A Quality, Easy-to-Use Can Opener by Oxo

Can you imagine having a pantry full of food yet having nothing to eat?

Well, that was me a few months ago. My husband and I had come home from a vacation late one night, so we had an empty refrigerator and no fresh food in the house. The next morning, he went to work and I went to the kitchen to see what I could scrounge up for breakfast before going to the grocery store (never a great idea to go shopping when you're starving, right?) and grabbed a can of tomato soup and another of sliced peaches from the cupboard.

But I couldn't eat either one. That's because I couldn't get the cans open. Our electric opener just wouldn't work for me at all, so I went out to the garage and rummaged around in our camping supplies to find the non-electric, hand-crank kind I knew was in there. But I could barely turn the old thing, which hurt my hand and which I promptly threw in the trash where I'd thrown a number of other similar rejects in the past.

Desperate, I actually resorted to a hammer and a long nail if you can picture that, going to work on that practically bomb-proof soup can. Then picture the mess of tomato splatter all over the counter and my pajamas, and the top of a can full of tiny holes and dents. Ugh!

Fast forward to a wedding gift of kitchen accessories we received shortly thereafter, and I FINALLY had a can opener I could actually use and that didn't mangle the cans OR my hands. I'd like you to meet my good gadget buddy, the Oxo locking can opener with the handy-dandy lid catch.

While most of the reviews of this product are very favorable, some do include reports that the locking mechanism -- the gray button you see in the photo -- has broken. However, we've not had any problem with ours at all, and we've used it a lot. Thing is, there's no need to force it. If you place the opener on the can correctly, it's easy to push the lock button. If it's not on there right and you force it, sure, I can see how it might break.

Who ever thought a can opener could be so exciting?

Well, if you're like me, having mangled your fair share of cans and had a number of meltdowns over uncooperative openers of both the electric and non-electric kinds, then perhaps you can relate to my elation when I tried this Oxo baby out and -- oila! -- an effortless opening, a clean edge, no mess, and a top that I didn't have to fish out of the can it came from but could instead just pop right off the gadget into the trash (or recycling bin, I should say).

Here's a brief video where a very happy girl (not me, but I'm just as happy about my Oxo can opener as she is) will show you the features of this little black kitchen beauty.

Other Oxo Kitchen Products to Peruse

And there are many others where these came from (which would be Amazon in this case).

You've got your slotted spoons, your pizza cutter, your whisk, tongs, potato masher, and so forth, all in a sleek, turnable, dishwasher safe holder with a removable drip tray. Choose from 6-, 10-, and 15-piece sets of nylon and silicone kitchen accessories.

Just press the button to squirt some soap onto your dirty dishes, pots and pans and scrub. And, yep, you can use this on non-stick pans and change out the head with a brush, sponge, or scrubbie.

I'm sure these don't require much explanation, but they are rather attractive if you like your measuring spoons to hang around (on a hook I mean) and they have the nice grips.