INCH-POUND 

 A-A-52202C 

 April 18, 2012 

 SUPERSEDING 

 A-A-52202B 

 October 16, 2007 

COMMERCIAL ITEM DESCRIPTION 

OPENER, CAN, HAND, FOR SQUARE AND ROUND FOOD CANS 

 The General Services Administration has authorized the use of this Commercial Item 

 Description (CID) as a replacement for MIL-O-44368 for all Federal agencies. 

1. SCOPE. 

1.1 This CID covers one type and size of hand held can opener for severing the tops of square 

and round food cans suitable for use by Federal, State, local governments and other interested 

parties. 

1.2 Intended use of the hand held can opener is to sever the tops of square cans with corner radii 

over 1 1⁄2 inches, and round cans, (ranging from approximately 4 1/16 inches to 6 3/16 inches in 

diameter by 4 11/16 inches to 7 inches high), for feeding small combat groups in the field. 

2. SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS. 

2.1 Materials and components. Materials and components shall be of the quality normally used 

for this purpose in commercial practice provided the completed can opener complies with all 

provisions of this CID. 

2.2 Design and construction. The can opener shall be the manufacturer’s standard commercial 

product similar to the design in figure 1 as specified in 2.2.1, 2.2.2, and 2.2.3. All parts that 

come in contact with, or may be contaminated by food, shall be easily cleaned and capable of 

being sanitized. 

2.2.1 Can opener. The overall length of the can opener shall be 6.875 inches. The can opener 

shall have a wing operated feed wheel and a gear driven cutting wheel. The body of the opener 

shall be made from a material that will weld to 300 series stainless steel, and shall have an 

integral can guide with a minimum projection of 0.438 inches. The handle shall be padded with 

no gap between the padded and the metal portions of the handle. 

Beneficial comments, recommendations, additions, deletions, clarifications, etc. and any other data 

which may improve this document should be sent to: Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Troop 

Support, ATTN: DLA-FTSA, 700 Robbins Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111-5092. 

AMSC N/A FSC 7330 
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A-A-52202C 

2.2.2 Feed wheel. The feed wheel shall be fabricated of free machining steel and shall be case 

hardened to a depth of 0.008 inches with a Rockwell 15-N hardness of 89.2 to 90.2. The feed 

wheel shall have sharp teeth equally spaced around the wheel circumference and shall be 

permanently attached to the wing type handle by a metal shaft passing through the opener body. 

Testing shall be as specified in 4.3 and 4.4. 

2.2.3 Cutting wheel. The cutting wheel shall be fabricated of free machining steel. The cutting 

wheel shall be chamfered to a sharp cutting edge and mounted on a plier or cam type pressure 

device which is engaged when pressure is applied by squeezing the handles. The cutting wheel 

shall be at an angle of 20 to 30 degrees with the surface of the feed wheel. The edge of the 

cutting wheel shall not come in contact with the feed wheel edge. The cutting wheel shall be 

case hardened to a depth of 0.006 inches. Using the Knoop microhardness test at a 400 gram 

load, the following hardness ranges shall be required: 0.002 inches = 600 - 700; 0.004 inches = 

550 - 700; 0.006 inches = 500 - 700. Testing shall be as specified in 4.3 and 4.4. 

2.3 Lubrication. All points of the can opener requiring lubrication shall be lubricated with the 

manufacturer’s recommended food service equipment grade lubricant. 

2.4 Standard compliance. Fabrication of the hand held can opener shall comply with the 

requirements of NSF International Standard No. 2 as specified in 4.2. 

2.5 Metric products. Products manufactured to metric dimensions will be considered on an 

equal basis with those manufactured using inch-pound units, provided they fall within the 

tolerances specified using conversion tables contained in the latest revision of IEEE/ASTM SI 

10, and all other requirements of this CID are met. If a product is manufactured to metric 

dimensions and those dimensions exceed the tolerances specified in the inch-pound units, a 

request should be made to the contracting officer to determine if the product is acceptable. The 

contracting officer has the option of accepting or rejecting the product. 

2.6 Workmanship. The finished hand held can opener shall be clean and free of rust, slivers, 

burrs, deep scratches, pits, and tool marks. Surfaces shall be free of loose or flaked plating. 

All sharp edges and corners shall be removed. The can opener shall not be bent, damaged, or 

distorted. There shall be no defects which impair the durability, appearance, or serviceability 

of the item. 

3. REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS. 

3.1 Contractor recovered materials. The offeror/contractor is encouraged to use recovered 

materials to the maximum extent practicable, in accordance with paragraph 23.403 of the Federal 

Acquisition Regulation (FAR). 
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A-A-52202C 

4. QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVISIONS. 

4.1 Product conformance. The products provided shall meet the salient characteristics of 

this CID, conform to the producer’s own drawings, specifications, standards and quality 

assurance practices, and be the same product that has been sold in the commercial 

marketplace, or is the same product that has successfully been delivered to the Government 

on a previous contract or purchase order. The government reserves the right to require proof 

of such conformance prior to first delivery and thereafter as may be otherwise provided for 

under the provisions of the contract. 

4.1.1 Market acceptability (criteria). The following market acceptability criteria is necessary 

to document the quality of the product to be provided under this CID: The company must 

have sold 3000 units meeting the requirements of this CID in the commercial or government 

marketplace over the past 2 years. 

4.2 NSF International standard compliance. Prior to the approval of the first shipment, the 

contractor shall submit satisfactory evidence to the contracting officer or his authorized 

representative that the hand held can openers conform to the applicable requirements of NSF 

International Standard No. 2. Acceptable evidence shall be a certified test report from a 

recognized independent testing laboratory acceptable to the medical authority of the service 

for which the items are being procured, stating that the can openers have been tested and 

conform to NSF International Standard No. 2. Acceptance of the independent testing 

laboratory to the medical authority shall be based on the laboratory submitting to the 

contracting officer a written letter from either the American Association for Laboratory 

Accreditation (A2LA), Gaithersburg, MD or the American National Standards Institute 

(ANSI), Washington, DC stating the independent test laboratory has been evaluated and is 

accredited for testing and evaluating food service equipment for conformance with applicable 

NSF International Standards. Accreditation of the independent testing laboratory must be 

completed prior to the item testing. 

4.3 Hardness test. The components specified in 2.2.2 and 2.2.3 shall be tested in accordance 

with ASTM E 18 for Rockwell hardness requirements and ASTM E 384 for Knoop 

microhardness requirements. The Knoop testing shall be performed using a 400 gram force 

load. The Knoop microhardness test shall be performed at a point midway between the 

wheel edge and center of the wheel. 

4.4 Case depth test. The depth of the case hardening of the feed wheel and cutting wheel 

shall be microscopically determined in accordance with ASTM E 1077. The determination 

shall be made at a point midway between the wheel edge and center of the wheel. 

4.5 Performance test. The hand held can opener shall completely sever the tops of one 

square and one round can, dimensions specified in 1.2, without leaving a sharp edge or any 
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A-A-52202C 

protrusion in the can. The opener shall not tilt or slide during the opening of the square and 

round can. 

5. PACKAGING. 

5.1 Packaging. Preservation, packing and marking shall be as specified in the contract or 

purchase order (see 6.1). 

6. NOTES. 

6.1 Ordering data. Acquisition documents must specify the following: 

 a. Title, number and date of this document. 

 b. Packaging requirements (see 5.1). 

6.2 Sources of documents. 

6.2.1 Sources of information for nongovernmental documents are as follows: 

IEEE/ASTM Standards: 

E 18 - Standard Test Methods for Rockwell Hardness of Metallic Materials. 

SI 10 - American National Standard for Metric Practice. 

E 384 - Standard Test Method for Knoop and Vickers Hardness of Materials. 

E 1077 - Standard Test Methods for Estimating the Depth of Decarburization of 

 Steel Specimens. 

(IEEE and ASTM International publish these standards jointly. Copies are available from 

www.ieee.org IEEE Service Center, 445 Hoes Lane, P.O. Box 1331, Piscataway, NJ 08854-

1331 or www.astm.org or ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, 

PA 19428-2959.) 

NSF/ANSI Standards: 

NSF/ANSI 2 - Food Equipment. 

NSF 2 Supplement - Descriptive Details for Food Service Equipment Standards. 

(Copies of NSF/ANSI Standard No. 2 and Supplement are available from NSF International, 

P.O. Box 130140, 789 North Dixboro Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48113-0140, telephone 

(734) 769-8010. Internet address: http://www.nsf.org). 
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A-A-52202C 

6.2.2 Source of information for governmental document is as follows: 

Copies of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) documents may be obtained from: 

Superintendent of Documents, New Orders, P.O. Box 979050, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000, 

telephone (866) 512-1800, (202) 512-1800 or on the Internet at: 

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara. 

6.3 Source of supply. Manufacturer’s whose products are known to meet the requirements 

of this document are listed below; however competition is not limited to these companies. 

 

 Swing-A-Way Mfg. Co. 

 4100 Beck Avenue 

 St. Louis, MO 63116 

 (314) 773-1487 

 “(Model S-10)” 
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A-A-52202C 

MILITARY INTERESTS: CIVIL AGENCY COORDINATING ACTIVITIES: 

 

Custodians GSA - FAS 

Army - GL PREPARING ACTIVITY: 

Navy - SA 

Air Force - 99 DLA - SS 

 

Review Activities (Project No. 7330-2012-001) 

Army - MD1, QM1 

Navy - MC 

Air Force - 35, 84 

NOTE: The activities listed above were interested in this document as of the date of this 

document. Since organizations and responsibilities can change, you should verify the currency 

of the information above using the ASSIST Online database at https://assist.daps.dla.mil.