EZ-DUZ-IT 3028 Deluxe Can Opener with Grips, Black

Why it's worth it

The EZ-DUZ-IT 3028 is heavy-gauge chromed steel with a carbon-steel wheel and gear-driven action, the same basic design commercial kitchens have leaned on for decades. It costs a fraction of what the picks above do, and it'll probably outlast them.

Steel is the whole argument here. The frame is heavy-gauge chromed steel and the cutting wheel is carbon steel, so there's no plastic gear to strip and no housing to crack. Cheap openers almost always fail at exactly those two points, often within a year. Restaurants buy this design because replacing openers every few months gets old fast.

The gear action is smoother than a no-frills tool has any right to be. Gear-driven openers turn steadily instead of skipping around the rim, and published reviews rate this one against openers several times as expensive. The rubberized handles aren't plush, but they're thick enough to spread the pressure across your palm instead of digging into it.

From our review of 10 can openers, by David Sinclair, Managing Editor

What we like

• +Steel is the whole argument here
• +The gear action is smoother than a no-frills tool has any right to be
• +Nothing on it can break, because there's nothing on it

What to know

• –The lid it leaves is sharp
• –No extras, and it's hand-wash only