How To Open a Can Without a Can Opener In 9 Effective Ways?

You must have been on camping trips with your friends, family, or colleagues. And for easy accessibility, you must find it convenient to carry canned goods. But, there must be times when you forget to carry the most important thing needed to open the cans i.e., a can opener.  

Not only on camping trips but on various other occasions as well, when we don’t have a can opener with us, we try different ways to open the cans. A few of them turn out to be easy, and some are a bit messy. In these situations, we have this thought at least once “how to open a can without a can opener?”. 

So, let us give you the answer to that question. Let’s try these handy methods that incorporate common tools around your home to open your can without a can opener.

1. Open The Can With Chef’s Knife

Imagine you are at home and decide to watch your favorite movie while eating noodles. But suddenly you remember you broke your can opener last time. Then how will you open your noodle without a can opener? Well, you don’t have to get sad, you can open it using the chef’s knife placed in your kitchen. But you have to be alert and take precautions to prevent injury.

• Step 1- Take the can and chef’s knife, then put the can on a stable surface, and hold it firmly with one hand.
• Step 2- Take the knife and grip it with four fingers where the blade connects to the handle, then place the knife at the outer edge of the lid of your can.
• Step 3- Apply pressure on the knife so that it creates a hole in the lid.
• Step 4- After creating the hole, insert the tip of your knife in that hole and push the knife through the whole circumference of the lid. You can peel off the remaining lid with your hands too.

2. Open The Can With The Shaving Blade

Have problems in opening cans? Then use the shaving blade. This method will be risky because of the sharp edges of the blade. So you have to be careful while doing this stunt. Hold the blade with a thin piece of cloth. So that you don’t end up cutting your fingertips.

• Step 1- From the free hand hold the can tightly on a flat surface and put the sharp edge of the blade on the can’s lid.
• Step 2- Keep applying the pressure, or you can also rub it on the same place in back and forth motion due to which the lid will become thin and eventually it will cut down.
• Step 3- After that, you can cut down the entire lid easily with the blade of a butter knife and open your can.

3. Open The Can With A Metal Spoon

You can open your can even with the spoon with which you eat.

• Step 1- Take a strong metal spoon and position it along the lid in a manner that the spoon faces the inner edge. While doing this, grip the spoon tightly. Otherwise, you will not be able to open the can.
• Step 2- Now, rub the tip of the spoon in the back-and-forth motion until the metal thins, and eventually, a small hole forms.
• Step 3- After that, insert the metal spoon just as much as you can inside the hole and start moving it along the circumference of the lid.
• Step 4-  After cutting at least one-fourth of the lid, you can continue opening it with the spoon or peel it off with your hands carefully.

While opening the can, make sure that you are holding the spoon facing toward the can properly. Otherwise, you will end up injuring yourself.

4. Open The Can With A Pair Of Pliers

Need a can opener? Use a pair of pliers.

• Step 1- Place the can on a plane surface, then hold the can firmly with one hand to prevent injury.
• Step 2- Take the plier and put it at the edge of the lid with a tight grip, and try to pull it off. Pinch the rim with the plier and keep pulling it in an upward motion. Eventually, the lid will come out a little bit.
• Step 3-  After that, place the heel of the knife on the inside of the lid’s raised lip and apply some force in the upward direction, and you can pry open the lid, without a can opener.

5. Open The Can With A Swiss Army Knife

No matter whether you lost your can opener or your can opener breaks, or the can opener stop working, you don’t have to worry if you have a swiss army knife with you. The swiss army knife, also known as the multi-tool knife can become your can opener and solve your problem.

In some swiss army knives, a can opener is also present. You can use it to open cans. And if it is not present in yours, then don’t worry! You can simply use the knife present in it for opening your cans.

• Step 1- Place the can on a stable surface, then hold the can with one hand with a tight grip.
• Step 2- After that, place the sharp tip of the knife on the can’s lid and apply pressure on the lid. You have to use little elbow grease to do this.

You can also move it in oscillatory motion, and it will create a slit on the lid. Insert your knife in the cut and move it around the can’s rim.

Do it in a way that you won’t end up creating metal shavings. Otherwise, it will go into the food inside, which will make it harmful to eat because there will be no use in opening the can if you can’t eat the food in the end.

6. Open The Can With A Pair Of Scissors

Yes, you read it right. You can use scissors to open your cans.

• Step 1- Place the can on a plane surface. With one hand hold the scissors, with a tight grip, and with the free hand hold the can.
• Step 2- Now, put the tip of the scissor on the can’s lid. Then, start moving it in a back-and-forth motion with firm pressure. It will start thinning the metal, and after some time, there will be a hole in the can’s edge.
• Step 3- After that, you can easily cut it with the scissor by putting one blade inside and the other one outside the can.

7. Open The Can With A Pocketknife

Do you have a pocket knife? You can use it to open the can instead of the can opener. It is very easy to open the can with the help of a pocket knife.

• Step 1- Put the can on a plane area and grip it with one hand. Take the pocket knife and put its sharp tip on the lid of the can.
• Step 2- With force start moving it into and fro motion to create friction. The area where you are doing this will start getting weak and in the meantime, it will break and there will be a hole in the lid.
• Step 3- Now, push the knife through the perimeter of the lid and it will pry open.

8. Open The Can On A Rock Or Concrete

If you don’t have any tools around you and have to open a can without using the can opener, then let’s use the tools provided by the nature itself i.e., rocks. This method will be the messiest one because some of the can’s contents will come out while opening the can. So, try this method only when there is no other way for you.

• Step 1- Find a flat rock or concrete piece with a rough surface, and place the upside-down can on the rock.
• Step 2-  Now, put your hand on the can and hold it firmly. Repeatedly rub the can over the rock in a scrubbing motion with firm pressure until moisture appears. With this rubbing, the seal of the lid will get weakened.
• Step 3- After that, carefully pry open the can lid without using the knife to avoid injury.

9. Open The Can With A Hammer

In this method, we will use two things to open the can i.e., a flat-head screwdriver and a hammer.

• Step 1- Take the can and put it on a table or a plane slab. Then put the screwdriver on the rim of the can.
• Step 2- With the hammer, tap on the head of the screwdriver. Keep doing it a few times, and it will generate a hole.
• Step 3- Keep repeating the process to create holes in the circumference of the lid. Later on, with the help of a knife pry it open.

Conclusion

Cans are used for packaging various items such as food, paints, drinks, etc., and with all this comes the problem of opening them. We do have can openers for opening them. But there are some situations in which we don’t have our savior, our can opener. It can be because it is broken or you forgot to bring it along with you. So, we are left with the can without a can opener.

You don’t have to worry about “how to open your can without a can opener?” and use these ways through which you can open your can without a can opener.

Last Updated on August 31, 2023 by kalidaspandian