Are you meaning the rings or the lids? Rings may loosen if you hold them under some hot running water for a few minutes. They may have gotten some sticky jam on them and that is sticking them. That is one reason for removing the rings after 24 hours and storing the jar without the ring. Lids I remove with the old "church key" type opener. Nothing stops it.

Thanks, I'm meaning the lid itself. Ring came off w/o any protest, but this lid seems to have bested me! I'll try an opener...I hadn't thought of that.

OK, now I'm embarrassed. That worked like a charm. I have no idea why that didn't occur to me before. Thanks!

What's a "church key" opener? I have one (with built-in corkscrew) that has a key-shaped ring on the end, but it requires a good edge to grab and lift so it won't work on my lids. I've been using a bottle-opener (rounded side, not sharp side used for punching holes in canned milk tins) but that one's falling apart.

I've been told to poke a hole in the top of the lid with a sharp knife or nail, and then the lid will slip off. Considering you aren't supposed to reuse lids, you don't need to worry about damaging the lid - unless you continue to use the lid during storage after opening.

Ajs, you may have been a well behaved teen. I've never really been a beer drinker but do know what a church key is ;)

ironic common term that goes back many, many decades (prohibition times) - ironic because intention is to open beer, not churches. Bet you've got one or two even if you didn't know what they are commonly called.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Church key...Giving myself away aren't I. Never knew they had another name till I got down here in the bible belt. Guess you can tell I am old enough to remember beer in bottles you needed to open with that church key. No twist off caps for me.

Oh, that's what I have, but has a plastic handle (disintegrating) with a corkscrew inside. We've always just called that a bottle opener. The other one I have (also with a corkscrew) is all metal, but the "loop" on the end that's good for opening beer bottles doesn't do a thing on canning jars. Can't find an image online, but it has a loop at one end, but not the little tang underneath to catch the lid - you have to get the handle end of the loop under the edge of the bottle cap and lever it up, and canning lids are too big in diameter (and/or not enough overhang?) to do that.

Church Key--MY favorite tool! I have several! Shammie

Also on lids you want to save like for pickles or jelly that goes into the fridge a spoon or butterknife prying on the egde of the lid and one of the glass threads usually gets them off

I always remove my lids, or at least 99% of them, with just my hands. I steady upward pressure at one point on the side of the lids for just a few seconds, in most cases, will break the seal.
I store my empty jars with the old lid, plastic wrap, and a lose ring to keep the jars clean on the outside and clean on the inside. I want my lids in this situation to be nice and flat to easily seal the opening on an empty canning jar.
Washing mouse dropping out of the inside of jars I have washed before storage is not my idea of an extra step I need to take when next I can.
Jim in So Calif

Guess someone strong can produce enough pressure and endurance to accomplish it with just steady upward pressure. I'm jealous. I can't even open a pickle jar from the store with my bare hands. If you are careful with the church key you can open it with almost no bending of the lid. But I don't usually save the lids anyway. I keep my jars in the closet upside down on a wire shelf so no mouse droppings dare enter.

I just opened my first canned jar of tomato juice. I wanted to try to reuse the lid, so how to do it without damaging the lid? Tried prying it by hand and with a rubber lid gripper, no luck. So I took a citrus peeler, it looks like this

Put the side of the thin peeler edge under the lid edge and pressed up, lid came right off with a hiss, and there is no mark on the lid and no bend, no damage. I think I may be able to use it again. :D

Have you got an old 60's model Chevrolet? The part on the door that fits in to the latch works well for beer bottles. Should work for canning lids too! ;)

I learned that great piece of wisdom back in the 60's. Dad always checked my pockets while I was getting ready to go out. If I had a Church key he would take it away and give me a good reaming about drinking!