SOLD: Shimpo-Nidec mini slab-roller, $400, we split shipping

[jedovaty]

Hi!  I purchased this Shimpo-Nidec mini slab roller to make my life easier with laminated doughs (before all the DIY and neato fancy ones started showing up on etsy), but, I'm just not using it enough and I need the space for my hobby.  The Konbi restaurant in LA area uses this roller (it's orange though), check out all the videos for glimpses of it in action.  I've had the Konbi pain au chocolat, and they are pretty darn tasty.  They will source and sell it to you for about $1,500, although, you can get it new for $500-600 (I paid $529 for it).  I'm asking $400 since it is used, but, I take very good care of my things.

 

The unit came with a board and canvas specifically for clay, the wood board could make shipping tricky.  If you want the board and canvas, I'll include them, but I'm not sure they are food safe.  If you look through the konbi videos above, you'll see they are using a custom board of sorts.  I did a little prelim work here, trying to decide whether to cut my own from wood or get a plastic cutting board but never pulled the trigger on anything, had other priorities at the time.  I use the board with parchment paper and it was really annoying, the paper would slide around.  Once over that aggravation, the resulting doughs were excellent and much more uniform than had I rolled them out by hand.

 

If you are in southern california, I'm happy to meet you half-way and so I don't have to ship.  I also make occasional trips to northern California bay area, and I have various conferences I attend for work in the second half of the year around the US, so I am always happy to drag it with me on the plane.  I haven't figured out how to ship this thing yet.. I'll split it with you whatever it is.  I really don't want to ship, so one of you in California buy this 😁

 

BTW, this thing works very well for inverse laminated doughs, not sure why but was so much easier than regular laminations which do take practice.  Maybe it's because of the parchment paper.  Here's a thread you can see my early attempts at croissant dough, having very little experience making these things.  I've attached pics of my fronch apple thingies I made using inverse laminated dough and deep-fried left overs, very proud of the results!  And yes, yes, one can do these by hand with a rolling pin or dowel quite well.  Don't judge me.

 

Let me know if you have any questions

 

Edited September 9, 2021 by jedovaty
changed sale status (log)

[jedovaty]

Sold locally to a home-pottery person   Apparently these things are currently on backorder!

[no10]

@jedovaty, were the croissants (that you linked to) made using the roller? Also, would you mind telling me how you know that Konbi uses a Shimpo roller? I don't believe Konbi has shared the name of the manufacturer before. Could you tell me where you purchased your roller?

Edited March 1, 2023 by no10 (log)

[jedovaty]

@no10

Hi, sorry for the delayed response, I wasn't notified of one.  Yes, those croissants were made with the roller.  I didn't use it very much, and my croissant skills at the time were very beginner (and still are, I haven't made any since 2020).  It was a bit awkward, the board would be kind of floppy, and sometimes the dough stuck to the roller if it got too warm.  With practice and a few customizations to the unit, some seasoning, I think it would end up working quite well.

 

I'm 95% sure konbi used the shimpo roller, and their story about the little japanese shop custom making them was a bit of a dramatization.  You are correct, they never shared the name directly, but I think I recall stumbling on it somewhere (either in a video, a comment, or an article), and that's ultimately how I discovered the shimpo roller.  It looks identical to the one I had, other than color.  Shimpo rollers used to be orange.  Here's a video where you get a quick glimpse of the roller:

https://youtu.be/9AkoVwvWoqM?t=150

 

There were many videos back then where you could see more of the roller, not sure if they exist any longer, since I think Konbi is shutting down now if they haven't closed doors already. 

 

You can buy the roller new through local pottery companies, or through a specific online japanese-goods store (I forget the specific one I found it at, but I ultimately purchased it through a pottery company in the midwest US that had the best deal).  All the pottery supply shops drop-ship the product from an importer in the US, they do not stock the roller.  Just google search for shimpo mini slab roller and you can find something

 

FWIW, all this is now from memory, it's been 3 years.  I do recall that it wasn't clear if at any point shimpo made their rollers in japan or it had always been china (mine was made in china).