Which Can Opener is the Best?



Equipment expert Adam Ried shows host Bridget Lancaster his top pick for can openers.

Buy our winning can opener:

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37 Comments

  1. If you have never use a can opener for your life, you would never know how to use one. Everything that you test in your kitchen comes with instructions. No one ever knew how to use an air fryer before, but you read the instructions and figure it out. Safety openers how much safer for older people, and in household with small children. Plus, you can reuse the lid to seal on use product like in pet food..You really should recommend a safety can opener and not just blow it off. I usually rely on your site for honest, thorough test of products. This one was bad.

  2. In my 59 years on this earth, l've never cut my finger on a can. This includes pudding in a tin can and licking the lid! I do love the easy open can opener. Used it for years at Trader Joe's, but it dulls quickly. My favorite at home was that whIte and grey opener.

  3. I had a few safety openers before I started prepping long term storage of foods and they did not last very long, they wore out faster. I have not tried any current/new ones though. The bad thing about the safety openers is it is hard to hear that PSST puncture that is a food safety backup, especially since we have been storing canned foods for long term and use well outside the Best By Date on the cans. (Do not confuse the BBD with expiration dates on some foods)
    I recently purchased a swing away with a crank since my carpal tunnel and wrist fracture injury. It came but did not cut well, at all. I had to adjust the head slightly, the cutter blade was too far away from the gear. now it opens like a champ.
    BUT I would gladly pay $40-$55 for a stainless steel version that did not rust so easily. The Swing Aways used to not rust so easily, but I expect they sell more with them rusting easily. When you clean them do not air dry them, use a hairdryer and get them hot to dissipate the water at the pivot point, but not too hot like too close over a burner.

  4. Worst equipment test ever. This makes me suspicious of ATK. They pick the worst example of a safety can opener, give it a half-hearted test attempt and dismiss the whole category. Safety can openers are superior to the cutter type in a number of ways. Whatever germs or dirt are on top of the can get transferred into the food by the cutter type. You should wipe the can first with an alcohol pad. No transfer occurs with a safety type. I've use an $8 safety can opener for over 10 years and have never had any glue get into the food. The safety openers last much longer since there is no blade to dull. You can open small and irregular shaped and even dented lids with safety type that a cutter would never open. If you recycle, as I do. the safety opener is an absolute must. For pet food cans, no plastic lids are necessary since you can just reuse the top. Hate to say it but I don't trust these guys.

  5. The winning can opener is horrible. The thinner flat handle is so much harder on arthritis hands, even my daughter with no arthritis said it is not as comfortable as the bulky handles, bulky handles are easier to grip. It is a well-known fact the bulkier the handle the more open your hand/fingers are, therefore less pain and pressure are needed to grip it. The duller the blade gets the harder it is to pen and grip that flatter handle. I hope my message will not be hidden from the channel owner.

  6. Anyone who has used a safety can opener a couple of times knows that this 'comparison video' has been compromised by idiots. Or compromised to fit a moronic agenda of some kind.

    If you want to watch a Real video about safety can openers, try this one:
    "Lessons from a Can Opener" – youtube.com/watch?v=i_mLxyIXpSY super informative & funny video from Technology Connections.

    It works so much better in everyway… More reliable. Less effort. Reseal-able cans… (only $11 for the one I have)

    Also, I used to obsessively clean the top of a can before opening it because with traditional can openers, liquid would often flow onto the lid and then probably back into the can. I no longer even worry about this!

  7. I have always used the old-fashioned style can open it for years and never had a problem until lately. It seems they're making the cans much thicker than they have in the past and the old can opener is only seem to work on 2 to 3 cans and then stop working. I was forced to finally try the safety can opener which I found you have to make two rounds around the can to be sure the can has been opened. Beyond this I have not had any trouble nor have I had to buy any more stupid can openers. Was the testers have been discovered this challenges pondering me.

  8. I want to know the best can opener for cans that have been banged up & are not completely circular! Every time I order a case of dog food they are always banged up & I've been through 4 different regular style can openers that work about 2x then after that they stop connecting properly! It's so frustrating I'm literally spending too much money on darn can openers.😑

  9. I was just thinking of this video again the other day. I still find it a laughably poor review on can openers. The safety can opener is SOOOOO much better. It's not just about the sharp edges, though no risk of kids cutting themselves gives it high marks for me. There's also less mess getting food out, no cutting your spatula getting food out, the can opener itself never touches the food so it needs less washing. It's far superior. I was SOOOO glad to see that the technology connections YouTuber agreed with a video he put out earlier this year. Just let the stupid old fashioned cutting can openers die. Buy a safety can opener already

  10. Odd I can feel an OXO side cutting opener when it has finished, it turns more freely. We have used one for years, you quickly learn how to use it, and frankly if you don't have a dish washer, having a regular sharp cut lid is a pain. We have to recycle metal cans and having a sharp edge lid in sink soapy water, well, it sucks.

    We haven't missed being cut will a lid.

  11. Safety openers are much easier to use than normal ones. They function slightly different from normal ones so if you've never used one before it might be slightly unintuitive to start, but once you have successfully opened literally ONE can, they're a piece of cake. The only thing you need to know is turn the crank backwards a turn first before hooking on the can because that causes the grip wheel to move away from the body so you can get the rim in there. Turning the crank pulls the wheel in and grips the can for you. You don't have to squeeze handles and it basically can't slip because the cutting motion and cranking motion come from the same source. The lack of sharp edges and reusable lid is just a bonus frankly.

    So if the question is "What can opener is long term easiest to use in my kitchen" it's not even close: The safety versions are way better. Yeah, it's slightly less intuitive if you've literally never used one, but that's really not relavent if you own it and have used it before.

  12. I gave up the traditional can opener after I went to a friend's house and they had one. After a couple uses I was hooked. I have replace a number of the traditional ones because they wore out or became difficult to use over time. My safety one has been around for years and keeps working very well.

  13. 2:35 ATK How lazy of you. The glue used for these cans is totally food safe – much safer than the metal shavings you get with a regular can opener. 2:17 Also lazy of you to not learn how to use that particular safe can opener properly because it's one of the best working ones on the market. No sharp edges because it opens the lid on the side of the rim. Safe smooth edge can openers are far preferred over can openers that end up with sharp edges that can slice your hand open. 0:25 No. Not everyone knows how to use traditional can openers. There is a younger generation that was raised on only safety can openers and have never used your "traditional" unsafe can openers.

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