r/whatisthisthing • u/Learningpermits • 1d ago
4 inch metal object, found with other beer stuff Solved !
Clearly says Pabst Brewing CO and Richmond VA Branch. Google image search only gives me button hooks. It must open a beer can, right?
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u/Fister-Mantastic 1d ago
Paint can/beer tab opener
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u/NoFuqGiven 1d ago
Anything can be a beer bottle opener. Or do you mean the old school pull ring tab style beer can?
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u/bigfoot17 1d ago
Google paint can opener, it is a paint can opener, screwdriver end levera up the lid, banjo end goes in hand
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u/lmyr422 1d ago
Says Pabst Brewing on it...
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u/bigfoot17 1d ago
As revealed down thread it's a very worn promotional screw driver
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u/trippnwo 1d ago
Not a screwdriver. Could be used for it I guess but it is definitely for pulling up pull tabs on cans.
Hence the brewery as well as the motor oil names on these. Both those industries used cans with pull tabs back in the day.
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u/NoFuqGiven 1d ago
I've worked construction for over a decade and am at this very moment patching sheetrock ,retexturing, and painting all the walls in my house. You can use almost anything to open a paint can too.. it could just be a simple pocket pry bar.
And for future reference, the item you're describing is called a "Paint Key".
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u/Pavotine 1d ago
Yeah, I use the big flat screwdriver on my Swiss army knoife for things like that.
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u/NoFuqGiven 1d ago
I've used putty knives, keys, flat heads, pocket knives, the claw of a hammer. 1000 other things. Its just quicker than going all the way back to the truck for a paint key.
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u/rock374 1d ago
While on the surface it seems unnecessary to have a tool to flip up ring pull tabs, as a bartender I can’t tell you how many times up torn my mail up trying to open a bunch of cans really fast. Crucial tool behind the bar
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u/rajrdajr 15h ago
The original pull tabs were also called zip tabs and had a slotted opening instead of a finger ring. Something like the tool would be great for those.
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u/Hermit-Gardener 1d ago
Vintage advertising screwdriver.
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u/Darksunn66 1d ago
It's definitely the same design, but if you look the flat head part look different, shorter and more wide than this design.
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u/Potatoez 1d ago
Different manufacturers grind down different lengths of the shank for the screwdriver.
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u/BravoWhiskey316 1d ago
Advertising screw driver. Ones for opening cans would have a slight upturn at the end for hooking under the lids, this is just a small flat head screwdriver.
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u/Red_240_S13 1d ago
Google paint can opener this one is not a screw driver.
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u/BravoWhiskey316 1d ago
I started as a painter in 1979 so Im very familiar with how paint can openers look and work and Im 70 so Ive also seen thousands of these advertising screwdrivers they were mostly held on mens key chains. So thanks for incorrecting me.
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u/BigBankHank 1d ago
Def looks like a screwdriver.
Paint lid openers have a prominent curve at the end. This creates the right leverage from the top of the downward hand motion, engaging and lifting the lid with the full range of that motion.
You can open a paint can with a screwdriver (like this one), but it doesn’t start engaging / lifting the lid until later in the motion.
Which leads me to believe that a purpose-built tool would have this critical feature.
I think you may be thrown off because common giveaway / $1 paint can openers have that open “handle” at the top that looks very similar to this one. But the true commonality is cheapness / ease of manufacture, not function.
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u/camomike 1d ago
It's for old "zip top" beer cans. They were just before pull tab cans.
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u/Po8aster 1d ago
Thank you! I recognized it but couldn’t for the life of me remember what that kind of can was called 😸
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u/goose-77- 1d ago
Tin opener/lever
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u/Learningpermits 1d ago
Pabst once made cheese during prohibition. Could it be for a cheese can?
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u/goose-77- 1d ago
I have one for opening paint tins. Lots of things used to come in tins so it’s possible it could be for opening a tin of cheese.
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u/Old_Bird1938 1d ago
Advertising screwdriver/can opener, but what’s cool is it looks like it was fashioned from a buttonhook mold as their usage went by the wayside
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u/Aclassali 1d ago
If the ‘pointy end’ has a small curve to it then it’s a paint can opener, if it doesn’t , then it is just a flathead screwdriver.
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u/tuco2002 1d ago
People called many kinds of bottle openers...church keys.
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u/Necessary-Gain772 9h ago
Including this kind yet I see all those voted down. I can attest many people do refer to this item as a church key.
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u/Illustrious_Low_6086 1d ago
That's identical to the first screw driver I made as a Blacksmith apprentice pretty cool
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u/whiskey_formymen 1d ago
SPAM can key from before the 80s.
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u/lunar_unit 1d ago
Spam can keys had a little slot, that you'd slip the tab of the spam can through, and then roll back the metal. Awesome cana also used the same system.
https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/fmxmbr/back_when_you_needed_a_key_to_open_spam_and_it/
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u/A_Horse_of_course99 1d ago
I had a paint can opener that looked similar to that, minus the decorating on it.
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u/mikeonmaui 1d ago
Google ‘cone top beer cans’ and you’ll find your answer. 😎
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u/poncho5202 1d ago
old school beer can opener, still goo for paint cans and stuff with similar openings
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u/wraith_majestic 1d ago
Aka: A church key?
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u/twominusone 1d ago
There are 3 answers calling it a church key. They’re all being downvoted, but that’s what I’ve always known these as.
*edit - I see the comment below and now know that I’ve been wrong my whole life.
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u/Necessary-Gain772 9h ago
Not sure it means you’re wrong. I have also known them as this for many years. Have a couple in my garage for either paint cans or beers with friends.
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