor edge is a major waste of time, since you have to sharpen it constantly and I use my knives on tough materials. I don't use them hard, I have never actually batoned a folder, but I cut rope and thick plastic all the time.
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Oh really? I find polished edges hold up longer and cut things like rope much better. Last time I cut some rope it practically exploded upon contact with my knife.
 
I have used my Buck 110 on several occasions to open cans. The lid can be completely and easily removed by punching the tip in about an inch and a half, cutting blade upwards, using a rocking motion braced between the tip and the end of the top curve. This only somewhat dulls the edge of the tip which is easily resharpened and has never damaged the knife otherwise. As I have said before... I use my 110s hard.
 
I'd only use a knife to open a can if there was no other way (as in, the only food available while stuck in the mountains is some canned something or other). I tried to open cans with blade before. The first time left little metal fragments in the food, I threw that away. The second time, the blade slipped and went into my thumb. That was enough for me.

BTW, I tend to use the SAK can opener in the kitchen. Once, my regular can opener literally fell to pieces. I took out a SAK and finished the job. I kept putting off getting a new opener for about a month. By then, I was pretty efficient at it and reached for it despite getting a new one.
 
I'm with Hateman. I used a SAK for years because I just wasn't impressed with rotary can openers and electric seemed overkill. One day I was in a kitchen appliance store and saw a nice can opener so I bought one for my sister and one for my mother -- and decided to get myself one, too. It still works well. And it still feels like I'm cheating. :)
 
My multitool/SAK can opener gets used a lot camping, but not at home in the kitchen.

Will
 
When I'm at home I use a hand operated can-opener, but I have used the can-opener on my SAK, and I have used the can-opener on my multi-tools, and I have used a P38, and I have used a knife blade too.

Merek has the right technique when using a knife blade.
My grandmother taught me the same method when I was just a boy.
And you don't need a stout or large knife either--even the small blade of the Victorinox will do just fine.
It also will not dull the knife as bad as you would think (but it will dull it).


Allen.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Can opener? Salad? What goes into salad besides fresh vegetables? :p
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For cookouts I like to make a Tex-Mex salad that calls for four cans of corn and three cans of beans. The next time I make it I'll have a Leatherman vs. Victorinox can opener shootout. I have a feeling that the Vic will win because it has seperate can and bottle openers while the LM sports a combo.
 
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