 What a stunning exposition on the subject. Frankly, I wonder whether your deep knowledge and obvious affection for the subject of tin-openers is a result of too many nights spent in a wet tent, solo camping?!
For the first time, I understand why cack-handed types like me can't get the things to work. I was always told it was because I was too clumsy or stupid (which may also be true, but I'll need a left-handed tin-opener to find out).
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 Marcus, just learn to use one right handed - thats what I do.
I'm too polite to comment on your other supposition ;-)
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.jpg) In the States there are people who collect barbed wire and machinery for making it. They have scholarly journals, musems, all that. They even have bad guys who turn up at barbed wire fairs with wire they've made on antique machinery and try to pass off as antique wire. What scoundrels!
Marcus, I invite you to salute Mr O'Connor's scholarship and to infer from the date of the article that he's sending himself up. Just a bit.
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 Ah! I have just realised that this marks the anniversary of my discovering this website. I thought last years April 1st article was so brilliant I e-mailed the link to all my friends.
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Trust they had no trouble opening it.
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The article might have been intended as humour, but I derived a great deal of benefit from it!
More, please. (Looking forward to the one about thingies for getting stones out of horse's hooves).
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 I thought it the best piece of darin' investigative journalism since Watergate
:-))
Changing the thread slightly, does anyone else still drag cans of food around nowadays? If so, what?
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 Calling all lefties!!!!!
Anythinglefthanded does a selection of Wenger left handed knives, prices are greater than the standard and they're fairly basic models - dont be expecting multitools either.
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I'm left handed, but I'm not sure I can see the point in a left handed penknife!
Its not like its tricky to open it with your right hand or anything.
Perhaps I'm just pandering to the right handed majority though, and should make a stand for equality for all lefthanders.
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Check with Wenger first for prices. Dunno about Wenger UK but Wenger France do sell retail and will supply catalogue extracts on request - caution, the range is vast.
Generally, left-handed knives have nail-grooves on the opposite side of the blades and the decking layout, scissor blades, corkscrews and so on may be reversed. There's quite a bit of non-standard work, hence the increased labour costs.
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Can I just add that the British Army 'Y' opener is fantastic for opening cans? Takes only 6 swipes and you are left with something that looks like a can from the pages of the Beano. It does require a bit of care to get the food out without lacerating your hands, but all the others take far too long to muck about with (although in fairness I can't say that I've used the French ones). The downside of the British Army knife is that it must weigh about a pound with a hefty great blade and a marlin spike that could gouge a hole in a tank. I'm not sure what it says about the British Army, but later versions seem to have removed the bottle opener. It may also be that something that fantastically crude works equally well for left handers… Now does anyone know where the thread for removing stones from horses' hooves is?
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 On a horse owners foum I'd imagine! 
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Anyway, you don't want to go using one of those little ration pack tin openers, as it spoils the tin then, so that one cannot go onto making an impromptu improvised meths stove from it afterwards!
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Even the tin openers on Swiss army knives are better than the ration pack can openers for goodness sakes! Anyway, why not just pick cans of food with the more modern peel off ring-pull tops instead! No need for carrying any opener at all then!
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| Edited: 29/06/08 12:16 |
 > The downside of the British Army knife is that it must weigh about a pound with a hefty great blade and a marlin spike that could gouge a hole in a tank. That's the cavalry version. And it's a pritchel, not a marlinspike; it's a thing for getting small boys out of horses hooves...
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All I wanted to do was buy a can opener and youshow me a load of crap that I can't get into. Cross me off.
D.Lawson
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> All I wanted to do was buy a can opener Can I suggest a shop?
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| Edited: 23/06/10 12:46 |
