For the love of God, Buy yourself a can opener!!! NOW

Originally posted by Open2Truth
And if you follow the suggestion of the OP and buy those extra can openers, consider keeping one tucked in your purse or glove box and asking the next homeless person you come across if they need one.

I picked up a bad habit from my dear old dad - carrying an old P-38 can opener from a case of C-rations on my keyring. it's hard to find them any more, since the demise of C-rats, but if you can find one, they're worth their weight in gold at the damndest times!

Check surplus stores for them - they're cheap, simple, and effective. One moving part. Small, highly portable. Make sure it's a real surplus one, though - I bought a few once that were not, and they BENT when opening a can. Bending is not good....

reply to post by Jordan River


Actually I would recomend a well built one, like a kitchen aid stainless steel. I bought two at Tuesday Morning Stores. They are 60% off retail and built like a tank! When you need to use it in an emergency, last thing you want worry about is it breaking it!

Survival supplies should be top quality and waterproof to last and take a beaten. Not worth saving a buck or two.

Phillip

Why risk dulling or damaging your knife blade on a can when you can simply use a tool made for the job?

You know a can opener ...

Then save your knife for the things the can opener can't do ...

Just my two ...

reply to post by MegaMind


Not to mention jumping a chip out of the edge of the knife - some are tempered more hard than others. It's a pain to try working that gap in the edge out with only a hand stone.

hahha your a genious my friend!

Thread title made me laugh, had to check it out!

~ Love is an art

Any decent Swiss knife/Leatherman has got a can opener on it. I never go out without at least one of these.

Originally posted by nenothtu
reply to post by MegaMind

 

Not to mention jumping a chip out of the edge of the knife - some are tempered more hard than others. It's a pain to try working that gap in the edge out with only a hand stone.

Cans are pretty soft and thin metal. I remember my friends mom used to use a cheap kitchen knives to open cans. Never saw her chip any off them. Here is a vid of a kid opening one with a spoon.



Stockpile of cans and starves to death because there is no can opener. Not much of a survivalist.

If your hungry enough, youll open a can with a rock. But yeah a can opener would save allot of time lol

reply to post by DrumsRfun

Just use a knife....I learned that when I was 12.

Hell...even a multitool can open a can.

Sure, but it's a HELL of a lot easier with a simple can opener.

While I have severe doubts of it's usefulness beyond its intended purpose (stabbing? Really?), it's a cheap and easy thing to have around, so any prepper should have multiples of them.

Got some, but in a pinch, I just put the can down on a flat piece of concrete(flat side to flat side) and start scraping the metal edge off the can. Wear it down enough and the lid will pop right off, takes only a couple of minutes. Not a whole lot holding these made in China cans together.

I probably have 2 or 3 can openers in the kitchen drawer. I also have a Swiss army knife, a couple multi-tools and my ever trusty P-38 on my key chain for the last 30 or so years.

i'm ready!

Hmmmmm, maybe I am not the only tinfoil hat wearing nut in this here town. Went to the dollar store and the can openers mysteriously sold out this week

Originally posted by daskakik

Originally posted by nenothtu
reply to post by MegaMind

 

Not to mention jumping a chip out of the edge of the knife - some are tempered more hard than others. It's a pain to try working that gap in the edge out with only a hand stone.

Cans are pretty soft and thin metal. I remember my friends mom used to use a cheap kitchen knives to open cans. Never saw her chip any off them. Here is a vid of a kid opening one with a spoon.

Stockpile of cans and starves to death because there is no can opener. Not much of a survivalist.

edit on 17-5-2012 by daskakik because: (no reason given)

Kitchen knives of the common variety generally don't have as hard a temper as, for instance, hunting knives do. Common kitchen knives can usually be bent by hand. Some of the toughest knives I've ever used that should stand up to this kind of abuse are Ka-Bars and Spec Plus knives.

Hell, I've bit the side out of beer cans with only my teeth - that doesn't mean I recommend it, though!

reply to post by Jordan River


S & F - A very good piece of advice. The more manual appliances you can get, the better because with one good EMP over say Kansas and it's good bye electricity for probably a decade.

Read Lights Out by David Crawford.................excellent book.

Another couple of things should be lanterns, matches that can light after getting wet, a tent and a good first aid kit complete with a First Aid Medical book. I have "Where There Is No Doctor - A Village Health Care Handbook - David Werner "

However - when TSHTF I personally don't think the majority of us are going to make it.

Every generation seems to shout - we're going to be the last generation, the sky is falling so I hope this is all the same old same old.

But, things are speeding up, tensions are tight, the Middle East is heating up not cooling down and we have some major players and ruthless people running the planet.

Yep, stock up on pure bottled water, canned goods, a secret hidie hole below (as deep as possible) below ground level if you can afford it) and of course don't forget the can opener, iodine pills and gas masks.



Safe journey.

WHERE WE ARE GOING, WE DON'T NEED CAN OPENERS.

for the love of God, make yourself an eye opener.

reply to post by Gazrok


I don't know about you but I have a pack and no car so I have to think about EVERYTHING in my pack because I have to carry it.
I also have a ways to go to get to my SHTF location.
I look at what I have and it MUST have multiple uses or I don't bother with it.

A knife works and I can sharpen it when needed.
A can opener isn't something I have multiple uses for so (until I can think of another use for it)...its not something I look at as a need,more of a luxury item.
Survival isn't about luxury...its about getting it done anyway you can.

I like those p38 things but my knife will work just as well....I'm not that picky when I want to get it done.
As long as it gets done...I'm good.

reply to post by nenothtu


I have a kabar.


I LOVE that knife and its the best knife I have ever owned.

reply to post by nenothtu

Yeah kitchen knives are flexible but part of the reason is the thin blades but bend a bit to far and they will snap. Temper shouldn't make a difference because your not using the knife as a prying tool, your using it to stab and slice through a thin sheet of soft metal.

As others have said you should have a multi-tool pocket knife which should have a can opener. If you don't have that then you probably didn't bring a kitchen can opener either.

Hell, I've bit the side out of beer cans with only my teeth - that doesn't mean I recommend it, though!

But did you break any teeth? I'm pretty sure you didn't because the metal is pretty soft and thin. This is the same reason why a steel can probably won't hurt your hunting knife either, unless you try prying the edge with it.

And I'm pretty sure that if that is all you had and you found a case full of canned food you wouldn't think twice about it.

Originally posted by AuntB

Personally, I have no clue why people own electric can openers. Is it that hard to open a can manually?

The same reason people buy automobiles with automatic transmissions. They are either handicapped or lazy.

reply to post by captaintyinknots

seriously, rotc, camping army general, trained marine or whatever you are, coast guard? shouldn't be the only ones who discuss survival, its called civilians, we out number you