Electric tin opener wanted

Farway

I've had a search on MSE on this topic and the latest comments are over ten years ago, so thought I'd start afresh

This may be the wrong board, but I'm guessing some at least, like me, have poor grip or wonky fingers etc, and find opening some tins awkward

Just lately, I find turning the handle on normal tin openers harder than it used to be, so I'm thinking of getting an electric one and find it's a minefield for the unknowing

Has anyone got one they always use & find easy & just works without fiddling around?

I have no preferences, mains or battery makes no difference to me. Indifferent if it has knife sharpener / bottle opener or not, but if it did a spot of weeding that would be helpful

Any suggestions, budget not a problem but over thirty quid would need to be super-duper and able to do some weeding

whizzywoo

I have tried a few because of my arthritic hands.  I find the Kenwood one to be the best.

blue.peter

I wonder if it's worth your while consulting Which? Whilst you might not subscribe to it yourself, your local public library might well keep it. (I haven't used it for years, but used to be able to do so in the library.)

Silvertabby

I can't remember the last time I used a tin opener - I thought ring pulls were the norm now?

Clearly, we don't eat much tinned stuff.

whizzywoo

Silvertabby said:

I can't remember the last time I used a tin opener - I thought ring pulls were the norm now?

Clearly, we don't eat much tinned stuff.

Ring pull tins are impossible to open if you have arthritis in your hands.  I use an electric tin opener to open them.  Usually you have to turn them upside down though as the ring pull gets in the way.

In my opinion ring pull tins should be banned. 

QrizB

whizzywoo said:

Silvertabby said:

I can't remember the last time I used a tin opener - I thought ring pulls were the norm now?

Clearly, we don't eat much tinned stuff.

Ring pull tins are impossible to open if you have arthritis in your hands.

Can you stick a screwdriver (or the handle of a sturdy piece of cutlery) through the ring, then lever the lid open? It works for me, at least.

whizzywoo

QrizB said:

whizzywoo said:

Silvertabby said:

I can't remember the last time I used a tin opener - I thought ring pulls were the norm now?

Clearly, we don't eat much tinned stuff.

Ring pull tins are impossible to open if you have arthritis in your hands.

Can you stick a screwdriver (or the handle of a sturdy piece of cutlery) through the ring, then lever the lid open? It works for me, at least.

I'm afraid not.  Have tried it but you need a good grip on the screwdriver and you need to be able to grip the tin with the other hand.  Otherwise it just slides away and you stab yourself with the screwdriver. 

An electric tin opener is the easiest solution even for ring pull cans.  

I have two Kenwood ones.  One for home and the other in my campervan.  

Farway

Thanks everyone who replied. I'll go for Kenwood I think, stick wiht what works

WizzyW, ring pulls, I bought a hooky lever thingy for ring pulls from local disability shop, like this. No VAT if declare arthritic etc

This one's £3.99, but no doubt others are available

Brie

If you can't find an electric one you like or in the right price range or is reluctant to do the weeding I would recommend a swing-a-way manual one.  They work much much much better than any other can opener I've ever used.  In fact they are so good that when I loaned mine to a friend whose industrial type can opener had broken at his restaurant he wanted to buy mine off me.  I had to say no but bought him (& a number of other friends) one next time I was in Canada where they were selling at about $5 each at that time.  They obviously aren't as easy to use as some electrics but certainly easier for someone with arthritis than an average opener.

Swing-A-Way Heavy-Duty Can Opener, 18 cm (7") - Black : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

SevenOfNine

We started having problems with a cheap electric tin opener, so bought a Morphy Richards Multi Function (about £30), Unfortunately started out well enough but not long before it became increasingly USELESS.

Didn't seem 'grip' the rim of the cans properly, kept skipping little bits leaving the lid attached in 2 or 3 places. I'd go round & round a few times before it finally snipped through the whole lid. Got so fed up I threw it out & got a manual OXO one instead, but to be honest, that does the same thing!

Not sure if tin designs have changed (particularly those with a ring pull - which I hate), but nothing seems to give a clean slice right round.

Farway

SevenOfNine said:

We started having problems with a cheap electric tin opener, so bought a Morphy Richards Multi Function (about £30), Unfortunately started out well enough but not long before it became increasingly USELESS.

Didn't seem 'grip' the rim of the cans properly, kept skipping little bits leaving the lid attached in 2 or 3 places. I'd go round & round a few times before it finally snipped through the whole lid. Got so fed up I threw it out & got a manual OXO one instead, but to be honest, that does the same thing!

Not sure if tin designs have changed (particularly those with a ring pull - which I hate), but nothing seems to give a clean slice right round.

Oddly enough, it's my manual OXO one that is starting to play up after years of service, hence my initial thought about an electric one to stop my struggles