Are you struggling to come up with a Christmas present idea for the geek in your life? Are they in a well paid IT job with an annoying habit of buying all the books, DVDs and knick-knacks they want for themselves? Well, as that person to various of my loved ones, here’s a genuine idea you can do what you like with…

Get them a can opener.

No, wait, seriously.

A smooth edge can opener is inexpensive, practical, and something they’ll use on a daily basis. I got myself one after seeing a YouTube video on it, and it’s excellent.

For sure, lots of cans have ring pulls these days, but take a classic which definitely does not: corned beef.

Smooth edge can opener and the corned beef tin I opened with it

Normally, to crack open a can of this British delicacy (to mash it up with potato and make corned beef hash), you have to use the key on the left of the picture to rip a strip out of the can the whole way round and lift the top off.

You’re then left with two sharp edges which once hospitalized a family member of mine when they cut their finger open on them.

By contrast, I fired up the smooth edge can opener tonight and it took the top off, no sharp edges on either part, and the contents slid out just fine.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Edit: Thanks to Kim for reminding me where the video was.