What you see above is the coolest old kitchen gadget I own. I have no idea what it’s called, if it even has a name, but I know I’d like to find a new one just like it. I doubt they exist anymore. Kitchen gadgets have mostly gone electric these days … which is a shame, but makes me laugh when I hear from friends or neighbors that they couldn’t open a can of food because the electricity was out. :D
This gadget is a depression-era device I saved from being thrown away after my grandfather died. At the time, I wasn’t sure what it was or what it could do, but I knew it looked interesting and had always been in my grandmother’s kitchen drawer. Those were reasons enough for me to think it should be saved. It didn’t take too long for me to realize it was ever so handy with opening tight jar lids. All you do is put the toothed edge on one side, the handle edge on the other, screw the handle in and give it a twist. I haven’t encountered any jars it couldn’t tackle easily without me having to break a sweat trying to get the lid off. It also functions as a can opener and bottle opener, and I suspect it has other uses I haven’t even discovered yet.
The best thing about it though is how worn it is and how I know my grandmother must have used it countless times while working in her kitchen. I won’t ever part with it, even if I do find a new one just like it (which I doubt will ever happen). Maybe someday, far in the future, when I am willing and ready to bring my kitchen tools into the modern age, I’ll make a shadow box display for all the old kitchen gadgets I have rescued from oblivion. For now, I’m going to keep using my old, outdated but still quite useful gadgetry. Just because something is old and worn doesn’t make it useless. I wouldn’t trade you the newest and best can/jar opener on the market today for my old can/jar opener with chipped paint and rough edges. At least I can rest calmly in the knowledge that when the nuclear holocaust happens, I’ll still be able to open my jars and cans … and with that pointy bit, I might even be able to fight off home invaders. :lol:
We just used to stick the jars where the door is hinged and then close the door slowly on the edges of the lid. It worked just about every time. And if it didn’t, we kept a sturdy metal nutcracker to use on jars as well. I guess people were always figuring out a way to get something done and used what they had. :D
I probably have a dozen different off-the-wall ways to get jar lids off, because I have never been able to open a new jar of anything. Humans are creative monkeys when necessity requires it. :D