The SAK can opener, a question

F

Fass

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Mar 8, 2020
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Looking at the can opener on standard 84 and 91mm SAK's, it looks like it would make a great small cutting tool and I did read that some people use it to rip open packages and such.

Is the can opener supposed to be sharp on both sides?

And if so, how would one go about sharpening such a small rounded tool?
 
It’s sharpened from one side. Felix Immler had video in youtube where he converts the can opener into wood carver so it’s definitely possible. Sharpening with the screwdriver intact might be tricky but I’d try small diamond lap stone.
 
Thanks! The flat backside of the can opener shows a little edge so to me it seemed that it was sort of factory sharpened as well, that's why I asked.
 
I'm not sure if this would be the same video that A.L. was referring to, but Felix Immler showed how to sharpen the backside of can opener into a sort of gut hook. I'd think that would be handling for ripping open packages, or as an emergency seat belt cutter. Most notably, all of the other functions remain intact!
 
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Fass said:
Looking at the can opener on standard 84 and 91mm SAK's, it looks like it would make a great small cutting tool and I did read that some people use it to rip open packages and such.

Is the can opener supposed to be sharp on both sides?

And if so, how would one go about sharpening such a small rounded tool?
Click to expand...

A.L. said:
It’s sharpened from one side. Felix Immler had video in youtube where he converts the can opener into wood carver so it’s definitely possible. Sharpening with the screwdriver intact might be tricky but I’d try small diamond lap stone.
Click to expand...

Fass said:
Thanks! The flat backside of the can opener shows a little edge so to me it seemed that it was sort of factory sharpened as well, that's why I asked.
Click to expand...

All of mine have a bevel on both sides. On some it's smaller on one side than the other and not easy to see if you don't look closely. but they're all beveled on both side.
 
I have yet to use a Victorinox can opener to open cans in daily use; I’ve only done it intentionally in order to understand how the opener works. For opening cans, I find that I prefer the “claw” style of opener that’s common to most non-SAK scout/camper knives and Leathernan multitools.

But the SAK opener is the ideal SAK scale removal tool!
 
hsherzfeld said:
I have yet to use a Victorinox can opener to open cans in daily use; I’ve only done it intentionally in order to understand how the opener works. For opening cans, I find that I prefer the “claw” style of opener that’s common to most non-SAK scout/camper knives and Leathernan multitools.

But the SAK opener is the ideal SAK scale removal tool!
Click to expand...

From 1987 to 1991 I used an Victorinox SAK can opener exclusively for a lot of cans. Once you get good at it, you can go really fast since you're moving forward instead of backward with the other styles.
 
When I was a bachelor, I think I prepared most every one of my meals with a Vic Champion. I think my apartment's kitchen drawer had a spatula and the Champion in it, and that was about it. The SAK opener has a learning curve, but it certainly does work. I made a lot of "casseroles in a box" dinners back in those days where you basically opened a can of meat and veggies, dumped it into a baking dish, then used the bisquick mix it came with to make a breaded crust by baking the whole thing for about 25 mins. Total bachelor chow for a guy in his early 20s whose fiancé was going to school out of town :D The Vic made short work of the can of dogfood balanced medley of choice meats and garden-fresh vegetables. I probably ate 2 of those a week that would last me 2 dinners per and then order pizza on fridays.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
When I was a bachelor, I think I prepared most every one of my meals with a Vic Champion. I think my apartment's kitchen drawer had a spatula and the Champion in it, and that was about it. The SAK opener has a learning curve, but it certainly does work. I made a lot of "casseroles in a box" dinners back in those days where you basically opened a can of meat and veggies, dumped it into a baking dish, then used the bisquick mix it came with to make a breaded crust by baking the whole thing for about 25 mins. Total bachelor chow for a guy in his early 20s whose fiancé was going to school out of town :D The Vic made short work of the can of dogfood balanced medley of choice meats and garden-fresh vegetables. I probably ate 2 of those a week that would last me 2 dinners per and then order pizza on fridays.
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My 1980s Champion and Deluxe Tinker slayed quite a few cans of Beefaroni, ravioli, chicken and dumplings, and Dinty Moore beef stew back in the day! Nowadays it's not easy to find a can without a pull tab top!
 
If the whole purpose is to open packages, beside using the can opener(which I would try to keep clean since it's for food), I'd also recommend to give the awl a try.

At least I won't mind all the stickness/glue sticking onto an awl, instead of large blade/can opener which I often use for food.
 
I have opened a lot of cans with one over the decades I have been packing a Swiss Army and it works awfully good without having to be what most people would consider "sharp". I would probably never stone a can opener very sharp - it would be an accident waiting to happen if someone else were using your knife. I remember doing a remodel job in an office and one morning everybody slogged in to find there was no coffee - someone had lost their can opener. We were many miles from any place selling coffee. End of World music..... I whipped out my Tinker and said "We're ALL having coffee this morning" and zipped the top off the huge can of coffee. I think every guy in there went out and bought a Swiss Army knife that week. Coffee is IMPORTANT!!!
 
The can openers on either my Pioneer or Spartan are the only can openers I use. I've tried the hooked designs in the past from the old Wenger line as well as Leatherman, but for me, the standard Vic can opener is the best, fastest, and cleanest. There are still many products that come in cans that don't have a pull top.

I've personally never felt the need to sharpen the can opener blade to a knife's sharpness. I do occasionally use it for scraping when a small, curved edge is advantageous, and some light prying. But the tool I mostly use for light prying is the large screwdriver/bottle opener. For better leverage, and to preserve the tool and the pivot, whenever possible, I pinch the large screwdriver at its base when using it requires any amount of torque.

Jim
 
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