Customer Reviews

Fissler 020 081 18 000 Magic Smooth-Edge Can Opener

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Excuse me, I said, opening the box - this must be broken - it's missing something. I mean how can you have a can opener that doesn't have two levers. Not only that, it doesn't seem to clamp. Just sits there. And you thinking it's a joke.

Not only is it not a joke - it does an exceptional job of opening a can - neatly just under the rim of the can - leaving a nice edge and creating a lid out of the top.

I bought three of these after that - two to take as house gifts to New Zealand - which says a lot about how much I love this can opener. Bought an extra for the next shower I go to and after a bit of puzzlement they'll start buying them for their friends.

At this point I am very happy to have a cat that eats canned foods - gives me an excuse to create a wonderfully tidy lid and avoid the plastic wrap.

This single-handled opener gets bewildered looks and rave reviews from all who've seen and used it at our house. It attaches to cans easily, and smoothly removes the lid from the can, leaving no sharp edges. The knob is comfortable to grasp, and easy to turn.

I was going to give one to my parents, but my Mother recently developed a problem where the tendon in her thumb contracted, and turning the knob was too painful for her; so people with arthritis or similar mobility issues may also have difficulty with this opener and may prefer an electric one.

This product lives up to the rave reviews of other buyers. It works so easily and effectively. Unlike many can openers of this type, it is compact and easily stores in my kitchen gadget drawer.

I generally wear out a good quality (KitchenAid) manual can opener about every 3 years. Cheaper can openers are just frustrating from the start. I was looking for something better. While $26 seems a bit much for a manual can opener, the reviews on this one were so glowing that I decided to give it a try. I have been using this can opener for 2 months.

Some of the other reviews would lead you to believe this can opener will save our civilization, cure every known disease, lead to world peace, and make you more attractive so you can get laid. While I share enthusiasm for this device, to be perfectly honest it may fail to deliver on one or two of those criteria.

What it does do is to open cans by cutting around the outside of the lid, where the lid is crimped onto the body of the can. As you twist the knob to cut the lid, a threaded shaft causes the drive gear to tighten the cutting wheel against the can so the cutting wheel can penetrate the metal. When you have cut completely around the lid, a quarter turn in reverse loosens the cutting wheel from the can. You then need to lift the lid off the can, which can sometimes be difficult because it is such a smooth cut there is little edge to grasp. If there is a vacuum in the can (which there should be in most cases unless it is bulging with botulism) it can require a little effort to break the lid free.

If you are in the habit of draining liquid from cans by holding the lid inside the can and inverting it over your sink, you will need to change your ways. Because the lid is cut on the outside of the can, the lid cannot be pushed down inside to leave a gap for draining the liquid.

After 2 months of using the can opener, I still feel a little bit of excitement every time there is a can to be opened because this can opener works so well. One might well buy a half dozen of these and invite friends over for a can opening party that would earn you a reputation as a host able to provide unique entertainment.

Because the cutting is done on the outside of the can, well away from the contents, the opener does not get food debris on it to clog the mechanism like ordinary openers do. I have not yet needed to even rinse the opener.

With all these glowing comments, why do I give a rating of only 4 out of 5? Although the opener is working superbly now, I have little doubt that over time the cutting wheel will dull and the teeth on the drive gear will wear down and lose the traction needed to cut around the lid. The basic structure is solid and would warrant a repair rather than to be discarded. Yet, there appears to be no way a consumer can replace the cutting wheel nor drive gear. It would not have taken much change of the design to allow these parts to be replaced by the consumer, and to offer the replacement parts to do this. Searching on the Fissler website for parts for this can opener produced the result "No replacement parts for this product could be found."

If this can opener lasts 10 years, it will have given better value than the KitchenAid can openers I have found disappointing, but at this point I remain skeptical that it will fully justify the $26 price. Still, I expect you will find this is the best can opener you have ever used. I do highly recommend it and would buy another if a burglar took mine along with my other expensive goods.

This is by far the best and easiest can opener I've ever used. I have used it on all sizes, from tiny cans of tomato paste to the giant 128 oz cans of tomatoes and it has worked flawlessly with all of them.

You simply set the opener on top and turn the handle...as soon as the resistance stops you can easily lift up the can top with the smoothest edge I've ever seen created by an opener. Not having to 'squeeze' any handles is great and I personally find it very easy to turn. It also looks great and has good feel to it...a feeling that it will be durable and last.

I personally say pay a little more for something that is quality and will last. As far as can openers go, this fits that bill perfectly.

My wife hates opening cans and I found this and gave it to her for Christmas. It is easy to use and quick. But most of all, it does not take half the effort that conventional openers take. My wife has a touch of arthritis and this made opening cans easy and comfortable again.

A short learning curve but so, so good to use.
No dirty can opener to wash. No slop on it.
A lot less force to make it work.
Best of all: no sharp edges!!

This is a high-quality can opener that works amazingly, when it works. Unfortunately, it can't seem to open hal of the cans we use it on, leading us to switch back to the old-style can opener that actually punctures the can.

I've owned a Kuhn rikon smooth edge opener that I thought was tops, so I was hesitant to try this one. Fissler is better and much easier to use! I love it and prefer using it over the Kuhn! You don't have to kill yourself using this one. It's so much easier on the old hands! Love it!!!

It works nicely. The only problem is that it cuts so exactly that although the lid is detached from the can it takes some force to remove the lid from the actual can. A solution would be to have a stick with a suction cup on the end to attach to the lid so as to pull the lid off.