That’s a different design than what we had when I was growing up:

Is the new design more useful? Because the gray one was fucking useless for anything that couldn’t easily be done with fingers.

They work ok, if you have one.

If you don't, there are contraptions you can build (out of legos) which can help you unstuck them

Squeeze the edges of the box so the tape releases in the middle, then peel it away. Better for recycling too.

I don’t have any keys, so yeah, I need to find other implements. Usually it’s not much of an issue though.

Keys work, kind of. If I only have one or two to do at home, they work ok. If I have dozens to do at work, it's possible, but slow and painful.

They're difficult for me to grip comfortably. About half the time, the tape gets caught in the teeth of the keys, then starts to rip the tape, then the top layer of cardboard off. I usually have to stop and pick tape, gunk, and debris out of the teeth every 2-3 boxes. Once, some tape stuck on the side of my key and I didn't notice until I put the key in the lock and the tape got bound inside the mechanism.

A knife isn't ideal either. I sharpen my own knives so I hate using them for paper and cardboard. It's very tough on the edge and usually not worth it. So I split the difference by using the back of the blade on boxes. If I know ahead of time, I'll bring a utility knife with a disposable blade to use.

Probably the most common thing I do with my edc knife is slice up fruit for myself or my dog (yes, I make sure it's clean first). I haven't found a set of keys that will do that yet.

I'm too afraid of tape glue getting into the locking mechanism and gumming up the works. Few things in life are as upsetting as having a key but the lock doesn't open.

Why? That just seem wasteful, especially if you don't play with legos so often that you have to do that often

Not particularly helpful in this example. The brick separators rely on leverage that you won't get with these two flat square pieces

Fingers?

Sounds like either your clippers are dull, you have a nutrient deficiency giving you brittle nails, or you might need to file them a little after cutting. Those are the only times that happens to me.

Had a can of diet coke like that a while back. Used a pocket knife. When the tab finally flipped up, the tab bent in half and was L shaped, and the tab on the can never even budged. We whacked the tab with the point of the screwdriver a few times and determined that whatever scoring process they use for making those tabs was done incorrectly on this one. Ended up opening it with a can opener (like the type you'd use to open a can of beans or corn or something), and just pouring it into a glass. It was weird.

TBF lots of places completely forbid knives nowadays, especially in the places that you'd need to access for public transport. I don't think I'd even be allowed to carry a screwdriver in my city's main station.