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The photo can't show how securely the notched wheel (on the right) is mounted but I can assure you the spindle diameter is twice that of cheaper openers. But the key to the design is the mounting of the blade (which has its own idling notched wheel to grip the other side of the rim of the tin). For one thing the spindle is mounted at an angle. Thus when the driven wheel and blade are squeezed together they operate optimally. Second, even when spindle and blade begin to wear, they are held in position by the curved spring which engages with the free end of the spindle.
I'm afraid it's all a bit wordy. The qualities are easier to understand when you see the Brabantia "in the metal". It only remains for me to add I am not in the pay of Brabantia. I simply like things that work, and this does.
2 comments:
As far as I am concerned, there are two kinds of tin-opener - those which cut out the top off the tin from inside the rim and those which slice off the top of the tin from below the rim. The latter will open any type of tin and doesn't seem to wear out. I am devoted to ours. I am not sure where the Brabantia cuts the tin, but I enjoy your account of the mechanism.
Weh ist mir! In concentrating on spindles and notched wheels I missed the main point. Because it is well designed the Brabantia is a delight to use. Also, wear doesn't render tin openers useless it makes them harder to use and less of a pleasure. And to answer Plutarch's specific question, the Brabantia operates within rather than under the rim of the tin
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