P-38 Can Opener and P-51 Can Opener - Manual - Stainless Steel

I have a military issue one in storage. Most people tend to buy $5 pos can openers that break or they lose them or any number of scenarios. Now, I have one that fits with my gear that I can always have with me and be used at home or work. It's very sturdy. It does take some effort to use but that's to be expected. I love these things! Now, if you're going to carry it on a key chain or in a pocket, I do recommend putting tape over the blade so it doesn't get stuck and puncture or cut anything. That's about it. Pretty straightforward. These are inexpensive and invaluable to have around. Buy a couple. Especially if you camp or are weird like me and just carry around emergency gear. ...not sure what emergency a can opener will solve but, uh, we'll discuss that later. 🤷

Mine is from 1944. It's been on my key ring for many years. There are no sharp edge remaining on the outside and it's worn smooth. I don't know what they made these things of, but it still works perfect. Once you learn how to use one, you never forget, and it only takes about twice the time to open a can with one of these as a hand crank opener. For those whiners that can't figure out how to use it or it hurts their fingers, I have a little piece of advice for you, sign up with your local recruiter. As a civilian, about the last thing you will use this thing for is opening a can. You use for prying open battery compartments to replace batteries, cutting tape on boxes, cutting string, as a flat blade screw driver or use a corner as a Phillips head, and scratching the corrosion off something. This Christmas I decided to surprise my 27-year-old son and not ask him what he wanted for Christmas. I made him up a key chain like mine made up of: - This P38 (had to drill the hole slightly larger to fit over the Lucky Line 81101 Key Ring) - Stanley 39-130 3 x 1/4-Inch PowerLock Key Tape (used all the time when I'm buying stuff in the store) - Leatherman 831189 Squirt PS4 (pliers is great, the scissors and knife are Exacto-blade-sharp, and the airlines will steal it from you) - Kingston DTSE9H/8GBZET Flash drive (Very useful when you need to bring back a copy of something, or give someone else a copy. It's smaller than any key, one-piece metal, no ridiculous cap to lose, and you won't drive off and leave it stuck in a computer somewhere because your car keys are with it.) - Kikkerland Camera Magnifier with LED Light (MG43) (when you're working something in a dark area trying to read half-worn-off model numbers or finding something you dropped outside at night. It uses replaceable CR927 batteries that haven't ever had to be replaced, and best of all, SMALL. With chain and all, it is no longer than my car key.) - Lucky Line 81101 Key Ring to tie it all together (The 81101 cable key ring doesn't unlock when you don't want it to. However, in addition to the movie, it required some practice on my part to get the hang of locking and unlocking it.) The cable key ring beats the stars out of rigid key rings because a flexible cable enables everything to lay flat in your pocket, so it doesn't poke you when you squat down, or shred your pocket when you pull it out. The only thing on it with any significant weight, is the tiny version of the Leatherman. This combo has saved me untold time time being able to fix things on the spot without having to stop to fetch tools, slice open boxes, after maneuvering into a dark cramped area being able to read half worn away serial numbers, and being able to measure things in the store to make sure that I return with the correct size. That's about a $40 key chain, and you can never know how Christmas surprises will go over. Well, I hit it out of the park this time. I also learned something along the way. The new P38 looks exactly the same as mine, but they don't work exactly the same. On both his P38 and P51, the blade snaps shut. Mine flops back and forth. I remembered that mine was that way when it was new. Even though I like the smooth worn condition of the one I have, and my worn one has never caused me a problem, I ordered a new one. Now I have another problem. Others want one like we have, and I'm ordering again, so I decided to document it here in case someone else likes the combination.

SIMPLE AND PERFECT

It is stainless steel and worked pretty well. The cut out that is suppose to go on the seam of the can did bend a little on the P-51 with some cans. This isn't a big deal, and mostly you just have to be careful to make sure that the cut out fits on the seam properly.

First, since there are multiple sellers, I got mine from the seller "Gadgetscollection", and I rate them 100% good on the transaction -- so this may not apply to the business practice of other sellers. That said, let's move on. My need for this arose from one of those can openers that you clip onto the cans and clamps down like a pliers; the one that has a round disc harrow that punches into the can. The harrow is driven by gear cog that in turn is connected to a hand crank. The problem with this type (or just specifically mine) can opener is the harrow does not seem to dig down far enough to puncture the can. It can be because the opener is "old and tired", but it certainly isn't "old and reliable". It also does not like non-round cans (think Sardines type sized cans), or odd shaped cans because the hand crank wheel has teeth that is suppose to grab the underside of the can lip, well, doesn't grip. Coming back to the P38 or P51, it cuts by basically a lever action, that pivots on the metal cut out on the can-opener which forces the cutting blade through the can. You simply re-position the pivot point a little bit down the can circumference and repeat the action until the can is opened enough for your liking. The P51 is about the length of your top two finger joints (index or middle finger), and the P38 is about the length of your top two pinky joints. They're tiny compared to the previously said can-opener, but functionally much better. Don't worry about the small size -- unless you have severe arthritis. It can pretty much be operated by any average adult (or even your teenager). Now, since it works great, and it is small, there's a definite possibility of one losing it simply by misplacing it. My solution is to put the large one in a plastic AA re-chargeable battery container, and then put that in the fork/spoon utensil bin. I always clean it after I use it (quick wash and dry off w/ towel) and put it right back. I put the small one on my key-chain. I hope this information is useful to you. The (less than) two dollars this cost seems like good value to me. Just take good care of them, and they will last you for quite a long time.

Bought them to take with me on camping trips. I really like them. Easy to use and takes up virtually no space.