We need someone on this site to create, produce and post a video or step-by-step photo essay on “How to Open a Vac Tin”. I received a distress call from a young man who recently started enjoying nasal snuff. I stopped by his house to find he was having great difficulty opening a tin of SG Cola a friend brought him from the UK. The poor tin looked as if it had been on the receiving end of a twenty car pile up. He’d used every tool in the kit trying to open that tin and in the process mangled the lid and bottom of it in ways I can’t for the life of me figure out. He’d used a church key bottle opener, a pipe wrench (?!), chisel and a few others. After saying a decade of Hail Marys to steel my patience I showed him how to use a quarter inch screwdriver to gently twist under the lid at the four points of the compass with just enough force to release the seal. He’d tried prying with a chisel using an up-down motion, but there’s nothing on the tin to provide a fulcrum for that technique. I’m sure there are several dozen here that know what I’m talking about that could help lend a hand. I guess mangled tins insult my sense of aesthetics. I was rewarded by his reaction to his first pinch of HDT from my snuff box. Hilarity ensued.
I use a loonie (dollar coin) to gently pry the tins open and have no problems. A quarter will probable work as well but won’t offer as much leverage.
Screwdriver gives a lot of leverage.
And yes, I do carry a screwdriver at all times. I don’t even need it but once a month but, you never know. Also a knife may work but, I wouldn’t want to bend the blade.
@Igglet, for me, that is where my Leatherman comes in. a very handy tool which I carry around on my belt…
Oh very nice @stogie. I have a bargain bin one of those. I usually only use the pliers on it.
This weekend used mine numerous times to remove and replace switch plate covers as I have been doing a lot painting. I just find it to be a very useful and handy tool… Glad you have found use for yours as well!!1
I find a 50 pence piece is the best tool for a SG tin.
@crullers the toonie works pretty good too! In fact I have a special toonie always at hand, for just such an emergency.
Good video, and Coffee Kick is nice. I think with a brand new tin that could break a fingernail. Using a flat metal device like a screwdriver or coin properly for breaking the seal is the best way. That kid trying to use a pipe wrench is a bit unconventional and hard to carry around in your pocket
My secret weapon is an old US made Camillus TL-29 pocket knife (electricians knife). The blunt wire stripper blade opens stuck WoS tins, and with the knife blade open the recess on the back of the other (driver/stripper) blade fits PERFECTLY under the lip of a SG tin. Two or three tweaks around the perimeter, and it’s ready to open with no damage to the tin. The knife blade is then used as a spatula to “serve” out the snuff into my snuffboxes, tapping the spine of the blade lightly on the edge of the snuffbox to shake the bits off. I’ve never carried this as a pocket knife (not my preferred style for pocket carry), it just sits with my snuff stash ready for use
Give the side a rap on the table then slide a butter knife partly up the side and twist gently till you hear the tin ‘sigh’, then the lid will come away. Seeeeemples.
I once opened one with a Czech tool. Next time I will make a video (if I remember.). I could see the church key working but I would not do it in the manner Daniel’s friend did.
Blimey, it’s easy peasy. If it won’t open using the ‘twist something against the top’ method turn the tin over, put something sharp againt it, like a thin bladed screwdriver, knife tip or other pointy thing, give it a swift whack with something so it punches a little hole in the bottom, bung a bit of tape over it, and it’ll then open with no trouble.
Victorinox swiss army knife wide-head screwdriver works for me every time.
As mentioned at the start I like the screwdriver technique; that’s what I always use and showed the lad, unfortunately after he’d mangled the tin. I made this video request to salvage the fate of mankind and help other mangle happy newbies before they ruin any more tins. If I got one in a trade or bequeathed to me in some kind soul’s will, I’d likely burst into tears, curl up in the corner and suck my thumb until the nightmare stopped 
I do believe I have seen that video in multiple other threads yet people still find people mangling tins.
Mankind’s fate is already sealed - just sit in a corner surrounded by all the powdered tobacco you can lay your hands on, a screw driver at the ready, thumb smeared in your favourite snuff, and be prepared to emerge post-apocalypse ready to take over and become the Snuff Tsar of the New Order…
@Vostok Great idea! Do I get a costume like Captain America? Maybe a cool hat shaped like a tin of HDT. Snuff Tsar. Has a nice ring to it.
@chefdaniel the hat and suit sound like great ideas. Maybe you should start a new thread asking for design suggestions…or maybe not…