I have several products made by Zyliss and have found them to be excellent quality, but this Zyliss Safe Edge can opener is a great disappointment for both ease of use and safety. I have found cans vary in ease of opening, but some cans are very difficult to open with this. After going around three or four times, the lids still did not pry off, but I had to bend them to get the product out. A greater concern is that it leaves small filings of metal on the lid that fall into the pan when the contents of the can is poured out.
I really like the edge type openers and will try to find another.
As others have mentioned, this can opener requires an extra step to get the lid off after it is opened. I found that to be a pain.
After 2 months of use, it has stopped opening cans for no apparent reason. I am thinking the blade has worn out already. This opened is going back.
I will never go back to a traditional can opener. Instead of sharp edges and the chance that a dirty lid can fall into the can, this takes off the lid in one smooth piece. The first time you try it, you will not be sure if you actually opened the can because of where it cuts the can. This is safe for kids to use. I used to only use electric can openers, but hated the sharp edges. You can open your can just as quickly with this and tuck it away in a drawer. It seems that we have so many appliances on our countertops already, so no need to have a can opener there as well. I highly recommend this product. I am surprised it is not more mainstream by now!
As others have mentioned, this Zyliss can opener works in a completely different way than the traditional ones. If it bothers you to have to figure out and change how you do things, as is my wife, you don't want this. However, if you're interested in design and looking for a better opener, this is a great choice. I'll repeat what others have said but with a little different wording and description. I would say that the mechanism pries the entire lid off in the reverse of how it was put on. You lift the lid off intact, separated from the body of the can. The opener doesn't touch the food and there are no sharp edges. While it is dishwasher safe, this opener stays clean. Traditional openers cut through part of the can's top, leaving the lid's edge in place, whereas the Zyliss just takes off the whole lid.
Design and build are excellent: nice weight, good grips and easy to turn. I can't imagine that there is anything to wear out for many years.
I like edge can openers. This one functions well, but I had one previously that functioned better. The only drawback to this opener is that after you cut open the lid, you have to unlock the blade and relock the tip of the can opener on the lid in order to take the lid off. The previous can opener I had would take the lid off in the locked position after the lid was completely cut.
This is a good-looking opener. It feels nice in the hand. The handle is easy to turn. The whole thing locks and has a nice magnetic lid grabber, so you don't have to push your dirty lid into your clean food.
Unfortunately, like others have reported, after going around the lid, it fails to ultimately sever the lid from the can. It does this consistently. I have not had a single lid come clean with this opener. Thus the nifty lid grabber is worthless.
I'm sending it back.
The mechanism to close the opener on a lid is a little strange, and you have to get it just so, but even that process only takes a split second once you work out what to do the first time.
Ultimately, the thing opens cans like it claims to, and does it with a minimum of effort. We have left-handed and right-handed people, big and small, strong and weak, young and old using this can opener, and no one struggles after the first time.
Locking this can opener onto the top of a can might take a little getting used to the first time you do it. After that, you just turn the handle until you are done. I imagine you might need to use it to lift the lid on rare occasions, but it won't usually be necessary.
The blade wheel, which is the black and stainless steel wheel, is set back about 2mm from the sides of the recess for the can, and it also slants to one side. So if the can gets big enough, you will reach a point where there's not enough curve to allow it to fit. The breaking point is a bit smaller than the size of cans you get in warehouse stores or see in restaurant kitchens.
On a typical sized can, this opener is easy to use, does a great job, and leaves a clean cut. But the first time I tried this opener, I had to use considerable force and eventually gave up. I then noticed that the edge of the can rubbed through the opener on one side, and the force was needed because the can was jammed against the opener. DON'T USE THIS ON LARGE CANS!
I'd recommend this for left handed users, even though the blade tilt makes the can opener technically right handed. But you can turn the top handle clockwise with your left hand if you want to. If you turn it the other way, it will slip off. Clockwise is not truly "backwards" as it is with a pseudo left handed cheese grater, or other similar item with a handle on the side.
The bottom line is that aside from the cosmetic damage caused by using this on a big can, I still have a good opener. - Kitchen Gadgets - Zyliss - Ergonomic - Safety Can Opener - Kitchen - Manual Can Opener'
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