I don’t see why pressing the “V” into the lid “defeats the purpose” of the V-style jar opener. It opens jars – jars that in some cases are pretty much impossible to open unless you’re Superman.
The real problem with very tight, stubborn lids is that you need to get a very tight grip on the jar, not with the grip or leverage of the device itself. When I get a jar that’s super-stubborn and the usual method of unscrewing the lid with jar upright fails, I end up leaning on the jar placed horizontally on the counter over the edge of the sink while pulling on the jar opener handle. I get lots more leverage that way.
My point is, the times I’ve tried to use them, you need to be Superman to press the jar into the V hard enough to make it work. I didn’t seem like the strength required to use the opener was much less than the strength required to open the jar by hand. But I’ve only tried to use them a few times, in rental houses and such, so I’m willing to believe that I’ve just encountered some crappy models.
Not all Leathermans works the same. I recently got a Leatherman Free P4, which operates the way you describe your Gerber: all the tools open outward, without deploying the pliers, and they all lock in position when opened. It’s 8.6 oz compared to the Gerber’s 10.2 oz, but for something to be carried around with you, I wouldn’t consider higher weight to be an advantage.
Seems kind of odd that three significant manufacturers of folding knives, Leatherman, Gerber and Kershaw, are all based in Portland Oregon. What is the thing about cutting stuff in that area?
During the “grams of fat” craze in the mid 1990s, a friend of mine said, “If your meals consist entirely of things that have the grams of fat printed on the side of the package, you are not eating healthy.” She was right.
I got a plastic version of that at Harbor Freight for a couple dollars, when my online resale business took off (before its eventually collapse, of course). It’s great for measuring the thickness of packages. I didn’t know it was called a Vernier, just a caliper.
“Vernier” is the type of mechanical readout it has on the side. The device is a “Caliper”, even if it’s a Vernier caliper. You can put vernier scales on lots of things. And you can have a caliper without a vernier scale (as is the case with digital readout calipers).
I have one made from a corn cob on a stick. Piece of binder twine on the handle so you can hang it up. Neighbor was a Park Ranger and he made them in the park where they demonstrated farm tools. Works great.
While opening a stubborn jar recently, I remembered this thread.
I now have a can opener that operates similar to the V shaped ones, but comes at the problem from all sides evenly so you aren’t pushing the lid to one side. It also helps solve the issue of holding onto the jar, as it comes with a silicon base to help keep the jar from turning in your hand. My favorite part is that the turning of the device to remove the lid happens in concert with the tightening around the lid, so if the lid is only slightly stubborn, it automatically uses less pressure around the lid.
I also agree with the smooth edge can opener suggestions, but they were always a bit finicky. Either I’ve gotten far better at using them or the one I use now is just superior, as I haven’t had a tricky opening in years.
Last year, I injured my shoulder and could not sleep on that side (my favorite side to sleep, of course!). The alarm clock is on that side of the bed. I haven’t used it as an alarm for years. I wake up before I have to on my own. But if I wake up in the middle of the night, I have to know what time it is. I bought an alarm clock that projects the time on the ceiling or wall, depending on where you aim it. So now, even though my shoulder has healed, I just have to glance at the ceiling and VOILA! there’s the time.
Digital calipers still use a vernier scale–it’s just electronic and internal (Specifically, they test the capacitive coupling between two arrays of conductors with slightly different spacing. Like a visual vernier scale, they can test which one of them lines up the best and get a more accurate reading than if they estimated the coupling directly.)
