OXO Good Grips Smooth Edge Can Opener, Black

So I'm definitely not one to get excited about kitchen gadgets, but now that I'm trying to cook more I need to use the can opener often. We used to have an electric one which I LOVED, but when we moved into a small Craftsman bungalow with almost no counter space in the kitchen I got rid of it. Going back to the old can opener was miserable and I could barely use it myself, often just getting my husband to do it for me. So I finally broke down and decided I need to get a new one instead of waiting for hubby to get home just to open a can for me.I have really enjoyed OXO products I have ordered in the past and this looked like a great little piece of machinery. I watched the video and was amazed at how easy it looked. I ordered, but didn't want to get my hopes up while waiting for it to arrive. I was used to the can skittering around on the counter top and making a mess all the while, especially when I removed the lid which usually ended up in the can. So when this arrived I at least wanted it to be better than my old one, but I didn't want to hold my breath.I took out a can and tried to attach the OXO can opener, but it took me a second being used to my old one on which the handles went a different direction. So then I got it on right, very simply in fact (I guess I was trying to hard, lol). Then I attempt my first turn, awaiting the pain and struggle that I've come to associate with opening a can. It went so smoothly I began shaking my head assuming it must not be working, it didn't look like it was working. So I got all the way around and again being used to the lid plunking into the can, but this not happening with the OXO, I decided it must not have worked. I knew it was too good to be true, then I picked up the can, and under a squeeze of my hand the lid popped open. I was dumbfounded that I had just opened a can without breaking a sweat and with absolutely no pain in my fingers/hands/wrists/joints/etc., not to mention absolutely NO MESS!!!If there is one piece I will take with me wherever I move and will always be on my MUST HAVE list, this is it! I've never opened a can easier, even when I had the electric can opener. This OXO is so easy you too will probably wonder if it's working or if you're doing it right. When the lid comes up you will be amazed that there are no sharp edges and in most cases you can set the lid back down over the can to save the leftovers. I did notice however it depends on the size/sturdiness of the can. I had a harder time with smaller flimsier cans as the lid tends to shift, plus it works best if you set the lid back down exactly as you took it off which is relatively impossible. In almost every case though I could set the lid on, and while it didn't seal I was confident that the food would be fresh and not dried out when I next needed it from the fridge (I'd definitely use it within the week just to be safe).I also love the little pliers so I don't have to attempt to get it off with my fingers. Just one gentle tug and it pops right off, again with no mess. If you're looking for a reliable and easy to use can opener then most definitely give this one a try. Now I don't have to wait for hubby to get home to cook, and I don't have to deal with pain from struggling with a difficult opener. This is so easy I'm using it at least twice as much as our old one, I wish I had got one sooner!

I had a can opener that lasted for the first ten years of living on my own, but when it broke and I tried to find a replacement I came to the conclusion that they don't make can openers like they used to. I tried the cheapest one from Walmart, the most expensive one at Target, a mid priced one from Amazon and all of them broke within a couple months. I was so sick of not being able to open cans. I asked around and this can opener (and other smooth edge can openers) were what was recommended. I was skeptical because it looked difficult to use (I mean where do you put the can opener on the can?). Thanks to a quick YouTube video, I realized that smooth edge can openers are actually really easy to use. This one clips on easily and the large rubber handle turns so effortlessly that you don't think that you are doing anything. At first I didn't think that I was doing it right because it was so easy. I go to the end of the can and felt a click. I used the little beak on the side to lift the lid off and was amazed at how easy it was. The lid just popped off. No effort, no struggle, no rough edges. I've seen others say that you can use the lids to recap the cans when you are done. I don't like this because it is not very secure and because I don't like storing things in the cans once they have been opened, but you can do that. The only negative (which is an extremely minor negative) is that I can no longer put the can lid in the can before putting it in the recycle bin. Overall, I can say that this can opener is worth every bit of what I've paid for it and I would absolutely buy it again. (Also to note: I did wait several months before reviewing this just to make sure that it didn't stop working and it still works just as good as it did on day one).

This is the best can opener I have ever owned. A little pricy but well worth it. Should last for many years. I do recommend this.

I wish I could leave a review without stars. This thing is maddening.1) The behavior of this thing is nothing like what I expected, even after reading description. I've loved OXO products in the past, so I was very excited to have a working gourmet can opener this morning after our old one gradually lost its grip. Then I spent 15 minutes trying to line up the opener properly on to the can. Then another 30 minutes trying to use it. I eventually concluded that it was either defective or I had accidentally thrown part of it away. Only after I opened the can with the old half broken can opener did I realize what had happened. It opens from the side yes, but does so in such a way that the lid does not appear to have been removed. Even after you are done "opening" the lid, I found that it will not come off easily.2) In terms of functionality (once you've figured it out), it's amazingly smooth, deceptively so. That action is orders of magnitude better than any other can opener I've ever used. It's so smooth that I at first believed it was not cutting the can. My belief in this was strengthened when the can appeared untouched. If someone put an opened and unopened can next to each other they would appear identical.3) True to their word, you can actually put the lid back on. It may even form a seal again on the top of the can. (If it does not, it seems to come close.)4) The only real criticism I have left is that the tiny pliers to remove the lid do not appear to big enough to actually grip the lid. At least I cannot get them to work yet. I will have to watch more videos. And without such a device the lid is hard to remove. I struggled to remove the two cans I opened without pliers. I may get a pair of small pliers or something similar. . . . . . Or I may return this thing and get a more traditional can opener that I know will fail in a couple years but at least is easy to understand.