Customer Reviews

Amco Swing-A-Way 6090 Easy Crank Can Opener

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I have stronger German and Swiss can openers, but this is my favorite. It is the same 1932 design as the Swing-A-Way wall-mount long-arm can opener which was screwed to the wall in everyone's Grandmothers' kitchen.

We do a LOT of cooking and, these days, that involves a LOT of different sizes of cans, including the huge 3 to 10 lb tomato cans (pack, juice or sauce bases). This long arm crank opener makes them fly open. With small cans (tomato paste, olives, vegetables), you have to open the can next to the edge of a counter or chef's table to provide clearance to that long-arm crank handle. Once you get used to that, you never reach for any of those beautifully engineered, wonderfully designed and remarkable $25-$40 German and Swiss can openers -- even the best Kuhn Rikons which leave a clean top rim.

My wife and my mother both suffer from arthritis affecting thumb and fingers, so I tried this opener for them, but I got addicted to it's virtues myself. Now, I buy this opener for every gift recipient who has arthritis.

Cleaning advice from the 1960's: To keep this can opener clean, fold a piece of paper towel to quarters and clamp it into the geared jaws of this can opener. Then wind it through the opener with a couple of cramks of the handle. This action will pick up any residue in the mechanism without having to dunk the can opener in dish water for a mere vegetable can. If you are opening a can of meats, fish or rancidable fats (most soups), you should wind paper towel through first, then whisk it in clean, soapy dish water, then immediately rinse it, then wipe it dry and then immediately wind another piece of paper towel through the opener to get that last residue of water out. Now, it will last about five or six decades without any risk of corrosion.

Store this opener on your main can shelf or on a hook or strong magnet on the inside of the pantry cabinet door so that you can grab it and the can in one motion. Life does not have to be complicated. Simple is GREAT!

Permit me to add my voice to the favorable comments above. Before my can opener was delivered I wondered if perhaps it would not be quite as good as others have said.

It is that good.

It is a pleasure to use. Now my wife and I do rock-paper-scissors to see whose turn it is to open the next can.

I intend to buy more openers and use them as Christmas gifts for older friends and relatives. I'm sure I will get weird looks when they open the gifts, but after trying them out, I know they will be delighted and appreciate my perspicacity.

We do a lot of cooking and freeze it for weekday meals and have noticed how poorly electric can openers work on large cans. A friend of ours mentioned that this opener would be far better and easier and she was right!!
While I will keep the electric can opener for now, it is going in the cabinet purgatory in favor of this can opener which is so easy to operate and takes far less counter space.

I was very happy for the first six months or so, then it began to "slip" as it was opening the cans. Then recently it just stopped cutting at all. I am very disappointed.

My mom needed a new can opener and she has arthritis. I read the reviews and thought it sounded like a good buy for her. It is very awkward and difficult to use especially for my mom. The user needs to have a strong grip in order to maintain control over the can you are opening. It's a nightmare for my mom, but manageable for someone like me who doesn't have arthritis. Do not buy this thing, I was better off buying a normal, run-of-the-mill can opener. This thing sucked. The only positive experience I had was that Amazon did ship it on time.

Feels flimsy. Handle is so long that it is awkward to open shorter cans (e.g., tuna fish cans).

Wow, I'm blown away by all the 5 star ratings and reviewers saying they "now fight over who gets to open cans"... I was hoping it would be really easy to open cans now, but just the opposite. With the long crank handle, it puts more stress on your left hand which is holding the two handles together. In addition, the handles aren't all that stiff so you really have to grip down on it as they two handles flex a lot as you try to crank. It's much harder to get the crank started... Materials/quality are fine, just don't care for the design and use. I'll be going back to a traditional can opener!

Okay, I have mixed feelings about this beast. It works great, really tears around a can due the the crank handle. Much easier than using a peg/post type can opener. However, it is HUGE. I am considering a new island in the kitchen so that I have a place to store it...little cans either have to be held in midair or slid to the edge of the table as the crank is too long to turn while on the counter.

Love it's effectiveness, but debating a return as it's too big to fit in my kitchen utensil drawer. About 10.5 inches long, or nearly double the normal length of an opener, but the crank handle makes it wide too, about 4.5". Can see where this would be nice for someone with arthritis, as it is easy to punch through the lid with all the extra leverage, and easy to crank.

The opener works well except that on shorter cans the handle is so long that you can't rest the can on a counter-top and turn the handle.

Works pretty good for opening cans. Too hard on my left hand to hold it tight enough to offset the crank. Would be OK if a thicker handle.