The History of Tin Cans and Can Openers is on the website.
A can opener is a mechanical device used to open metal cans.Although preservation of food using tin cans had been practiced in the Netherlands since at least 1772, the first can opener was patented in England and the United States in 1858.The 1855 design continues to be produced, though the early openers were basically variations of a knife.The first can opener, consisting of a rotating cutting wheel that runs around the can's rim to open it, was invented in 1870, but was very difficult to operate for the average consumer.In 1925, a second wheel was added to hold the cutting wheel on the rim of the can.One of the most popular can opener models has an easy-to-use design.
The American P-38 and P-51 can opener were developed for military use during World War II.These were compact and had a pull cutting blade that was hinged to a corrugated handle.The success of electric can openers was achieved in the late 1950s.A recent redesign of a side-cutting model continues the development of new can opener types.
The Dutch Navy used tin cans to store food from at least 1772.There was a small canned salmon industry in the Netherlands before 1800.Freshly caught salmon was smoked and put in iron boxes.In 1797 a British company supplied one of their clients with 13 cans of canned salmon.Peter Durand patented the preservation of food in tin cans.Bryan Donkin set up the world's first canning factory in London in 1813 after acquiring the patent in 1812.
By 1822 canned food was a recognized article in the United States.The first cans were robust containers which weighed more than the food they contained and required ingenuity to open.The cans have instructions on how to cut the top near the outer edge.The cost and effort of a new tool may be the reason for the gap between the invention of the can and can opener.[5]
The canning process was refined and mechanized during the 1800s.The can-opener was patented in the 19th century.Each can came with a spot-welded or soldered-on twist-key can-opener, which snapped off after fatiguing the metal by bending at a thin region.Each food type had a different can type.Tinned fish and meat were sold in cans.These cans were fitted with a twist-key that would roll around the top of the can.Coffee, beans, and other types of meat were packaged in cylinders with metal strips that could be peeled back with their own built-in keys that would roll around the top of the can.There are puncture devices in cans of milk.[5]
General-purpose can openers have a primitive claw-shaped or "lever-type" design.Robert Yeates invented the first claw-ended can opener with a hand-operated tool that haggled its way around the top of metal cans.[16]
A lever-type opener of a more complex shape was patented in the United States in 1858.It was pushed into the can and sawed around its edge.The guard kept the can from being penetrated too far.The opener had parts that could be replaced if they were worn out.The opener was used by the United States Army during the American Civil War, but it was too dangerous for domestic use.The "Bull's head opener" was designed in 1865 and was supplied with cans of "bully beef".The opener was made of cast iron and had a very similar construction to the Yeates opener, but it was the first move towards improving the look of the can opener.The bull-headed design was also offered with a fish-head shape.[3]
The Baumgarten firm produced the first rotating wheel can opener in the 1890s.The can was to be pierced with a metal rod.The lever had to be fixed with the wing nut and adjusted to fit the can size.The can's top was cut by pressing the wheel into the can near the edge and rotating it along the rim.[19]
The can opener design did not survive because of the need to pierce the can first.In 1920, Edwin Anderson patented a can opener with pivoted handles that held the can in one hand while a key-type handle cut the outside of the lip.The Star Can opener Company of San Francisco, California improved the design by adding a second wheel, called a "feed wheel", which allowed a firm grip of the can edge.The addition was so efficient that it is still being used today.30][31][32][33][34]
The can-holding openers hold the can and open it at the same time.The Bunker Clancey Company of Kansas City, Missouri patented the "Bunker" opener in 1931.When squeezed tightly, the handles would grip the can rim, while turning the key would cut the lid along the rim.The cutting wheel is coupled to a feed wheel that is serrated and rotates in the opposite direction.The Bunker company was absorbed by the Rival Manufacturing Company.[3]
There was a new style of can opener in the 1980s.These openers use a roller and cutting wheel to cut through the outside seam of the can, which is different from other openers who remove the lid by cutting down through it.The can is left with a relatively safe, non-jagged edge, and the top can be set back on top as a cover, although it does not provide a seal.The feed wheel teeth are located at the bottom of a V-shaped grooves, which surrounds the rim on three sides.36 and 37
The church key refers to a simple hand-operated device for removing the cap from a glass bottle, which was invented in 1892.The first church key style opener was patented in Canada in 1900.40
The shape and design of some of the early "church key" opener's fulcrum hole resembled that of a large old key.Steel beer cans with flat tops appeared in 1935, and a device to pierce the lids was needed.The cans were pierced with the same opener.It was made from a single piece of pressed metal and has a sharp point at one end.Sometimes the church key opener is part of another opener.A "butterfly" opener is often a combination of the church key and a serrated-wheel opener.
Several can openers with a simple and robust design have been developed for military use.The P-38 and P-51 are small can openers that have a cutter on the main body.They were known as John Wayne because he opened a can of K-rations in a training film.The P-38 can opener has a small metal tooth that folds out to pierce the can lid and is about 1.5 inches long.A notch under the hinge point keeps the opener from being pulled around the rim of the can.It is easier to operate a larger version of P-51.The canned field ration of the United States armed forces was issued from World War II to the 1980s.The P-38 and P-51 are smaller and lighter to carry than most other can openers.A small punched hole can be used to attach the device to the dog tag chain.[49]
The official military designation for the P-38 is "US Army pocket can opener" and "Opener, can, hand, folding, type I".The origin of the term is not known with certainty.The P-38 and P-51 openers share the same designation as the P 38 Lightning and North American P 51 mustang fighters.The P-38 and P51 are more pedestrian and measure 1.5 in and 2.0 in respectively.50
canned C-rations were replaced by soft-pack MREs in the 1980s, as P-38s are no longer used for individual ration by the United States armed forces.They are included in the United States military's canned bulk meals.They have been handed out alongside canned food by rescue organizations both in America and Afghanistan.The original US-contract P-38 can openers were manufactured by two companies."U.S.Shelby Co."
The Australian Defence Force and New Zealand Army use a similar device that has a spoon at one end and a bottle opener at the other.The acronym "FRED" stands for Field Ration Eating device.It's also known as the "Fuck Ridiculous Eating device".[52]
A similar device was included with the British Army's "Operational Ration Pack, General Purpose" ration pack.They were manufactured by W. P. Warren Engineering Co.The instructions printed on the miniature, greaseproof paper bag in which they were packed said that their design was not identical to the P-38 and P-51 can openers.[51]
Most military ration can openers have a very simple design and can be used for civilian purposes.The P-38 and P-51 were small folding openers that were popular in the Eastern European countries.[54]