Openers for jars, bottles and cans etc

This section covers – tin and can openers, can-tab pull aids, jar openers and bottle top removers. Use the left menu to find more dinnerware and eating aids.

Opening jars, tins, cans and bottles can be a difficult task, even for a young and healthy individual. Many of these containers have their lids applied using a partial vacuum process and this adds to the difficulty of removing them. There are however many different openers that can solve this problem. Some use gripping techniques whilst others mechanise the complete lid removal procedure.

Tin or can openers

Although some tins and cans now have tab-pulls to ease the opening process, most still need to have their lid cut around its perimeter and then removed. This has never been an easy task and one of the difficulties has always been preventing the cut-out lid from falling back into the can. The opening process also requires physical effort and a vice-like grip.

The solution to both the cutting and removal of the lid is to use a mechanical jar opener. These openers come in a number of designs and many have a one-touch button that commences and automatically terminates the opening process.

The most popular openers are those that are placed on the top of the tin or can. Once in position a button is pressed and the opener rotates around the tin lid, cutting through it as it does so. Once the opener has finished its job it can be lifted up with the cut-out lid attached to it. The lid can then be released into a waste disposal bin.

Some can and tin openers of this kind come equipped with an attachment that enables them to work on the twist style jar lids.

Another popular can opener is the freestanding opener. With this kind of device the opener turns the can through 360 degrees as it cuts out the lid. Most openers of this kind use a small magnet to hold the lid in place once is has been cut out. The open tin can then be removed.

Openers of this type may offer other facilities like knife sharpening.

(Manual openers)

Manual can and tin openers, suitable for those who find these tasks difficult, generally use a ratchet mechanism that requires a minimum of effort. The operation typically requires the pulling together of two small handles which in turn make a cutting and twisting motion on the can lid.

Tin and can pull aids

Many tins and cans, along with pop and soda drink cans, have pull tops that require a small tap to be lifted and pulled out. These metal tabs can be difficult to hold and even more difficult to remove or pull away from the top of a tin.

Tin and can pulls are designed to hook around these small tabs making it simpler to pull them away. Furthermore, many of these pullers are shaped in such a way that they can give leverage to the removing action by tilting the puller down against the lid of the can or tin. The result is that they make a problematic task something that can be accomplishes in seconds.

Jar openers and Bottle top removers

There are a number of manual devices that can help when removing twist-lids from jars. Most of these gadgets work by providing extra purchase on the lid without requiring an increase in the strength of the hand grip. Some use a lever action and others use a clamp approach, but the most popular use a band or strap that locates around the perimeter edge of the jar lid. However, all require some physical exertion.

In some instances there are limitations to the diameter (maximum and minimum) of the jar lid that they can remove.

The alternative to a manual jar lid remover is a mechanical one. These come in one touch button operation and most have two automatically adjusting side grips that hold the jar in position as the lid is twisted off. They are simple to use and require no effort on the part of the person using them.

Bottle top removers

The screw-on and screw-off tops of many bottles can be difficult to remove. Most wine bottles require the breaking of a seal between the top (cap) and the bottle neck, whilst bottles that are opened and closed between uses (e.g. a ketchup bottle) can become tight over time.

Overcoming these problems can be achieved in a number of ways. Clamp and gripper devices can be used to gain both a superior grip and extended leverage on bottle tops and they can usually be removed surprisingly easily.

A number of the jar lid removing devices have settings that also make them suitable for removing bottle tops.