To crank or not to crank. Can opener poll.

Okay, my mother is responsible for this poll. She was visiting us in NC a few weeks ago and we were making spaghetti sauce together. She was going to take on the task of opening all of the cans of tomatoes. Hands on hips, she scanned our kitchen for an electric can opener hanging from a wall or under a cabinet. When I told her we didn't have one, she was shocked and said she would buy us one. I told her I don't like them and I never have. My "clip and crank" version works just fine. Some reasons I don't like the electric ones include: Noisy; tend to splash can contents with their "jerky" mechanisms; sometimes tricky (frustrating) to line up the blade with the right place on the can.

What are your thoughts on this somewhat silly topic?

Hmmmm, the old hand crank is not necessarily my idea of "traditional," although it is my preferred appliance for this application. I still often use the contraption on my pocket knife the only moving part of which is me!

[Robin Garr]

Okay, my mother is responsible for this poll. She was visiting us in NC a few weeks ago and we were making spaghetti sauce together. She was going to take on the task of opening all of the cans of tomatoes. Hands on hips, she scanned our kitchen for an electric can opener hanging from a wall or under a cabinet. When I told her we didn't have one, she was shocked and said she would buy us one. I told her I don't like them and I never have. My "clip and crank" version works just fine. Some reasons I don't like the electric ones include: Noisy; tend to splash can contents with their "jerky" mechanisms; sometimes tricky (frustrating) to line up the blade with the right place on the can.

What are your thoughts on this somewhat silly topic?

Not silly at all! Now, you ask me what's silly, I'll tell you that spending real money for an electric can opener is silly.

Hand crank is fine for me, although that being said, I do like to get a sturdy, heavy-duty modern version of the classic, like the OXO Good Grips I'm using now.

I avoid the question, for the most part, by not buying anything in cans. I do have an old hand crank for the occasions, two or three times a year, it is needed.

Sixty years ago my mother had a wall mounted cranker, but we just use a grip and turn. Rarely open more than a half dozen cans a month: tomatoes, tomato paste, tuna, garbanzos, and little more.

[James Roscoe]

Can opener? Is it anything like an eight-track player? Maybe it's an ice tray? Do you intend to donate it to a museum?

Seriously, we rarely use one. When we do we actually have a useless electric one hanging from the cabinet that we use or the traditional handturn one. I therefore voted "other" as there was no choice for more than one.

I use a Good Grips hand crank one also. I rarely need a can opener. I open tomato paste or beans if I'm in a hurry or just too tired to think of something else to make.

Hmm. There must be something else. Oh! Mandarin oranges and lychees (out of season), of course! My very favorite canned items.

I ushe my teeth. And it hashn't caused any problemsh.

I ushe my teeth. And it hashn't caused any problemsh.

Well, except to mess your smile!

I've had a Wearever for 40 years and it wore ever to this day, working like new. Who the hell needs something else to plug in? We got several electric can openers for our wedding and they bit the dust or I threw them away. They were sooo convenient for opening cans taller than the openers.

We had some friends who had to have electric everything, can openers, salad shooters, carving knives, and probably spoons. By the time you dig these gadgets out and clean them, you could have done the task two or three times over. Plus we don't have that many outlets.

Since we have all of one functioning outlet in the kitchen that must be used for coffee maker, espresso maker, toaster, mixer, blender, food processor, and stick blender, we do not have an electric can opener. We have one of the hand-operated ones that makes a safe cut on the side of the rim. It was a gift from a friend and it works really well.

And yes, we have one of those adapters that allows us to plug six items into our single wall outlet. We like to watch the lights dim when we get all six of them going...

I like the hand crank version, at least until the wheel goes dull and it's time to read Consumers/Cooks and see what the flavor of the month is.

A really neat $5.00 opener for tab tops -- especially good for canned kippers/salmon/tuna/sardines -- is elegant and simple to use. So far, absolutely no failures.

I used to hate it when the pop top would fail, and I would be punching the top with a Swiss Army knife or trying to open the bottom with a hand crank.

This simple device has become an essential part of my kitchen arsenal, where as a matter of principle, I have no more than 20 items, and am always looking to cut it down to no more than 19 items.

http://www.vitalchoice.com/shop/shop2.cfm?category=7#80

Regards, Bob

But isn't the "smooth edge safety type" simply a variation of the traditional hand crank type?

I'm so confused......

Bob, that pull type that you linked to, that is definitely the kind of thing my wife would impulse buy if she saw it displayed somewhere. I'm hiding this thread.

Traditional hand crank version here as well. I really dislike the electric ones. We also have a smooth edge one, but I still like the traditional style better. I don't use a lot of canned food, and nowadays, many of my canned items now come with the "easy open" lids.

"Bob, that pull type that you linked to, that is definitely the kind of thing my wife would impulse buy if she saw it displayed somewhere."

It was an impulse buy for me too, John -- I placed an order for three cases of fish a few minutes after failing to open a can of sardines. The one night stand turned into a love affair!

I've had trouble with those pull tops forever.

Regards, Bob