OXO Good Grips Smooth Edge Can Opener
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of OXO Good Grips Smooth Edge Can Opener
Customer Review: Not such a great idea
Summary: 2 Stars
I have been looking at these new side-cutter can openers for a while, with the thought that they sound like a good idea. No sharp edges sounds like a good idea. But a lot of ideas that sound good may not necessarily be an improvement, I mean can openers have been around for a very long time, somebody had to sell us on the idea that they were building a "better mousetrap". I have never been cut by a can so the idea of no sharp edges had minimal impact on me. Maybe there was some underlying suspicion than any dirt on the top of the can might fall into the food that finally convinced me to try one of these. First off, it is not as convenient as the old school can openers. Almost every can has some small metal shavings that I have to be careful to clean up before I pop the lid off. Popping the lid requuires moderate to heavy force with the risk that the contents may spill. What I like least is that a very high percentage of cans I open require draining. With my old can opener I leave about 1/4" of lid on the can and use the lid to easily pour excess liquid down the drain. This is how my grandmother used to do it with her old Swingaway can opener. But what do you do when the whole lid comes off? There is no lid, so you end up having to find, use and then clean a strainer. What a waste of energy! This can opener and the battery ones that crawl around your can are just "As seen on TV" hype. I tried it, I didn't like it, and I threw it away. Why 2 stars instead of 1? I give it credit that it does what the ads say it will do, and that is worth something.Customer Review: A Wonderful Kitchen Innovation Once You Get Used To It
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently replaced a traditional hand-held can opener with the OXO Smooth Edge opener and was amazed by the change.
The OXO works so effortlessly, it's easy to misapprehend that you're not really cutting through the can until it falls out of your hand. So the first usage note is to take it on faith that it is working no matter how easily its gliding along. The knob that controls the cut is large and turns very easily.
A second usage note is that the cut is made around the outer surface of the can, not the traditional within-the-edge-of-the-lid arrangement. This setup is what allows the cut lid to have a safe edge. Unfortunately, it can also lead to some surprise spills if your can is packed in liquid, i.e. tuna. I recommend using it over a sink whenever possible.
Finally, the opener also has a small pliers-like grip on its end to pull the lid off of the can. This is very helpful in cases where the cut is thin and precise enough that the can's vacuum still keeps the lid sucked down.
Overall, the OXO Smooth Edge can opener quickly becomes an essential kitchen tool. Within a few uses, you'll wonder how you ever got by with the old-style opener.
PROS
* Effortless operation
* Great cutting action and a safe edge on the resulting lid
CONS
* Cutting any can around outer edge can cause spills
Customer Review: One of the most innovative gadgets in my kitchen!
Summary: 5 Stars
I received this can opener as a housewarming gift with many other utensils and gadgets. I unpacked it and threw away the instructions without a second glance figuring that it was a can opener and it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to get it to work. Well this can opener doesn't work like traditional openers, in fact, it's so effortless you may get the can opener around and not even think that it opened the can...this is exactly what happened to me! I was so puzzled and I inspected the can opener carefully and noticed that it had a small pincer grip and decided to try removing the lid with that after getting the can opener to make a full revolution, when it does this it's not immediately apparent that the can has been opened. You have to then use the pincer grasp to pull off the lid of the can. You can even close the lid back up again and it will create a nearly airtight seal(not that I recommend this). The other great upside to this design is that the blade mechanism never comes in to contact with food...so you don't have to clean it after you open up a can of tuna...we previously owned a kitchenaid model where it needed to be washed all the time and forget putting it in the dishwasher the teeth that made the mechanism work would just corrode off. This model is such a vast improvement! My husband and I were even fighting over who got use it the other night when we had a dinner party.Customer Review: Amazing can opener, once you figure out how to use it
Summary: 5 Stars
This can opener is pretty amazing. It removes the entire lid of the can from just below the lip. You end up getting a perfectly clean cut since the lip of the can is removed also. After you cut around the can, the lid is still actually held on by the vacuum seal so you have to use the small plier tool on the can opener to pull the lid away.
Because of the way this can opener works, not only do you get a clean cut, but you also get a very clean can opener. Food never leaks out onto the can opener blade. I've had it for about a year now and I haven't had to clean it once. I imagine this can opener will last for a very long time.
EDIT (6/30/2010): I was wrong. I've had this can opener for two and a half years now and it seems to be wearing out. I still haven't had to clean the opener, but it's not working as well anymore. I have to go around cans at least twice before I can pull the lid off, and even then, there's a lot of glue that stretches between the can and the lid as I pull the lid away.
Lasting just over 2 years actually isn't that bad. Regular can openers don't last very long for me either because the blade and gear start to rust and gunk up after a while. I'll probably stick with this smooth-edge/safety style of can opener but I might try a different, higher quality brand.
Customer Review: Okay, but fussy
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had this for a couple of years now. It certainly works, and has some advantages over standard can openers.
No sharp edges on the can is very nice, and is the big selling point. Because the lid is cut on the outside of the weld instead of the inside, the lid doesn't fall into the can after cutting, which is an even bigger advantage than the smooth edge, in my view. I hate trying to pull out a lid from a full soup can, and the outside of the lid is not very clean and I don't want it in my food.
It is a little fussy to use, however, which always makes me hesitate when reaching for it. It really isn't possible to see where the lid has been cut, so I always go around the can twice to make sure it is done. Then, having to use the tiny (and I mean *really* tiny) jaws to grab the lid and pull it off just feels like a design defect to me. It is almost like they came up with this idea, and then during product testing noticed that people couldn't get the lid off so they added the little jaws. My wife refuses to use the opener because of this (we have a standard one that she always uses).
So, I dunno. Like I said, it has advantages, which is why I'm still using mine. But, I don't think I've found my last can opener, either.