Do people open tricky jars by stabbing them with a knife?

[YesILikeItToo]

I’ve just stopped my mother from stabbing a sharp knife into a metal jar lid directly from above. I was pretty shocked, it seems to me obviously dangerous. She said that’s what her mate does. Do people do this? Or is she covering up the fact that she made a poor decision? I’ve seen a couple of other examples of patently unsafe ‘work arounds’ and I’m starting to wonder what to do about it.

Give the lid a sharp bang against a hard surface, works every time

I do it. I secretly love the risk.

It's terrible.... then you can't properly close it 🤦🏻‍♀️

I use a knife to break the seal from under the lid

Strap wrench

Are you my mother usernamenotavailable?

I do that or use the grip things.

Jar key, which releases the vacuum. A friend with the knife habit said it was her best 80th birthday present!

Until recently, yep. This was what I grew up with as THE lid opening approach. But then I bought a silicone gripper, and that does the job.

This is actually genius

OP I also stab jars with knives (and haven't come to any harm as yet!)

Yes, it's a proven way of opening a jar. Nothing the matter with it.

No, I don't think so.

I pour boiling water over the metal cap to make the metal expand. If it still won't budge, I use an octopus lever, a sort of heavy rubber band thing with a long handle that grips the lid and makes it easier to open.

Yes, this was a definite thing in my childhood. Best used on jars of pickled onions, with the added bonus that you could sprinkle the vinegar onto your chips through the hole(s) you'd just made in the lid.

I've done this loads of times. Never stabbed myself yet.

You can put a bit of tape over the hole to seal it again.

All the other methods - jar key, knives inserted and twisted, picking up and bashing on the countertop, running under hot water, rubber gloves and silicon grips - are dependent upon a considerable amount of grip strength and dexterity both in a small area and when exerting pressure over a wide area/holding a large, heavy, sometimes wet jar without it slipping, something I don't have due to Psoriatic Arthritis. And all the manipulating a gripper tool bloody hurts. So those methods can fail.

But I can always hold a sharp knife like a serial killer, no problem - because it doesn't involve anything more than a light fist and a combination of gravity, acceleration and arm weight. It also makes me feel better to have beaten the bastarding lid rather than have it beat me.

How much does the stabbing damage one's knives?
I imagine makes them less sharp & danger the handle will break.

But...they do! It's very common, so making a sweeping statement to the contrary is not helpful!

I'm not saying it's the best way...but is is a common method of breaking the seal 🤷‍♀️

When I have tried everything else, i.e. rubber gloves, the lid opener tool and giving the lid a bang on the work surface and nothing has worked, stabbing a little hole in the lid works every time.
My partner lives 50 miles from me at the mo, I can’t pop to his to get a lid open. I keep ‘spare’ lids in a drawer, non holy lids.

I use a bottle opener on the really tricky ones, works a treat 😊

No. Not immediately. Once desperate, absolutely.

I get a knife and gently put it in between the lid and the jar to push the button up so it opens easily. You have to do it carefully though.

Yes, I do it all the time, I have arthritic fingers and cannot open the majority of jars any other way.
I have just bought a jar opener but I have been stabbing lids for 50 odd years without mishap!

It also makes me feel better to have beaten the bastarding lid rather than have it beat me.

@NeverDropYourMooncup I think I love you 😂

I run the lids under hot water to expand the seal

My Mum stabbed the lids with a fork, my Dad used a knife. I can generally get lids off easily, if they stick a bit I put on rubber gloves for extra traction.

I have never heard of this. It sounds monumentally stupid.
Just get a jar opener.