Knife as a can opener? How?

Not very efficient, but I make a stab through the top, then keep stabbing around until most of the top of the can is cut. Then stick the tip of your knife under the "lid" and pry it up. Ta-Da! Now sit in a corner and ponder over why you didn't use the handy can opener from your Swiss Army Knife instead.
 
IMO, there is no right way to use a knife to open a can, though there is no wrong way to do this either when this is your only choice... I mean when you got lost in the woods and have canned food with you but no can opener. Even sebenza would do the trick when you've been without food for two days:)
 
The tip of most fixed blades and some sturdy folders will work. The tip must be stiff. The blade should not be laminated or the can will scratch the soft sides.
 
Once the can was big enough to wrap my arm around (restaurant sized olives). I held the can cradled in my right arm, stabbed the can and just pulled. Killed the edge on my first production run EZ-Out (pre-ats34), but BOTH of the counter top mounted openers broke and the guests wanted olives. More recently I brought some soup to work. For some reason I didn't have my bag with me, so I didn't have my SAK or my Gerber multi. But I did have my spear point M-16-03Z. I stabbed the can and then put the spine against the edge of the can and rocked the edge through the top of the can. It was actually faster than using an SAK can opener. We have a can opener in the breakroom but it doesn't work worth a sh!t. Now I make sure I have at least the Gerber in my bag if not the SAK as well.

Frank
 
Originally posted by SilverFoxKnows
I stabbed the can and then put the spine against the edge of the can and rocked the edge through the top of the can. It was actually faster than using an SAK can opener.
Click to expand...

That sounds about as efficient as one can get using a knife blade to open a can. But I would consider that "knife abuse" :mad:

As pointed out just about all SAKs have a can opener -
and these "minimalist" SAKs are no larger than most pocket knives:

Victorinox Waiter (53891)low priced at about ~$10
53891_l.jpg

size:84 mm | 3 1/4 inch
Large Blade
Bottle opener with can opener, wire stripper and large screwdriver
Key Ring
Toothpick
Tweezers
Corkscrew

Or some people like scissors -
Compact Knife (54941) low priced at about ~$24:
54941_l.jpg


The ultimate minimalist SAK however has to be the
Alox Bantam (53949) low priced at about ~$13
V53949.jpg

How thin?
fc63519c.jpg

very, the Alox Bantam (middle 2 knives) is about 0.2" (5mm) thin,
the Compact would be about the same thickness as the Scientist.

The reason why these SAKs can be so compact/thin is due to the use of the Combo Tool, which combines these 4 functions in one single "blade":
Bottle opener with can opener, wire stripper and large screwdriver

For more detailed discussion on this Combo tool see (linked) -
My EDC Story - Victorinox Combo Tool Story
 
Unless they changed their can opener design, those SAK's (above) only have the bottlecap lifter. All my Victorinox's have the can opener with the blade edge facing away from the tool, and a small screwdrive for the tip.
 
Originally posted by PhoulPlae
Unless they changed their can opener design, those SAK's (above) only have the bottlecap lifter. All my Victorinox's have the can opener with the blade edge facing away from the tool, and a small screwdrive for the tip.
Click to expand...
Victorinox has redesigned the tool to be both a can opener and a bottle opener. I wonder how well it works compared to the "traditional" SAK can opener we're all used to.
 
Originally posted by AlphalphaPB
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by PhoulPlae
Unless they changed their can opener design, those SAK's (above) only have the bottlecap lifter. All my Victorinox's have the can opener with the blade edge facing away from the tool, and a small screwdrive for the tip.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Victorinox has redesigned the tool to be both a can opener and a bottle opener. I wonder how well it works compared to the "traditional" SAK can opener we're all used to.
Click to expand...

PhoulPlae,

As AlphalphaPB indicated all those SAK models have the Combo tool which combines these 4 functions in one single "blade":
Bottle opener with can opener, wire stripper and large screwdriver

Just to clarify -
The combo tool is used in place of the standard separate can-opener and bottle-opener tools -
both types of the "can-opener" tools are in current production - eg:
Combo tool on the Waiter and Compact and
standard can-opener small screwdriver tool is on most of the standard models.

Here's further "proof" that the combo tool functions as a can opener -
details from a Victorinox catalog (circa 1987/88)
fc0df7f7.jpg

Showing a Cadet model with a standard can-opener tool
and the Waiter model with the "Combo" or Combination tool - look carefully at the listing of the functions of that tool - it includes can opener. (There is also the standard Bottle-opener large screwdriver tool on the Cadet for comparison.)

There is a whole detailed thread on the Combo tool (link) -
My EDC Story - Victorinox Combo Tool Story

AlphalphaPB -

I recently used both the combo tool and the standard can opener to open a can - there are some who say that the standard can-opener with a sharpened edege makes the initial punch cut easier - that's why I compared them side-by-side.

For me they were as good as each other (or as bad as each other) the Combo tool felt to me as if it made the initial cut/punch better - I think it may have something to do with a slightly better mechanical leverage advantage - plus the corner of the tool is oriented better for making the initial punch.

I also found the continuous cutting slightly better with the Combo tool as it cuts backwards as opposed to forwards for the standard can opener (even the though the cut with the Combo tool was wider) - for me it was easier to maintain a continuous cut whereas with the standard can-opener if one tried to stretch to make a longer cut one could miss the end of the previous cut and get a disconinuity.

But these slight differences are moot because neither are as good as a normal kitchen can-opener. I would not choose either over a kitchen style opener.

Here are the instructions on the can-openers from the same catalog:
fc0c3533.jpg

Note: the model 0.33.03 is the Waiter, and the 0.63.05 is the Scientist.
 
I've used my SE Endura to cut open a can of beans once. I think a plain edge would have worked better, but it did open.


Blades
 
Personally I wouldn’t use a knife blade to open a can – too much risk of injuring myself or my knife!

I tried several SAK/multitool can openers, and found I like the “beak” shaped openers as used on the Wenger, Leatherman, and Camillus (camp knives) best. These openers are designed to cut clockwise (away from the tip). Of these, I would put the Wenger ahead of the others by a very small margin, although it requires a light touch.

The Standard Vic. Opener works OK, but it is designed to cut counter clockwise (towards the tip). If you get used to one type of opener the other type will feel awkward until you get used to it. Gerber also uses openers similar in design to the Vic., but they are a tad smaller and didn’t work as well for me.

The Vic. Combo tool opener (cuts away from the tip) was slow and awkward compared to the others, and left a more jagged edge on the can, but it will get the job done.






- Frank
 
I still carry the same John Wayne can opener that I had in Viet Nam. I only use it once every three or four years but it's good to have in a pinch. I prefer using it over my Leatherman's can opener.
 
I opened a can once using a plain old AFCK.
I had no problem at all.....
And I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.
 
usually using a fixed blade. Put the blade tip on top of the can (resting it against) and tap the pommel with the other hand , and work your way around.
 
Drive in the point and the push/pull down on the blade to enlarge the cut. If this is too difficult as the can is too hard then you might need to start the point multiple times.

In general this should be avoided for light use knives with really hard steels (62+ RC), with thin and acute edges (<0.010" thick and 10 degrees side). Anything else should handle it fine, assuming the knife is made out of a steel at least as good as what is used to make can openers - which should be true for almost any knife.

Consider :

http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/images/can_cut.jpg

which was done with a Sub-Sniper, a small fixed blade with an edge ground at 11-13 degrees per side.

The damage to the edge was too slight to show up in a picture. Consider that the cutting was also done very sloppy to maximize the stress on the blade and that knife was also pretty much has the worse choice of steel and heat treatement for that type of work (ATS-34 at ~60 RC) and has a more acute edge than most.

-Cliff
 
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