Can opener

A can opener adapted to separate an end wall from a can body by cutting from the outside into the upstanding rim formed at the end of the can, the rim comprising over-lapped portions of the perimeter of the end wall and the side wall of the can, the can opener comprising two body portions, arranged for relative pivotal movement about an axis, one portion carrying a rotary cutting wheel and the other portion carrying a rotary traction wheel, the opener being arranged, in use, to receive the rim of the can between the two wheels and to orbit the can as the traction wheel is rotated while the cutting wheel makes a peripheral cut into the outside the rim, wherein the traction wheel is shaped to distort the rim while it is cut by the cutting wheel to cause the rim to move outwardly thereby to loosen the overlapping engagement between the end wall and the side wall of the can;

• whereby the traction wheel includes a portion having a frusto-conical surface adapted to engage, in use, the inner side wall of the rim, the surface being inclined at an angle with respect to the vertical axis of the can.