Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Oxo Jar Opener

The Oxo Jar Opener with Base Pad makes jar-opening easy. Put the jar on the Base Pad, slide the Opener onto the lid, and turn.

I bought an OJO last year after developing a case of trigger thumb — which turned into a much worse case when I tried to open an impossible jar. My thumb is back in operation, but I continue to use this tool. Every jar should have one.

comments: 4

Chris said...

The only jar opener we have ever used is an Edlund Top-off produced in Burlington, VT that dates from the 1940s or early '50s. (According to family legend it was given to us by the inventor of the device, although it was patented in the 1930s.) The patent is here: http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?id=42269

It does require two hands, but it does the trick 100% of the time for any lid large enough to engage with its grippers. For whatever reason it seems not to have become popular. I gather that the Edlund company is still in business, although its operations are now oriented towards the food service industry.

Michael Leddy said...

Neat! There are several for sale on eBay.

Slywy said...

My mother had one of those (although I can't swear it was the same brand). I'd forgotten about it until I saw a photo.

shallnot said...

This opener reminded me of the "Gripper" found in the book Handmade Helps for Disabled Living by Stuart E. Grainger from 1990. That could be modified for one-handed use.

A very good book to look for. A review can be found at http://web.archive.org/web/20160418083222/http://www.gearability.com/2007/04/handmade-helps-for-disabled-living/