Any recommendations for a mandoline?

I want a durable one with a sharp blade-that's an absolute must for me. I also want one that has options for thickness (some of the less expensive models don't). It also has to have a good finger guard. I have enough problems cutting the tips of my fingers.:)

I've checked Cook's Illustrated & the last review they did was in '03. I know OXO has come out with one since then & they're fairly reasonable.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

best

food pick (I don't know what you call it, but it's the thing you stab the food with) grabs too much of the food & wastes too much. Does that make sense? Anyhoo, does your BIL notice that problem? Or maybe he's not worried about it. I just hate to throw out half a potato or carrot or something.

best

..... there's nothing to compete with a real, grown-up mandolin. I don't own a real grown-up mandolin, but I have used them extensively. I think the Oxo is the best of the home-use types, but it really doesn't compare to a real professional one.

If you plan to only use it occasionally, and aren't an anal-retentive perfectionist, it will probably do just fine. I meet only one of these two parameters ..... I only use mine occasionally. As to the anal retentive part ..... I am. The Oxo, like the several others I have owned over the years, just can't do the job as well or as fast as a good professional mandolin.

That all being said, what are the trade-offs? Ease of adjustment is one. The pro is much easier and much more precise. On the flip side, that really matters only if you're anal retentive and feel the need to measure cut thickness with a micrometer and record the findings. Safety is another issue. Mandolins are more dangerous than people realize. A VERY serious cut is easy to get. Home models have better safety guards than pro models, although the new pro models are getting better in that regard. Sharpness (or, in actuality, 'apparent sharpness') is better in pro models. The reason is not specifically the sharpness of the blade. When new, at least, all of them are pretty much razor sharp. Rather, it is the alignment of the guides to the blades that's better. A pro model is simply more precise, making it easier to cut food items.

All in all, if you plan to use the mandolin a lot, go the several hundred bux for the pro model. If it only an occasional item .... the Oxo is a good deal.

it seems as if it's a lifetime investment(or at least should last my lifetime. And the kids will have to mess with it when I die, which is my revenge on them. :))

I really need the safety issue. I'm not cutting off my thumb. Maybe I'll wait until the pro models get better.

They're several things I want to make with it. Pommes Anna for one. I can never cut the danged potatoes thin & even. Also, I'm dying to try those puffed fries. We're also big salad eaters.

thanks for the info

best

I wanted a pro model, but just couldn't justify the cost right now (besides, I'm still saving for some copper cookware!).

Even the Oxo is pretty neat:

Mrs. Shakespeare: "OOOH! Quick, come look!"

Mr. Shakespeare: "Huh? At what?"

Mrs. Shakespeare: "Come see how this slices perfect super-thin onions and potatoes!"

Mr. Shakespeare: "Um....yeah, that's neat...."

He just doesn't share my passoin for kitchen gadgetry. ;-)

there are quite a few who bought the oxo & are really unhappy that the blade is so dull. They're griping that it just smooshes the food & doesn't cut it. I take it you didn't have that problem?

I think maybe I'll save my pennies until I can find a professional model, but I'm really nervous about cutting off the ends of my fingers, so I'll have to wait for safety features.


best

No smooshing of the food whatsoever. :-)

...... as I said above, what appears to be the result of a dull blade is, in fact, slight misalignment of the guides relative to the blade. Couple of things ...... make sure you grab the food square before you push it. That helps a lot. Next, make sure the blade and guide adjustments are fully to the stops (they adjust by rotating a 'knob' - make sure the rotation goes until it seats into a stop). If not, the food is misaligned and may 'smoosh'. If both the food is misaligned and the blade (and/or guide) is not fully seated, you increase the amount of misalignment.

While lots of products are simply bad, this one is not. The problems reported are, in my opinion, improper use (operator error), not a dull blade.

There is also the issue of what's being cut. You can do firm tomatoes if you're reeeeeeal careful. Ripe tomates .... not so well. But a pro mandolin also has problems with soft items, so that's no surprise.

I found the oxo for $48.94 plus $1.99 shipping at ecost.com

I would like to look at some of the pro models also. Like I said, it seems to be a lifetime purchase (especially at my age) & the children will just have to deal with it at an estate sale.

Safety is numbero uno. I'm very proud of my hands & would like to keep all the parts I was born with.

best

.... I'd go the few extra bucks for the professional model.



http://fantes.com/slicers_mandolins.htm

I've heard of Mafter but have no experience with them.

I see they now both have safety guards.

I was using my Oxo slicer last night, slicing carrots super-fast for osso buco I was making. I HATE chopping carrots, because it seems to take forever, and this was a huge improvement; however, carrots don't neatly fit on the safety guard thing, so I was slicing without it. BIG mistake. Literally as I'm yelling to my husband in the next room how much I LOVE my new slicer, I let my fingers get a little too close to that super-sharp blade, and sliced about 2/3 of the way through the tip of my right index finger (right through the fingernail!).

Oh, did it hurt. x( x( x(

I've got it all bandaged up right now (wouldn't let my husband talk me into going to the emergency room), and should be fine, but I'll be MUCH more careful with that slicer in the future.

I am sooo sorry! That must hurt something awful.

That's why safety is so important to me & some of the pro models don't come with a safety guard. I've watched chefs on cooking shows slice away without the safety guard & I'm always thinking that they're nuts. But I know how it is; you're in a hurry & only doing one or two veggies & it doesn't seem worth it to get out the guard & you'll be careful & oops, there goes your skin.

Again, so sorry & if it looks like there's a problem please go to the ER.

best

Most of them, anyway.

And for **at least** the reasons here, they should be used.

Shakespeare ....... don't take chances. If you need to go the doc ..... go ...... (this from a man who has be dragged, kicking and screaming, to see any doc at all.)

Carrots are still awkard to use with the guard, but you can bet I'll be doing so from now on. And I STILL love my slicer.

Finger seems to be okay (though it makes typing a challenge with the bandage on). I keep our medicine cabinet stocked with the band-aids that are pre-loaded with anbtibiotic ointment, and they rock. That was my third boo-boo of the day (burn on the other hand & badly stubbed toe), and my husband threatened to wrap me in bubble wrap as he was applying the band-aid to my finger. :D

You sound a lot like Sparkly. I always say my job is to 'manage' her. Of course, she 'manages', too. She manages to get hurt and I manage to patch her up. :)

I'm horribly accident-prone, as Sparkly apparently is, too. He refuses to walk down a flight of stairs in front of me, because he's just sure I'm going to wipe out and take him with me one day (and he's probably right). I've already done that once--we were walking out of a restaurant where we'd just had dinner, holding hands, and I slipped stepping off a curb. Took us both down (and he's 6'3"!).