1 Stars By CaptainSnack on 2018-01-19
Needs more strength than I have.
I love oxo products, and I am so disappointed in this one. I read all the reviews about how easy it is to open jar lids and I ordered it. An injury requires me to have help with doing that right now. But it doesn't open hardly any jar lids! It's hard to push the v-shape onto the lid hard enough to make it grip, and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to the type of lid it will or won't open. The gripper pad to hold a jar on the counter is really of no consequence. You know how jar lids are! Some of them are easy, some of them are nearly impossible. This opener just plain doesn't work and now it just takes up a lot of space in my drawer. I'm very disappointed.I truly need a jar opener right now while healing from an injury to my right arm. I don't understand why so many people find this to be a helpful product.

1 Stars By Springschild on 2016-08-14
I had an OXO opener before and I loved it. This model is VERY is different and ...
I had an OXO opener before and I loved it. This model is VERY is different and VERY bad.
One side of the jar opener is smooth and the other side has teeth. It slips and does not work. The one I had before had teeth on both sides and it worked beautifully. I returned it.

1 Stars By Violet on 2014-01-29
Not nearly as good as a strap wrench
I bought one of these because it got good reviews. It often took several attempts to open a jar. Sometimes the opener slid all the way off (I suppose it wasn't perpendicular to the jar, or I pushed a little up/down instead of perfectly level). Other times, the jar stayed inside the opener but still slid out of the teeth. I finally stopped using it and went back to the old methods. I would give it more stars since it worked with enough effort, but I don't think a product deserves many stars if it's so frustrating it ends up in the junk drawer. I also didn't like the way it scratched up the lids.

Then I bought a strap wrench to fix a faucet (This is a real strap wrench from the hardware store, not something advertised for the kitchen). I got smart and put it in the kitchen, and it works perfectly. It turns so easily that I thought it had slipped loose the first couple of times I used it. But that's just how easy it is to open jars. This morning I used it to open the glued-shut lid on a bottle of nail polish. I was amazed at how easily that bottle opened (It took a slight push, but it wasn't hard at all). The strap wrench is a wonderful tool!

5 Stars By LobsterLover on 2016-01-12
Good Tool for Ppl with Hand Arthritis
I'm an Oxo Good Grips fan. With bad basal joint arthritis in the thumbs, I need all the help I can find. I was using my husband for help but he's developed trigger thumbs and hand arthritis too, so he's now pretty much useless for the task. This opener was recommended by a hand therapist so thought I'd try it out. I originally wanted the style that attaches under a cabinet, but we have under-cabinet lighting which is in the way. I've used this Oxo on a variety of bottles and jars (pic attached). I find that the rubber mat makes the opener much easier to use. I was even able to open a "glued" shut maple syrup bottle....something that usually needs a visit under the hot water faucet. I don't have any huge diameter jars, so can't speak to how it works on those, but it works very well on small ones- which are the kind that are most painful for me.

5 Stars By hopidopi on 2017-06-14
No batteries needed, silicone pad holds jar in place while you use the opener to unscrew it. Perfect!
I have arthritis in my thumbs and little strength in my hands. The combination silicone mat that you set the jar on and the teeth on the opener made it easy to open a large mouth (mason jar size) jar of peaches I got at Costco. There is no way I was able to open it myself...I tried and it didn't budge. The bonus of this opener is that you can also use it to tighten a lid. The opener is flat and takes up little room in a drawer. I already had an electric opener and pretty much hated it (now I can give to Goodwill). It was battery operated and bulky. I kept it in a cabinet and every time I bumped it, it would start whirring as it opened up. It was also *very* slow to either open or close...I was almost tapping my foot with impatience every time I used it. I'm a big fan of OXO products, and this jar opener is no exception...great product!

1 Stars By BEK on 2017-02-11
Simply didn't work. Teeth slid and scraped jar lids but would never "bite". Maybe we got a lemon?
I read all the good reviews about this gadget. But when we received it simply did not work. The teeth would not grip any of the lids for any of the jars we tried it on. They would just scrape and slip on the lid no matter how hard we pushed the jar into the wedge shaped area. Many reviews suggested people with severe arthritis might not be able to use this but we are young and able bodied and the device simply would not work. I have had good experiences in the past with OXO products and for this reason I had chosen this tool over the other highly recommended jar opener I found on amazon. I was sad to find this would not work for us on any jars. I do half wonder if we got a lemon and most of these work and some don't. I really can't say. But rather than try another one, I'm going to test out the other jar opener I found on amazon instead.

1 Stars By bossdog on 2013-06-18
Difficult and Hurts your hands
I was sure hoping this would work for me based on all the reviews, but it didn't. In fact not only did it NOT open the several different types and sizes of lids, I found it extremely awkward to use. It continually slipped off the lid no matter how hard I gripped it to hopefully make it take hold THEN it would slip off hitting my hand and its teeth would somehow hit my hand and scratch me. My hands are not weak nor am I unable to read directions. I tired several times doing exactly what I should and each time I was injured. This is a horrible tool unless you are a man with hands that are already too tough for this to hurt. I do not recommend this jar opener to especially women.

1 Stars By IslandReader on 2016-12-11
They ruined a great product!
Beware that most of these great reviews are for the EARLIER better model! I have owned 3 of these and given many others, nevr had an issue except after several years of heavy use they break at the handle. But i always bought a new one as it was well worth the small price. Well my latest purchase revealed a redesign...shorter handle which = less leverage, they removed the soft fins used on most oxo handles which = less comfort when using and they redesigned the actual teeth mechanism so that it no longer even works on jars that may be tougher to open. The new pad is useless if the tool doesn't grip the lid, as it failed to do with a simple 3" jar. Very sad to see oxo make these poor choices. I had to buy another opener with a different design just to open some of my jars. I have a very weak grip due to osteoarthritis in my hands, so this is a real letdown. I will dig my old one outnod the garbage and try and repair.

5 Stars By G. Carver on 2016-11-08
Good product; highly reccomend
Based on all the selections I found for jar openers, I believe I made the best choice available. My wife and I both have arthritis in our hands and can barely open a .5 liter bottle of water, let alone a tightly vacuum sealed jar of sauce or sauerkraut. The rubbery disc included makes it even easier to hold the jar on the counter, preventing the need to use additional gripping force on the really tight jars.

I might add that the tool is fairly heavy, making it somewhat clumsy feeling at first but with a little practice, you'll barely notice. The handle is thick, so you'll need a longer and straighter hook than most kitchen racks provide. I put a loop of stiff twine instead. There's a saw-toothed blade on one side that digs into the top edge of the lid, while a rubber strip applies friction on the opposite side. I have noticed that the saw-teeth will indent or mark the lids, especially plastic and really tight metal ones. Also, if the lid has a large radius along the top edge, it tends to slip off as the teeth are close to the top edge. Make sure the tool rests flat on top of the lids to get the best results. The description says "all jar sizes" but actually ranges from 3/4 to 4 in (19 to 102 mm) in diameter.

We liked it enough to buy another for my wife's 80+ year old mother. Hope she can use it!

1 Stars By S. Thornburg on 2018-04-28
This device is uselss; does NOT open jar lids unless they're already loose.
This is the first OXO product I've been dissatisfied with. Unfortunrtely, this jar opener is useless. I purchased it to replace an old OXO jar opener that I've had for years, but has somehow disappeared . The old one had "jaw teeth" on both sides, but this new one has the teeth only on 1 side. The other "jaw" is polished metal, so it has zero grip surface. Even moderately tight lids will not open with this device. It slips long before the lid moves, no matter how hard I squeeze it. I asked my neighbor, a younger very athletic man, to try it, and the same thing happened. He squeezed so hard he thought it may break, but the device slips, and the lid does not turn. He was easily able to open the jars with only his hands. We experimented a little, using less squeeze-pressure, then more pressure, but nothing worked. Jars of olives from the fridge would not open. Jars of honey would not open. Mason jars would not open. This device is useless, except maybe as a paperweight.