Swing-A-Way Easy Crank Can Opener, 10.4 Inches, Black

I have a love/hate relationship with can openers. I've opened cans for years. I started opening cans with those wiry, all-metal can openers with wing-shaped handles that had big holes in them that cut into my finger and thumb as the twisting got hard. I hated those can openers... I don't remember the exact date when I got my first newer-style can opener, which had much a more sturdy twisting mechanism with no annoying holes to hurt your fingers. At first, they'd always work like a dream. How could can opening be so easy? But over time, say, about 18 months, the twisting mechanism would start to corrode, the twisting would get harder, and finally, the can opener would stop working altogether. During COVID-19 (in May of 2020), after my current can opener went bad, I decided to try several different can opener brands and designs to see if any of them worked better than the others. I ordered about half a dozen models. The first can opener of the lot I tried was the Swing-A-Way Easy Crank Can Opener. I immediately fell in love with the crank handle -- so much easier than the old two-fingered twisting mechanism, and with much more torque! Cans that were a pain to open with my old, dying can opener opened like they were nothing! I wondered how long this would last. Would I get the standard 18 months out of my Swing-A-Way? 2 years? 3? Well, I'm happy to say that my Swing-A-Way Easy Crank Can Opener is still working wonderfully. I don't really notice any degradation of functionality after more than 5 years! It still easily cranks through any can, and I still have 5 or so other can opener models in a box somewhere in my basement. I'm not sure I'll ever need them. This is the kind of product I love to find -- something that does it's job wonderfully, and lasts an incredibly long time. Thank you Swing-A-Way!

This is the BEST can opener E.V.E.R. In my long life, I have been through so many can openers it is amazing. Handheld. Electric. NONE of them work properly and frustrate me enormously. I saw a YouTube video from a customer who was thrilled with this can opener, so I tried it. IT WORKS EVERY TIME WITH NO PROBLEMS. IT IS EASY TO CRANK. I loved this so much I bought one for my son for a Christmas stocking gift! Who gives a can opener for a Christmas gift? That is how good this product is. If I could only change one thing, it would be the metal for the gears. It does tend to rusk, which is annoying because it obviously gets washed after every use, and I have to be careful where I put it so it does not drip rusk onto other kitchen utensils or onto the countertop.

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! ----------------- UPDATE: It's been 5-YEARS and a couple months since my original review and this can opener is still working perfectly, with absolutely no sign of wear or tear. I stick with my cleaning regimen and that contributes to the service life of this tool. Essentially, I've finished the first HALF DECADE of an expected FIVE or SIX DECADE LIFE! NOTE ON DRAWER STORAGE: I've had relatives complain about this, especially when an expandable or other divider insert is in a shallow drawer. I solved it by setting the divider about 1/2" off of the left or right edge (side) of the drawer, leaving a slot between the divider and drawer side. Now you can turn the can opener upside-down and lay it into this slot with the laid across the top of the divider frame. If the slot is on the left, the handles point away from you; if on the right, the handles point toward you. Still simple ... still GREAT!

I’m an occasional can-opener user as I don’t cook from cans that much, but I wanted something easier and faster than the “standard” can openers you’d usually see in the US (which rely on twisting your wrist and fingers, see the Swing-A-Way 407BK ). I find those to be uncomfortable and slow. I first considered going with a cheap electric, but from what I’ve seen those are poorly made, relatively bulky, and won’t provide much in the way of a speed advantage. I wanted something well-made and traditional, but easy and quick. This product was just what I was looking for. High capacity, quick speed, and an easy mechanism since it uses the leverage of a large handle. It is more expensive (about double the above-linked model), but the price difference was worth it to me. I’ve been using for about six months, and it’s working great. It feels sturdy and well made, and opens cans very quickly (even faster than most automatics). As with all things, it’s not perfect and there are some drawbacks with this design. First, it’s larger and heavier than a “standard” can opener due to the large handle. I don’t think there’s any way they could avoid this with this design keep the quality feel. It’s worth noting that there are two versions of this can opener: this one, where the handle folds (saving about an inch of space in a tight cabinet), and another where it is fixed. The fixed handle version is slightly cheaper, but I’d recommend going with this one unless you have a massive kitchen or have developed some kind of fourth dimensional storage system and truly don’t need to worry about space. The second major drawback is that it’s not as maneuverable on small cans since the handle is fairly long. If you’re opening, say, a can of tuna , you have to use the edge of the counter or the handle won’t be able to make a full revolution. Again, I don’t see any way this could be avoided without decreasing the effectiveness, or increasing the price and failure chance by adding extra fold points. The third drawback is price. While this can opener is only around $12 USD as of this writing, it’s double the price of a “standard” design. If you don’t mind the standard can opener, it’s probably not worth the price jump to getting this one. Again, you can save a dollar or two by getting the non-folding version which will work just as well, if you can afford the space, but that’s probably not worth it to most people. Overall, the speed and ease of use outweigh the bulkiness and increased price for me. I haven’t run into any quality issues after six months of use and it feels like this will last a decade, although I don’t use it every day. This opener meets my needs perfectly so I’m giving it five stars, if I were going to hold it back I would say it’s due to the relatively high price. I’m banking on it lasting me a long time so that it will be worth the investment, and if you care enough about your can opener to read a 500+ word review, I’d say this one is probably worth it to you.

I have developed arthritis over the years and I needed a replacement and went for this one because of the long handle. The leverage makes it so much more comfortable and less tedious. This will work on any can and will get the ones an electric one may not get. Slight edit after a year of use, it is superior to many other openers and thst includes electric ones. Only draw back I have is catching the lid before it falls back in. So easy and versatile to use while on a surface since it can potentially get a bit unwieldy while in the air. Great for folks with weak hands and for those that are not weak. No batteries are plus and could be considered useful kit while camping.

I bought this can opener from this seller in 2021. I’m used to the regular can openers failing after a few years and needing to be replaced because they no longer cut properly. That hasn’t happened here. I bought it because the crank feature relieved pressure on my arthritic fingers. Truly a small blessing! I recently pulled up my order history because I thought I’d replace it due to reddish brown residue that was showing up around the nut on the cutting blade during use which tended to fall on the can lid/get into the food (bleh!). I thought it was rust. Before I pulled the trigger on buying a new one, though, I decided to remove the nut and see what was going on under there. I’m so glad I did! I used a 10mm torque wrench to easily remove the nut and found both the cone shaped hidden side of the nut and its cavity coated in reddish brown gunk! The same gunk that accumulates on the back of the blade if you are not careful about cleaning that area after use. Some dawn and scrubbing of both the nut and the cavity later, and my swing away is back to near perfect condition. There was no rust in sight in that assembly once it was cleaned. That said, it’s had over 5 years of use, and there are a couple small rust spots on the overlapping handle parts above the grip, probably from drying it in the closed position in the past, but that never comes in contact with the cans/food. So - now I know to start taking this apart occasionally during cleaning to keep this from recurring. This is a great tool to have in the kitchen. I expect many more years of use ahead.

Love this can opener. It works great and is easy to operate with arthritis in my hands.

The best can opener we have had in years. The new wall mount swing away model didn't work as well as our old one. Replaced it with this one and now cans are easy to open. The long handle gives you so much more leverage to turn than that tiny little knob/handle that so many can openers have on them tham. Great product. Works better than expected. The folding handle is a bonus for storing in a drawer.