Canned food is a common staple in many households across the country. Usually all you need to enjoy the contents is a can opener and a way to heat it up and you are ready to eat.
However, what do you do if you cannot find a can opener? Perhaps you are stranded in the wilderness with a can of beans with no can opener. Or maybe you find yourself the victim of a natural disaster and have a supply of canned goods but the tiny piece of metal known as a can opener is nowhere to be found. Whatever the scenario, there is one way to open up a tin can without using a can opener, knife, screwdriver, hammer or other sharp or blunt object.
Most cans used today are made of a thin metal and the lid is usually thinner than the sides of the can. The key word is “thin” and because it is thin the can be manipulated and opened. Most canned goods will have a lip around the edge at the top of the can. This lip is no more than a fancy metal seam used to secure the lid into place.
You will have to put a little elbow grease into getting the lid off without an opener—here is one way to remove the lid. Turn the can upside down with the lid facing down. Forcefully rub the rim of the lid back and forth for several minutes across a rough surface such as concrete or a large boulder or rock face. The friction from all the rubbing will wear down the edge of the metal rim enabling you to flip the can right side up and remove the lid from the top. This method may take several attempts, so stick with it.
Do you have an alternative way to open a can without the use of a tool? Tell us about it in the comment section.
[lisa] 
I just shoot a .22 hole in the can and drink the juice to tide me over.Then, when the animals pick up the scent and come around; I have Dinner.
That’s one I’m going to have to try if only for the hell of it. My survival stash is packed in 5 gallon plastic tubs from the Home Depot with tight fitting lids lids and there’s a newer version of the manual P-38 can opener attached to each handle with a food bag tie. You can usually buy tow of them for about $3 at any sporting goods store.
I learned that lesson the hard way when my boys were young and in scouts. We went on a camp out and the dim witted ‘leader’ brought mostly canned food but no opener. I saved the day with my P-38 opener on my key ring, but I’ve opened more than one can with my K-bar just to show people how. The newer civilian version of the P-38 with a longer handle is much easier for most people to use but it doesn’t go well in your trouser pocket on your key ring.
But that’s ancient history and now, just for the sake of convenience, I try to buy only canned food with pull top lids. But you have to be careful with those too because that pull top lid can come off pretty sharp. And it does leave a sharp edge on the inner lip of the can.
The new openers that you see in the stores that remove both the lid and the seam cut from the side of the can and leave a pretty sharp edge on the top for kids to handle. Hank.