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OXO Good Grips Smooth Edge Can Opener

Better can opener

I picked this up for around $23 on Amazon — not cheap, but I wish I’d bought it sooner. If you end up wanting one for your own, using the link in the description helps support my videos and the Cool Tools blog.

With a typical can opener, a blade punctures through the top of the can, and cuts out a sharp disc of metal. I don’t know about you, but every time I fish the lid out of a can like this I mentally prepare myself for a sliced finger.

The OXO Smooth Edge openers use a totally different approach that results in a lid and a can that’s very unlikely to hurt you. Instead of going through the top it comes in from the side and does this magical pinching thing.

The first couple times I used it, I didn’t trust that it was working because it’s not the same puncture and rip process as a traditional opener. You clamp it on, wind it around the lid, and the use the little beak on the side to pull the top off. There are no “pops” or “ka-chunks”, it just quietly unseats the lid.

What you’re left with is an open can and lid with a completely smooth edge — that much I assumed given the name.

What I didn’t consider is that the lid is left intact in such a way that you can just put it back on the can. I’m doing so many less dishes now that I can eat half a can of something and just leave the rest covered in the same can instead of putting it in a separate container.

It also leaves behind a nice, smooth can you can reuse for other projects.

I also like that the whole thing is comfortable to hold and to turn. It’s oversized and smooth, but not slippery. It doesn’t take as much force as my conventional can opener. On the downside, though, it takes up a lot of room. It’s a chunky tool.

So that’s the OXO Good Grips Smooth Edge Can Opener. It’s no more complicated than a standard can opener, but it gives you reuseable cans, and peace of mind. For me, it’s a fair trade for it’s higher price.

-- Donald Bell 04/8/22

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