Regardless of your upbringing, chances are, if you saw someone opening a can of food with a chisel and a hammer, you’d at least raise your eyebrows. But for a good chunk of human history, opening cans with stone carving tools was actually one of the better options. Unfortuately for people at the time, there was a gap between the invention of storing food in a can and the invention of the can opener: the first food canning factory in the United States opened in 1812, but the first can opener wasn’t patented until 1858.
While that original can opener was little more than a knife modified for a very specific job, it served as the basis for a tool that would one day become commonplace in every kitchen drawer in the country. But what if I told you that even though some version of the humble can opener has existed since before Abraham Lincoln became president, many people are still using it incorrectly to this day?
Here’s a look at how can openers are intended to be used, and the understandable but ultimately incorrect way many people actually use them.
The Wrong Way To Use A Can Opener
You know how to use a can opener… right? You take the little circular blade, line it up with the rim of the can and close the can opener down so that the blade punches into the top of the can. Then, with the can opener’s turning knob parallel to the can, you start to twist. The top of the can is cut out, leaving you with access to the food inside.
There, you’ve correctly used a can opener in the way it was intended to be used. Right? ….Right?
Wrong, actually. Cutting a can open in this fashion can lead to a few big problems. If you’re not careful, the lid can just fall right down into the can— potentially contaminating the food and most likely making a mess. Cutting into the top of the can also creates jagged edges along the rim, turning your food container into something more dangerous.
Okay, fine. So maybe cutting into the top of a can isn’t technically correct. But what is the “right way” to use a can opener? And is it actually any better?
The Right Way To Use a Can Opener
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Have you ever used an automatic can opener? When you do, you hold the can up to the machine and it cuts a neat line right around the rim of the can- not on the top of the can, but on the outside edge.
Handheld can openers should be used the same way. The blade goes into the outside edge of the can, with the can opener’s turning knob parallel to the top of the can. Squeeze the can opener until it punctures the exterior of the can, then twist. This will cut the can open in the same way an automatic can opener does, leaving you with a clean edge and no risk that the top of the can falls into the food inside.
Why the Misconception?
So why are people using the wrong method? There’s no way to know for sure, but it likely just comes down to the way that they were taught. Kitchens are a place where many teachings and techniques are passed down from generation to generation. If someone further up your family tree used a can opener incorrectly, chances are that incorrect method was passed down to you. After all, it does technically get the can open- just not in the optimal way. Ultimately, this is an opportunity to remember an important lesson that can be applied to many aspects of the DIY mentality: just because you can do something some way, that doesn’t mean it’s the right way to do it.
Sources
- Smithsonian Magazine, “Why the Can Opener Wasn’t Invented Until Almost 50 Years After the Can” (2017)
- Acumence, “The History of Canning and Can Making” (2025)
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The post You’ve Been Using Your Can Opener Wrong This Whole Time appeared first on Family Handyman.
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