Does anyone know where I can buy a manual can opener that lasts?

[LeftofObama]

I've bought about 5 manual can openers in the last 6 months and every one of them breaks! I don't want to spend a lot of money for one because, well, it's just a can opener.

Jeez! They can put a man on the moon, but they can't build a freakin can opener that lasts more than a month without falling apart.

[madinmaryland]

1. I think we have had ours for at least ten years, and one is probably 30 years old.

[TreasonousBastard]

16. I have one that says "Kenmore Elite" on it that...

I probably picked up at the local K-Mart a few years ago. Probably got it on sale and I'm sure it was way under 20 bucks. Don't know or care where it was made.

It's solid with a huge rubbery handle, but the interesting thing is that it locks when you close it on a can and has a button that unlocks it so it never slips off he lip of the can. Works great for me on all cans and shows no sign of wearing out or breaking.

Looks lot like this:

http://s.shld.net/is/image/Sears/011W030193920001?hei=315&wid=315&op_sharpen=1&resMode=sharp&op_usm=0.9,0.5,0,0

On edit-- this should have been a reply to the OP, but ended up duplicated here somehow. dleted the dupe.

[pscot]

2. No

[NYC_SKP]

3. Nogent Super Kim Can Opener will outlive you.

.



http://www.chefscatalog.com/product/28417-Nogent-Super-Kim-Can-Opener.aspx?sourcecode=DW3GGP336&gclid=CKrUjvrJ67QCFS-RPAod0wYAsQ

[LeftofObama]

5. Interesting.

I might have to get one of those. Thanks.

[Fumesucker]

4. This one is made in the USA and gets five stars on Amazon

There's over 250 reviews, in my experience lots of reviews on Amazon with high marks means a good product.

http://www.amazon.com/Made-USA-Can-Opener-Black/dp/B007DK6SG0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358294790&sr=8-2&keywords=manual+can+opener

[LeftofObama]

6. OK, sold!

Inexpensive enough and looks pretty sturdy. Thanks for that!

[Kali]

12. yep, I think it was DUer cziggy that turned me on to those

got one last fall. aaaahhhhh just like the old swingaways (I believe they are the same factory, need to find the thread)

edit - oops wrong about who, but found the thread. post 40 had the can opener rec http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021433174#post40

[Lugnut]

19. I have one like that.

It's fantastic and I haven't yet figured out how to break it. It opens cans smoothly and cuts them clean.

[Lisa0825]

7. I have had a Pampered Chef can opener for several years.

One thing I like about it is that it leaves no sharp edges.

[eppur_se_muova]

8. Cue the P-38 posters ...

http://www.georgia-outfitters.com/page52.shtml

[LiberalEsto]

9. I have a Good Grips can opener

from Bed, Bath and Beyond. Have had it for several years without a problem.

[japple]

10. I have a wall-mounted Swing-Away that has been in my kitchen for at least 20 years.

http://www.kitchenworksinc.com/Wall-Swingaway-Can-Opener__904704.aspx?gclid=CLOU7p_b67QCFQf0nAodkhUADQ

[Kali]

11. swingaways got sold to China

the steuby mentioned above are the manual ones that are still made here

[GoCubsGo]

29. I have one of the USA-made Swing Away version openers like the one above.

It's probably 20 years old, and still going strong.

[freshwest]

48. Love it! I grew up using the Swingaway. Now I use one like this:

OXO Good Grips Smooth Edge Can Opener

http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Smooth-Opener/dp/B000079XW2/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1401388020&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=good+grips+hand+can+opener+no+sharp+edges

It doesn't make sharp edges that make it hard for recycling and handling. I got this to keep from getting cut and fighting opening cans the other way with the cutting type.

The lid comes off in one round piece as it 'unpeels' them at the seam there. There is no effort needed to cut the metal, as it just separates it. IDK why can openers weren't always made the way these are. Think of all the blood shed with other way, LOL...

But that old style, wow, it was great. Much faster, easier and more reliable than the next idea, the electric can opener.

Glad you still have yours. Nothing here to mount that on where I live now. Thanks for the memory.

[surrealAmerican]

13. I've been using the Oxo opener for about four years.

So far, so good. It did take a bit of learning at first, but I like the lack of sharp edges on the opened cans. The only problem is: if the can is even slightly dented at the rim, it fails to cut.

[wildeyed]

22. +1

Works great. I have had it for at least four years.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

46. I gave one of those to my mother-in-law

About five years ago, and she loves it.

[Warpy]

14. Mine is an Oxo Good Grips and it's about 15 years old

which might mean it's pre China manufacturing. Chinese stuff is made of inferior metal by people who are underpaid and who don't give a shit.

My advice is to surf yard and estate sales and try to get an old one, sold by people who just got electric ones, the dummies.

[noamnety]

15. Get the kind that opens sideways!

Ones that cut down into the lid were the only kind I knew growing up in the US. Then I moved to germany, bought a can opener, couldn't figure out how to use it at first because it cuts across instead of down:



The kind I bought was a "WMF Dosenmeister" can opener. I'm sure it was nothing too expensive, we were pretty poor when we bought it. I've had it 25 years now and it still works like new. And naturally, I don't see it online, but the construction style was solid. And the handle for turning is large thick plastic, way easier on the hands than the skinny metal kind.

Edit: people are telling me dosen-meister was bought out by tupperware and maybe is now dosenöffner.

[freshwest]

24. I bought something like this at the Fred Meyer's store for $10. and it's lasted 7 years so far.

It ends the possibility of getting cut by a can and makes recycling the cans easier. The action is to pry open the sealant between the lid and the rest of the can, not as needing as much strength as cutting the metal.

The one I bought is black. Later I bought a back up but haven't had to use it as the first one is working fine. This makes using canned food easier for me, also it's ergonomically designed so less painful to use. It's very much like this one at Amazon, but there are some just as you describe there, too, made in Germany:



http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Smooth-Opener/dp/B000079XW2/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1358353330&sr=1-1&keywords=best++can+opener

[Stinky The Clown]

33. I second the Oxo Good Grips. Very good can opener that does a very good job.

Here's the business side of it.

[Jazzgirl]

38. I 3rd the Oxo opener.

I have had it only for a couple of years because I got tired of cutting myself on the lids. Love it!

[Retrograde]

18. I wish I could tell you where I got mine

but it was sometime in the late 1970s and I can't remember. I can't see a make on it, but its handles are coated in yellow rubbery plastic.

Try thrift stores, yard sales, or ask on something like Craig's List for a good old made-in-USA can opener.

[Le Taz Hot]

20. I went to a shop that sells

gourmet cooking equipment (among other things) and paid $12.00 for a GOOD can opener that is really easy to use (arthritic fingers). The model is a Swing Away. Here's a link to a picture of it:

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3623956&cagpspn=pla

I would check places like Williams Sonoma if I were looking for one today.

[DrDan]

21. been using one of these for a couple of years - happy with it - - - (another Good Grips rec)

http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Can-Opener/dp/B00004OCJW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358340651&sr=8-1&keywords=good+grips+can+opener

[sinkingfeeling]

23. Oxo makes a good one....

http://www.bestcovery.com/best-manual-can-opener

[Glassunion]

35. Agreed. Our Oxo has lasted for quite some time.

[guardian]

25. We've been using one like this for 20+ years

Works great. Easy. Fast. Very durable. I don't think they are very expensive.

[kestrel91316]

31. That's a Swing-away. They are the BEST, and last forever.

[Angry Dragon]

32. I have one of those

[Nay]

37. Yeah, that's what I have. Lasts forever.

[blaze]

42. Swing away

Had to go look at mine....

I've had it for years....

Never knew there were can openers that failed.... such an easy mechanism.

[applegrove]

26. Go to a small local hardware store. They

often have old time products and care that they are not selling crap.

[msanthrope]

27. I have a KitchenAid and an Oxo--both are excellent. nt

[hobbit709]

28. These last forever and are cheap.

[kestrel91316]

30. I got my first Swing-away 35 years ago. It is still in use, now here at my cat hospital, where

we no longer actually need it because of pop top cans, lol.

My second one is 15 years old and still in use at home. They last absolutely forever and are still made in the USA, IIRC.

[Glassunion]

34. We also spent tons of money researching a pen

for the astronauts that could write upside down, handle extreme g-forces, and zero gravity.

The Russians just used pencils.

[Tab]

36. This?

[cbayer]

39. I just bought a nice one at Target, but my problem is rust.

It's sturdy and I don't think it's going to break, but it's already rusting.

[Jenoch]

40. I got a Swing Away

almost 25 years ago when I got into my first apartment out of college. Now, that many years and several moves, not to mention a wife and kids, it's still going strong.

http://mobile.walmart.com/m/phoenix;jsessionid=4084F128A9BAD924FB05821365A251F4#ip/Amco-Houseworks-Compact-Swing-A-Way-Can-Opener/15204009

[NMDemDist2]

41. check it out

http://www.amazon.com/Made-USA-Can-Opener-Black/dp/B007DK6SG0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358721273&sr=8-2&keywords=can+opener

edit to add I have a couple Swing aways I've had for decades. Good Luck!

[dark forest]

43. Buy a

swiss army knife. I've used the can opener for years, and it has other uses too.

[SheilaT]

45. I have a Swing Away that I would have

bought about six years ago. Probably at Target. It's been completely reliable so far.

[hobbit709]

47. There's always this.

[japple]

49. Got one of those, too. Maybe 2 or 3. Dad was career US Army! I even

know how to work it. It's amazing that something so simple can work so well!

Edit to add: Dad retired in 1963 and died in 2007 and we don't have anything from the US military since 1963, so this must be US made/issued.