Swissmar Borner V-1001 V-Slicer Plus Mandoline 6 Piece Set
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Swissmar Borner V-1001 V-Slicer Plus Mandoline 6 Piece Set
Customer Review: Affordable little wonder
Summary: 5 Stars
I really, really wanted a mandoline but just couldn't see spending well over $100 for one. Saw the reviews on this and thought I'd give it a try. What a terrific buy! I've had it for a year now. When I first tried it with a red onion, I complained that it wasn't doing anything since I didn't feel any resistance at all. To my surprise there was a pile of beautifully sliced red onions under the machine. No effort at all! After a year it still slices as effortlessly. Just sliced through 5 lbs of potatoes for gratins and home-made chips and couldn't be happier with the performance of this slicer. I don't care for the safety guide (personal preference) so I use a cut-safe glove to hold the food items for faster and more efficient slicing. The glove makes it much easier for julienne cuts since that does require a bit more effort and I seem to fumble with the safety guide. Use caution if washing by hand as it will slice your sponge or washcloth with ease! And the size is perfect so storage is easy. It's sits on my counter top next to the cannisters and no one realizes it's there. It does indeed have a bit of a cheap look to it so I hesitate to buy them for wedding gifts, but it really is a nice slicer!Customer Review: one word: matchsticks
Summary: 4 Stars
Anyone who has done a lot of cooking knows that cutting carrots into "matchsticks" (a.k.a. to "Julienne") is an extremely tedious and time consuming task. The V-Slicer can do this (and French fries) very quickly.
Just buy the largest carrots possible and hold them at about a 45 degree angle to the slicer (yes, without the hand protector), using the fine Julienne insert/blade. To save your fingers, only slice about 3/4 of it and save the last chunk for something else.
Even though it excels brilliantly at this one task, I only gave it 4 stars because, that's the best thing it can do that a knife can't do almost as quickly or as well. Of course, you can also use it to make chunks quickly and slice things thinner and/or more uniformly than with a knife, but for non-party, everyday home use, I usually only reach for it to Julienne.
It's may also be too dangerous of a tool to have in your house if you have children, despite the "multi-box" it now comes with (if you find it selling for less somewhere else and it doesn't say "Plus", you will only be getting the old V-Slicer without this protection box).
Customer Review: Happiness is a Borner Slicer!
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this slicer. Over the years I have tried every kind of slicer. You know, K-Tel, Slap chop, press and chop, even the food processors. Nothing seams to beat the precision of a knife until now.
Over 10 years ago I saw this slicer at a home show. I saw the full demonstration, live, right in front of me. What it did to vegetables was absolutely amazing. I had to have one so I bought one. My first wife took custody of the slicer and no amount of pleading would change her mind. I eventually was lucky enough to find one at a yard sale for a ridiculously low price. They obviously did not know what they had, but I did. My sister kept it for her use and I had no slicer anymore. I looked and looked but it was no where to be found. I checked a specialty store but they wanted $250 for something that was not as good.
Finally I said to myself that I should check on-line and there it was. Wow! So I bought two of them. You know, just in case! And sure enough it is just as good as the day I saw the demonstration 10 years ago. When you have something good, why change it, right?
Customer Review: Used daily in a small restaurant - GREAT SLICER
Summary: 5 Stars
UPDATE: After 2 years of daily use my original slicer is still as sharp as ever. It has been dropped, stepped on, etc., and is still doing a good job. I've sold 8 and given 6 more as gifts. With the "4 for 3" Promotion, they are a great deal.
ORIGINAL REVIEW: We have used this slicer daily for over a year, and even with less than ideal care it is still going strong. It is mainly used to slice onions, tomatoes, and potatoes, and has been used occasionally to dice onions and shred lettuce/cabbage. It saves a tremendous amount of time and provides uniform slices with no waste. I have even sold 6 of these to customers who have seen me using it, and given a few more as gifts. CAUTION - the blades are razor sharp, but used correctly the slicer is perfectly safe (just like any other piece of cutlery). The only people who have had trouble using the slicer were the ones who tried too hard to make it work, ie., they tried to force items through. The blades are sharp enough to cut smoothly and quickly if the correct amount of pressure is applied with the holder. This is one of the best items I've found on Amazon.
Customer Review: Gets some jobs done
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm fairly happy I have this Mandoline. It does get the job done for slicing fruit to put into the dehydrator. Which is what I use it for 90% of the time.
However, if it did other things better I would have been able to give it a better rating AND use it more often than for fruit.
1) I don't like the storage thingy it comes with. I find that the extra stored blades/plates cut into each other and don't really fit well. Not good! They are super sharp and I'm not super graceful. I also find the release of the main mandoline body tricky. If I used it more, maybe it would become second nature.
2) Would like to have taller legs to slice many items without stopping. Maybe I can just find a bowl the right size?
3) Would like more variability in the thickness of slices. Seems to be only two setting that I can figure out.
Maybe I'm being too easy going about this. If the machine worked better, I'd use it more. Saying it that way, I don't know why I let this thing take up drawer space in my kitchen. I should try a different brand and than revise my review.