Kenwood CO 606 > Reviews (8)

***Background***

When I got married last year, we decided to set up an Argos wedding list because we already had most items that we needed for our home and didn't want stuck with lots of doubles. The Argos list is a great way to do this as you can put a variety of price ranges on it so that it caters for everyone.

About 10 years ago I had a tumour removed from the bone in my right hand and I find it very difficult to open cans with a normal tin opener or with those little metal keys that you find on tins of ham or corned beef, so when I saw this in the Argos catalogue it went straight on the list. We were lucky enough to receive it and it has been invaluable ever since.

***What Does It Do?***

Apart from the obvious factor of opening tin cans, this little beauty also has a knife sharpener at the back and a bottle opener at the front underneath where the tins go - well I had to sell it to my hubby and any bottle opener is sure to be a plus for his bottles of beer to go with barbecues in the summer.

The knife sharpener has two slits in it - one for smaller knives and one for our new and bigger ones that we also received as a wedding gift. This is operated by holding the knife in the relevant slot and pressing the same lever on top that makes the tin opener work. It is much safer to use than the manual sharpener we had before and it requires a lot less effort.

The bottle opener is a standard one and is just a nice little gadget.

***Opening Tins***

When I first saw this I was a little bit confused because the one I had many years ago was a hand held one. This one is slightly different in the fact that you have to lift the lever on the top before clipping the tin onto it and securing the lid to the magnet on the top.

My hubby had a go and managed no problems but it did take me a few tries before getting the knack just right. It holds the tin up high and as you press the lever down the can turns round and the blade takes the lid off.

I'm always a bit frightened that the can will somehow drop off and keep a hand underneath it while opening it although even after the lid is off it still stays put on the contraption until you lift the lever fully up. The lid conveniently stays attached to the magnetic bit at the top so there is little chance of cutting yourself on the sharp edge.

This is one gadget that does get used constantly and whether it's for opening traditionally round cans of peas, carrots, spaghetti or soup, or opening bigger and differently shaped tins such as cold ham or corned beef, this works perfectly every time.

***Maintenance***

Cleaning it can be a little bit of a pain because with it being chrome with black trim, every little bit of daily dust shows up and it can go a bit streaky if just wiped with a damp cloth so it's best to dry it afterwards to keep it nice and shiny.

The blade for cutting the tin can get a bit messy, just the same as a manual tin opener can but this one can be removed for cleaning. This is something we haven't felt the need to do though, because I've found that I can clean it while it is still attached.

***Other Information***

It has non-slip feet on the bottom so this won't slide about on your worktop. We keep it set near the wall and find it easy just to lift forward and then it stays in place well while we use it.

With this having an attached power cord you might be worried that it will end up draping itself all over the kitchen, but there is no need for worry because there is a clever little pouch at the back of the unit that holds the excess cord and can be removed or replaced as needed.

***My Thoughts***

I have to say that I'm wondering how I managed before we got this handy little item. Now that I've had it for a reasonable time, I feel I can whole-heartedly recommend it for anyone that gets fed up of struggling with a standard tin opener. My hand really stiffens up in the winter and normally it's quite a dreaded task to open any tin but this gadget has taken all that dread away. The way it opens the tins, also means that I'm not worrying about cutting myself on the sharp edges of the lid and there is less spillage this way with more messy or runny contents.

The tin opener also looks good on the worktop and the non-slip pads and the flex pouch are all little extra things that you might not think about when buying one of these, but do come in very useful.

The bottle opener seems to work on the beer bottles or at least my husband doesn't complain otherwise and the knife sharpener is really good too. We had some older knives that had gone a little bit blunt over time and they came up almost as good as new after using this.

All in all I have no complaints at all with this item. It does everything it should in an easy way.

***Price & Availability***

The price in the Argos book is £12.99, which I feel is quite reasonable considering how useful this has been to me. It is also available from Amazon though for the slightly cheaper price of £10.99 and is available on their free delivery package if you are spending over £15 so that is worth thinking about too.