Sharpening a Can Opener

We've had this U.S.A. made Swing-A-Way for fifteen years and it shows no signs of wearing out: around $9 online. I think the solution to your problem is just getting a quality can opener and you won't have to sharpen it! Here's a link to a picture I found that most closely resembles ours.

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1278254

All I do is rinse it off under hot water, dab the excess water off with a towel, put it in the dish drainer to air dry before putting it back into an enclosed drawer. Hope that makes your life easier!

You could probably sharpen the can opener by using an old metal file, and run it along the inside edges of the sharpener blade. My husband has purchased a lot of old tools at estate sales and some garage sales.

I've read that you can sharpen scissors by cutting up a sheet of sandpaper, very fine grit, I assume. I wonder if that would work with a can opener?

I fold up a small sheet of aluminum foil and run it through the blade a couple of times. It seems to do the trick.

For about 50 cents you can buy a new blade at an applicance repair center. Or maybe it's 75 cents by now....