Memories of this most handy kitchen gadget include:
- Mom opening a stubborn jar of pickles
- Dad popping the cap off a bottle of Schlitz
- Me using the smaller end to pry open a tin of Nestle’s Quick
- The satisfying phuup of the vacuum seal breaking
It was the first thing I took when I knew Mom was never going back home.
Cedar Waxwing's 365 
It’s weird the things we take, isn’t it? I’m going to write about one or two.
I’m so glad you have such good memories of such a handy gadget.
Not so weird with this object. I coveted it for years. It’s REALLY handy.
And now you’ve let me remember all those same things (though the beer was probably Genesee cream ale).
I have to say, this looks like a perfect tool. And that last line felt like you’d just taken it to my gut.
Does anyone know the time period? 40’s or 50’s?? Just curious. My mom said that my dad had it before she met him. They married in 1960…
According to the patent number search results, it was parented in late 1951. http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=2,571,401.PN.&OS=PN/2,571,401&RS=PN/2,571,401