Mandolines

[Marlene]

Is anyone else having problems with the OXO set to julienne? I'm finding that the julienned pieces don't get cut all the way through at the end, which is a big pita.

←

Funny that you mention this, as a friend got so pissed off about it that she pitched the thing. She got a Benriner and has been much, much happier with it.

I'm about to get a Benriner, I think. I have one of the cheapo plastic ones, and I hate it.

←

I had an Oxo Mandoline that I absolutely hated. It didn't slice cleanly julienne or otherwise. I got a Du Buyer and I love it.

[menon1971]

Is anyone else having problems with the OXO set to julienne? I'm finding that the julienned pieces don't get cut all the way through at the end, which is a big pita.

←

Funny that you mention this, as a friend got so pissed off about it that she pitched the thing. She got a Benriner and has been much, much happier with it.

I'm about to get a Benriner, I think. I have one of the cheapo plastic ones, and I hate it.

←

I had an Oxo Mandoline that I absolutely hated. It didn't slice cleanly julienne or otherwise. I got a Du Buyer and I love it.

←

I was given a De Buyer and find the straight blade rather poor in terms of shape and edge retention.

[Smithy]

Is anyone else having problems with the OXO set to julienne? I'm finding that the julienned pieces don't get cut all the way through at the end, which is a big pita.

←

Funny that you mention this, as a friend got so pissed off about it that she pitched the thing. She got a Benriner and has been much, much happier with it.

I'm about to get a Benriner, I think. I have one of the cheapo plastic ones, and I hate it.

←

I had an Oxo Mandoline that I absolutely hated. It didn't slice cleanly julienne or otherwise. I got a Du Buyer and I love it.

←

I bought an Oxo mandoline and took it back after only a couple of tries. It didn't cut anything cleanly. Stuff kept getting jammed in the notch of the V. I'm convinced that the V-shape is a bad idea for the blade configuration, and that the best bet is a slanted blade. If someone searched around here long enough, they'd find where Fifi commented that the French put a lot of research into the guillotine before determining that the slanted blade was the best bet.

Strangely, I've been quite happy with the $8 Chef's Choice or some such supermarket cheapo brand mandoline that I bought right after I took the Oxo back. I'm sure it won't last, but since I bought it to see whether a mandoline was right for me, I haven't felt the need to upgrade.

[MarketStEl]

Think about what you will be slicing the most.  The Kyocera has a ceramic blade so will stay very sharp for years but you will not be able to resharpen it yourself.  I have a regular Benriner mandoline with the 3 sets of julienne blades and I use it more than my stainless steel Bron.  The fact that the Benriner is so easy to pull out and wash makes it my first choice for most things but for shredding cabbage or other larger items the Bron is a better choice because it's wider.  The super Benriner is 1 1/2" wider than the regular and at 5" wide makes it a great choice for general use.

←

I should note here that I am pleased with the performance of all three Kyoceras that I purchased: the ultra-thin fixed thickness (which is an older design), the julienne and the adjustable thickness. I'm guessing that there was a problem with the older design (which has shallower side walls) cracking, as my julienne model did; the replacement W-S gave me has deeper sides.

Still, they perform very well and are attractively priced.

[Chris Amirault]

I still haven't figured out the julienne problem with my Oxo, but I want to report that the removable blade sharpens up very nicely.

[andiesenji]

I am still using my old Bron, which is getting a bit long in the tooth, and have been leaning toward replacing it with the de Buyer Pro V which I had a chance to try about a year ago and liked the way it worked.

deBuyer Pro V mandoline

However I just spotted this gem and am wondering just how much better the blades can be to justify this price.

I will say that the working position of the deBuyer is a siginificant advantage for anyone with less than optimum strength and/or artiritic joints and much less tiring to use.

Of course, the cost is not going to be reasonable unless one is going to be using it for large batches of sliced and/or julienned foods on a fairly regular basis.

I need one for slicing ginger for my large batches of candied ginger and for slicing cucumbers and etc., for pickles.

[joiei]

Is anyone else having problems with the OXO set to julienne? I'm finding that the julienned pieces don't get cut all the way through at the end, which is a big pita.

←

Funny that you mention this, as a friend got so pissed off about it that she pitched the thing. She got a Benriner and has been much, much happier with it.

I'm about to get a Benriner, I think. I have one of the cheapo plastic ones, and I hate it.

←

I have used my Benriner so much over the last 7 years that I am thinking it is time to get a new one, I definitely got my money's worth out of this one.

[Marlene]

I am still using my old Bron, which is getting a bit long in the tooth, and have been leaning toward replacing it with the de Buyer Pro V which I had a chance to try about a year ago and liked the way it worked.

deBuyer Pro V mandoline

However I just spotted this gem and am wondering just how much better the blades can be to justify this price.

←

Andie, that Shun is a pretty looking piece of equipment!

[Nargi]

Hmmm, so I know this is not exactly a new thread, but I figured I'd toss something in. I read through the entire thread (and although there are several other threads out there, I'm not that dedicated). I own a pretty decent SS Bron (it was $220 originally, but through some nifty bargaining and luck, I got it for all of 20 bucks) and a regular Benriner. Although the Benriner is definitely sharper and for quick jobs, much more convenient (doing 50 pounds of potatoes would warrant the Bron), I noticed that with tougher vegetables, like carrots and daikon, the julienne blades on the Benriner just aren't up to par. I've tried different angles, techniques, etc. and it always seems to get stuck/jammed. I have to use them at work and I do it at home and I've yet to find an adequate solution. I was making some psuedo-Japanese pickled carrot and daikon salad the other day and it took me like half an hour just to mise en place everything. No bueno.

[Nyleve Baar]

I'm looking for a mandoline as a gift for my son - the obsessed cook. I personally have never owned or used one, so I have no idea what to buy. All I know is that it has to be good enough quality and easy (and reasonably safe) to use. I need recommendations for mandolines that would fall into the $50 to $100 range. He isn't sure if he wants a V-cutter or regular so it's even more complicated.

[John Rosevear]

I own this Oxo V-blade model and have been entirely satisfied with it... and haven't cut myself once, which is a nontrivial thing, as I'm a major kitchen klutz.

[santo_grace]

I own the Oxo regular (non V-blade) and it still works well after 3 years of use.

[JAZ]

The OXOs (either the V-slicer or the mandoline) are very good for the price. Whatever you get, I'd recommend buying a knife glove like this Microplane version to go with it. Hand guards for mandolines are pretty much useless.

[John Rosevear]

The Oxo handguard works fairly well once one gets the hang of it -- which might only make it the best of a bad lot, arguably -- but I agree that that glove looks like a good idea.

[Nyleve Baar]

It's my son. Whatever else I get him, I'll also get a glove to go with it. I've heard you can get good ones in fishing supply stores.

[paulraphael]

Forget OXO ... get a Japanese Benriner cutter. Under $50, often under $30, and they will outperform anything else on the market, by a lot. Only caveat is that they're less adjustable than the expensive euro models.

I think there are a few different models available; maybe someone who's used a few can offer pointers.

Edited November 24, 2009 by paulraphael (log)

[John Rosevear]

For whatever it's worth (I leave that as an open question), Cook's Illustrated did a mandoline comparo last year and rated a Benriner just below the Oxo V-slicer and a little Kyocera ceramic model, and just above the straight-blade Oxo. All were "highly recommended". The Oxo won on safety and versatility, but the Benriner was lauded for its juliennes.

[Anna N]

I have had the smaller Benriner for about 5 years and have been very impressed with it. The blade finally needs replacing and I am considering whether to replace this blade or ask Santa to bring me the wider version. I also have a large French-style mandoline but never use it - seems overkill for the stuff I do. I don't use a glove or a hand-guard but simply stop cutting when the veggie gets small enough that I feel my fingers are threatened then toss the "wasted" veggie in a milk carton in the freezer for use in stock.

[JAZ]

The Benriners are nice, but they don't do waffle cuts.

[jgm]

Williams-Sonoma is carrying one by DeBuyer that I have and like a lot. They have two models and mine is the v-slicer. The blade is very sharp, and it WILL slice tomatoes, which most mandolines will not.

I also have a straight-blade Oxo and it does a very good job. The DeBuyer takes up less space and will do soft items like tomatoes, so I replaced the Oxo with it. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend either one.

[Chris Amirault]

I have an OXO slant blade and a Benriner both. The OXO does waffle cuts but lousy julienne; the ends don't get cut for some reason, so you get long-fingered combs instead of julienne. The Benriner isn't as adjustable, it's true, but I grab it more often than the OXO bc of ease of use.

[OliverB]

I have a large one with several blades to julienne etc, but it's a pain to set up and use and clean. I hardly ever use it, maybe once a year. I will get a benriner if I ever see on in the Asian market, they are great. For now I'm very happy with my little OXO handheld unit, it's small, very sharp, super easy to clean and store.

For your son, you kind of have to find out if he's even interested in doing crinkle cuts or other such specialties. I love to julienne, slice, dice by hand, easy one of my most favorite parts about cooking. I've never even used the julienne knife inserts on my big one. But people are different and he might appreciate these functions, then I'd go with the nice big one that Williams Sonoma currently offers. It's by De Buyer and costs 199 on their website:

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/search/results.html?words=mandouline

Overkill for the occasional slicing of a carrot or two, but a great unit if you intend to use it often.

On this page you can also see a cheaper version by De Buyer and all the OXOs, including the little hand held one I have, the one for 19.99. I use that one often, though the little pusher/handguard is pretty useless except to protect the blade during storage. I have not yet cut myself, despite the blade being incredibly sharp. There are also links to videos on that page.

Edit to add: personally I'd not want a V cutter, there are two blades at sharp angles coming at my fingers, I prefer one to watch out for. Especially since I never use the guard thingies nor those gloves. Just a thought.

Edited November 24, 2009 by OliverB (log)

[scubadoo97]

I have had the smaller Benriner for about 5 years and have been very impressed with it. The blade finally needs replacing and I am considering whether to replace this blade or ask Santa to bring me the wider version. I also have a large French-style mandoline but never use it - seems overkill for the stuff I do. I don't use a glove or a hand-guard but simply stop cutting when the veggie gets small enough that I feel my fingers are threatened then toss the "wasted" veggie in a milk carton in the freezer for use in stock.

Yes as Jaz said the Benriner does not do waffle cuts and that's why I have both the Bron and the Benriner. I use the Bron very infrequently. The Benriner is fantastic and for the price one of the best buys in a mandoline. I picked up one of the larger Benriners to accommodate larger items but still find myself using the regular one most often. One thing I don't like about the larger one is that it has two set screws to set the thickness. If they are not exactly set the same the slices will be uneven and since they are just screws it's hard to see if are at the same height.

Anna that blade can slide out and be sharpened. It's a single beveled edge but not hollow on the back and pretty easy to sharpen on a stone.

[Anna N]

. . .

Anna that blade can slide out and be sharpened. It's a single beveled edge but not hollow on the back and pretty easy to sharpen on a stone.

I do know that but unfortunately sharpening on a stone is not my forte. I know it's "easy" but not for some of us. But thanks for the information on the wider unit - I think I will stick to the one I have and get a new blade. Waffle cuts are not something I do so it's not a limitation for me.

[Nyleve Baar]

I will have to ask Son if he is interested in waffle cuts. So far, he has just explained that he feels his life is incomplete until he can make shoestring fries. Which is why the mandoline. Research continues. Keep those opinions coming - thanks!