Can opener

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woody1959

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Apart from a Lashing's Ginger Beer I did not long ago, all the kits I get like Coopers and Woodfordes all come in cans.

I can't find a decent can opener anywhere, every butterfly one I have purchased only opened the lid halfway before failing, electric ones can never grip the can correctly and so I am using the old fashioned stab and slice ones and I keep cutting myself.

So what do you use to open your tins with?
 
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Works with Party Sevens, too.
 
I got a decent, robust one from Asda, but I remember it costing ~ £5. The beer kit cans are indeed thicker and more substantial than baked beans or tuna cans, so worth it in the end. Also for making beer from kits, this is pretty much central to the process and it is worth having a "special" can opener. Craig on Craigtube mentioned the "ugh" factor from using a can opener that had been used for dog-food...
 
Get one by Barbantia. They are solid and sturdy. Think I paid about £20 for one 6 years ago and it has not broken since.
 
Can opener part of a decent Swiss army knife always does the job for me. I'm left-handed so find them less hassle and easier!
 
I have the WMF Profi Plus as I had the exact problem you are having, had it a good 8yrs or more now and it's fantastic. Paid £18 for it but they're more than £25 now, you get what you pay for.
 
I too have had problems getting into the Kit-Cans, and I seen this a few days ago
https://www.bmstores.co.uk/products/russell-hobbs-stainless-steel-can-opener-345071
It looked the job so I bought it, (£2.95 is not too much to risk)
Just fantastic, have tried it on an old Kit-Can (that I kept to test any opener that I found) and it made the job easy.
Looks and feels that it can do the job, nice steel construction and the cutting wheel is deep enough to go all the way through the thicker metal of these cans.

just measured the lid thickness of these cans
Typical baked beans tin = 0.26mm
brew Kit Can = 0.38mm
0.12mm doesn't sound that much thicker but it works out as very nearly 50% thicker, presumably why some can openers struggle.
 
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I use one from Asda that has moulded plastic grip handles and a sold metal bar type turning handle.
The cheapest butterfly type never last long.
I really hate the type that leaves the can edge razor sharp from a safety viewpoint. I would rather have the end cap sharp as that fits inside neatly when finished.

I think the old kenwood chef mixer had a can opener attachment, but hardly worth the effort for 2 cans. Maybe if you were opening 20 cans of dogfood every day.
 
I've had a Magican can opener, since leaving home about 25 years ago, and it works great. You can still pick them up for only a few quid.
 
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