The Can Opener Key: An Old School Way to Open Your Favorite Tinned Food
Enter American inventor Ezra J. Warner. He patented the first official can opener on January 5, 1858. Remember, cans had become thinner at this point in time, and the classic hammer and chisel was no longer the only way to open them. So Warner created a can opener that cut into the lid and sawed around the rim.
In 1866, J. Osterhoudt patented the opener key, which was basically a key-shaped blade that sawed around the edge of the cans. Many canned products came with their own keys designed to open that particular item, such as tinned fish, meat, beans, and coffee. This key is perhaps the least known can opener and it is also the one that least resembles the openers we are familiar with. It’s become obsolete for the most part but if you manage to come across one, you can now recognize it for its unique part of history.
The first all-purpose can opener appeared in 1870 when William Lyman patented the first rotary cutter. It resembled a bent bayonet with wheels operated by a crank that rolled around the edge of the can. But Lyman’s invention did not resemble the openers we use today. That design came from Charles Arthur Bunker in the 1920s. He expanded on the rotary design, but the initial piercing and wheel operation was challenging to use.
So, in 1925, the Star Can Opener Co. added a second wheel to grasp the can’s edge. This design became key in the opener you commonly see today. But in the 1980s came the “smooth edge” design that avoids jagged edges and doesn’t touch the food inside.
