Norpro 370 Bread Slicerand Guide with Crumb Catcher
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List Price: Our Price: $11.99 You Save: $10.00 (45%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Norpro 370 Bread Slicerand Guide with Crumb Catcher
Customer Review: Isn't There Anything Better??
Summary: 2 Stars
I titled this review such because there HAS to be something better out there! Are we not living in the 21st Century? I read numerous reviews on the seemingly few bread slicers out there because I wanted a quality product at a good price that was easy to use and would help me slice my precious bread machine loaves consistently. What I ended up getting (and what you will get if you order it): A box containing a wooden board with crumb catcher and three plastic pieces with some screws for you to assemble the product. The wooden part of the product is great and the crumb catcher is great but the plastic pieces that screw on are a bit flimsy and do not stay on tight so when you cut the bread (like other reviewers mentioned, get a *long* bread knife) it wobbles a bit and does not always make it easy to get even slices. The plastic end piece on mine says "Our Daily Bread" which is a bit cheesy. The end piece will not stay put either because the sides are a bit wobbly. I disagree with some of the reviewers who think the board itself is too wide. It is a little wider than a bread machine loaf but I think that is a good thing as you wouldn't want a slightly misshapen loaf to not fit inside the slicer at all or worse, risk putting your fingers through a loaf by trying to cram it between the slicer guides.
Still trying to make an informed decision? It *may* help you slice a bit more evenly, but maybe not. I find that sometimes I get a more even slice if I manage to hold the plastic sides just right. Will it save you time? Maybe. It all depends on if the plastic sides will stay on tight.
Bottom line: either have your kid design and make you one in wood shop class (or make one yourself) or just buy a cutting board with a crumb catcher and wing it on the slicing. The third option is to buy this product and put up with it (I guess that's where I'm at since I like the crumb catcher and my patience hasn't ebbed quite enough).
My question is: Why hasn't someone invented a counter top electric slicer that is more or less a scaled down version of the industrial sized slicers you sometimes see at bakeries or in stores overseas? Maybe someone is afraid they will be sued if their child drops their hamster into it (or worse)? We do have Cuisinarts with rotating metal blades... Please, someone hear us frustrated bread makers!!
Customer Review: Handy, useful, & no frills
Summary: 4 Stars
I normally don't purchase items with only a 3-star average rating, but I'm glad I purchased this bread slicer guide. Before I purchased this, I used a cutting board to cut my bread on. Crumbs ended up everywhere! I would have to clean up the widely scattered crumbs before chowing down on my delicious bread :( With this the crumbs are kept in check & easy to dispose of. I rated it 4-stars for 2 reasons.
1) The sides need to be about an inch taller to accomodate the height of a loaf of bread better (I make 2 lb. loaves.) Some have commented that the slicer guide is too wide. I too originally thought that it was too wide until I thought of turning the loaf on its side to cut. My 2 lb. loaves fit this way, & the side guides are just about right in height...just about, they still need to be a little taller.
2) I also agree with other reviewers that the guide slots could be just a hair wider as well. I use an electric bread knife so length of my knif is not important as with other reviews. My problem here is that there is a little knob where my bread blades connect to each other. The guide slots are not wide enough to allow that little knob to go through. I must take care with the placement of the knife when I start to cut & its removal after cutting so that I do not hit the guides with the knob. This is minor for me.
As other reviewers have stated, the wood is easily dug into with your bread knife. Personally, I would rather have the wood gouges rather than a harder material that might damage my knife as it would be cheaper to replace the slicer guide rather than my electric knife. This item is adequately sturdy for its intended purpose. I would not consider it to be "heavy-duty", so do not be "heavy handed" with this thing, to include assembling it. I can see where it would be easy to strip out the holes for the screws & you can conceivably crack the clear plastic sides. Tighten the screws sufficiently tight to hold the sides on, but not as tight as you possibly can. Use common sense, an electric knife, & a gentle touch; it will work just fine.
Customer Review: Not too bad.......
Summary: 4 Stars
Yes, this slicer is a bit flimsy (what do you want - like everything else it is made overseas (Thailand)). Easy to put together with a few screws (enclosed). The crumb catcher grate had one warped piece of "decking", but I decided to keep it because it isn't detrimental to using the slicer guide. I still think crumbs will come out the sides of the guides when you are slicing, but I guess there will be less of them on your table or counter. The acrylic guides look like they could easily break if you are not careful.
I haven't even used it yet, but I can see you need a very long knife to cut the bread, which is fine - most people have one at home in their knife collection. I am looking forward to now making homemade sandwich bread with my new bread maker and having perfect slices!
I think this is a good buy if you just want an inexpensive way to make even slices and if you are careful in using it. I will update this review if I have any problems.
Ok, so I have been using this item for a while. It is definitely cheaply made. The crumb catcher grates are not of cutting board quality so when you cut the bread your knife cuts the grates and it doesn't seem like they are going to last too long - the knife will eventually slice right through them! The plastic guides are cheap also and you have to be careful not to break them. If your bread doesn't fit perfectly in the older, the slices won't come out so great. If there is a better alternative for a reasonable price, I would get something else, but, for now, this will have to do. I don't want to spend a ton of money just to slice bread!
Customer Review: Works Great, but guides needs to be moved first
Summary: 3 Stars
I used this for approximately 3 months before I was frustrated to the point I had to either buy something else or rework this into something usable. The problem is long knives aren't very good for cutting bread because they flex and wander, and there aren't many long knives out there in stores to be found (as I experienced). Also the guides are so far apart on this guided cutting block, that the guides easily leave an inch to either side of the loaf. In my experience you need to hug the loaf to keep it from moving around for a good straight cut (especially when the loaves are warm). So what I finally had done was to remove the side guides and repositioned them to the inside, screwed them back in at approximately the same height on the sides. Then I broke off one of the removable tray's glued on wooden pieces, and cut back both wooden support spars that hold the individual wooden tray bars for the crumbs to fall through. Then I simply used a dremel with cutting wheel to cut off the excess on the removable plastic end piece and filed it down smoothly beveling the edges, placing it back in it's new position. Now it works great!!
Just for other buyers consideration, the loaves I made are standard size 2 lb ones from a Zojirushi BBCCX20 Bread Machine for which I use Whole Grain Flour. The knife is the OXO Good Grips 8" Bread Knife (which has an ergonomic round handle with flat edge that buts up flush to the cutting block's guides).
Customer Review: Quickly became a staple at our home...
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading the reviews I was very torn about my decision, but without any real additional choices, went ahead. Well, I was not a bit disappointed. We have been using it over 6 months now, cutting more than a loaf each day, and we absolutely love it. Sure, it will wear out over time, but we put it to the test and it has held up great (even with some individuals in our home who tend to be pretty tough on things!). My husband remarks at least weekly "wow, I can't believe how much we use this thing!" and he is right, there in nothing in the kitchen that gets a more frequent workout~ except perhaps the handle on the refrigerator door! I had two main purposes for buying it~ one: because I have a seven-year-old who very much wants to cut her own bread (she is a very mature and careful type, no worries :-). I feel so safe with her using this because the knife is always far away from her hand. The second reason is because I have been using ground flaxseed in my bread in attempt to lower my cholesterol without a statin. I measured the flaxseed so that I would get two tablespoons in each three slices (as measured by this bread slicer). This takes out all the guesswork, and my cholesterol shot right down to within normal range~ woo hoo! Ok, that was a freebe :-). Anyway, we could not be more satisfied with this product and will not hesitate to purchase it again once this one is in need of retiring. Happy day! :-)