Customer Reviews

Oxo Good Grips V-Blade Mandoline Slicer

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I read all of the bad comments about this mandoline here on Amazon and read all the good product reviews in different magazines and decided to take the plunge and buy it. I have since used it extensively. While I don't find this product perfect (hence the 4 stars), I do enjoy having it quite a bit. There are several great features for this product:

>> The blades are mostly hidden within the base, with only 2 blades packaged in a separate plastic box - everything is in one place! It saves a lot of kitchen space.

>> Most of the parts are dishwasher safe, everything but the blades. It makes clean up easy.

>> There are some food snags and it's not at smooth cutting as it might be, but it's still a whole lot faster than cutting little tiny slices of things by hand. I did 1 1/2 pounds of thinly sliced cucumbers for pickles in minutes.

>> Unlike other people, I don't have a problem with the grip for the most part. It's difficult to use with small and narrow things(carrots, celery, etc), but it works great for the bigger things. I suspect some people just haven't figured out how to use it properly yet if they've given the grip bad reviews. The woman who almost hit her dog with an onion? I've done lots of onions without any problem at all.

>> The food grip is safe. I know other people have complain about the danger involved in using this product, but ALL mandolines are dangerous! Just because this one's inexpensive doesn't make it more dangerous than the $300 ones.

>> The rubber grips on the feet keep the mandoline from sliding around while you're using it.

There are some cons to this product:

>> The blades are a bit hard to clean and are not dishwasher safe. I'm sure this is because dishwasher soap dulls blades more than anything else, but it's still something of a pain to clean the blades.

>> The food does occasionally snag.

>> The "Bowl grip" intended to fit over the sides of a bowl for easy use won't fit on any of the 12 mixing bowls of various sizes I have.

>> The disassembly and reassembly of the mandoline is not intuitive. There is a nice diagram in the instructions though.

Overall, I think this product is a good one. It's not perfect, there is an element of danger in using it, and there are things that could be improved to make this a better mandoline (solving the snagging problem would be a good start), but it's a great product for people who want a mandoline but can't shell out $200+ for one. You can't beat the price! This mandoline would also be a great product for someone who is new to mandolines and doesn't want to pay a premium for something they're not sure they'll like and/or use. I love mine! I probably won't end up upgrading to the more expensive one as this suits my purposes just fine.

I love this, I never used a slicer or mandoline before so I wasn't sure what to expect. It took a little while to figure out how to change blades and reassemble but after I played with it a few times I have it down. I like the fact that you can change the thickness of slices without changing a blade and that the blades self store but... quickly realized if you are slicing something juicy your better off taking the extra blades out while in use so they don't get dirty. You have to disassemble before cleaning (the base is dishwasher safe but not the blades) any way so no big deal. The blades are sharp and I love the way shoestring potatoes come out so quick and even. Everything I've tried so far has worked out well with practice, seems pretty safe too with the food holder. I think I'll get a lot of use out of this I've already been looking for excuses to use it. They usually sell for $49. but both Bed Bath and Beyond and Linens and Things sell them and run 20% off coupons in their adds so I bought mine for $39. not bad! Im very happy with my purchase.

Cook's Illustrated rated this mandoline their top pick.


After I'd gone out and bought another more expensive one. Live and learn, because this thing is well thought out, well put together, and if you read the instructions and don't drink before you operate it, safe. It made short work of the cucumbers that I put in my spicy tuna rolls, the apples I put in my apple tart, and the potatoes that I turned into potatoes O'Brien.

The only problem that I do have with it is that the dial is too easily turned from one setting to the next. It's not a safety thing as it has a safety button but rather a "click" feeling between the detentes. Other than that, it's the best mandoline out there. Easy to operate and clean.

Don't spend more than $50 on this. Buy it here and be happy.

I have 2 different mandolines to compare this one too. I'll tell you which one I prefer at the end. This is a great kitchen tool. It will quickly slice and chop your vegetables and fruits. I got this to save time and it definitely does save time. You can instantly dial the thickness of the cuts. With some other tools, you have to change a plate or pull things apart and slide another piece in. With this, just dial and it's done. It not only save a lot of time, it saves you hand/finger pain from those that are arthritic. It can also save you from possible cuts, if you use it properly with the handheld holder. Finally it saves you water and money and the agony of washing. You simply quickly rinse with hot water and you're done. Obviously you need a bit more work if you slice messy items.

Good:
1. Saves time. Cuts/chops easily (kind of, see Bad below).
2. Instantly dial the thickness of cuts.
3. Saves from joint or hand pain.
4. Saves from possible cuts if dexterity is poor.
5. Saves money and pain of washes appliances or multiple items. Just rinse.

Bad:
1. In some cases, you may have to really ram the item across the blade to cut. On a few occasions, the bell pepper fell off the holder because the blade did not cut it. So it just dragged it. This is probably likely because of 2 things. 1) not as sharp as it can be 2) the angles of the 2 blades need to make a closer V. The closer the V shape, the easier it cuts (from my experience)

My recommendation:
For effortless and easy cuts, go with Swissmar Borner V-Slicer Plus unit. I have that one too. That thing can really cut. I'm not exaggerating either because many others say the same thing. It's got total of 4.5 stars. Even some woman states in her review "I'm shocked Amazon is selling this item because it is so sharp. It should be banned." Yes, it's looks like cheap flimsy plastic but man does it cut!! You'll just have to overlook the looks.

For a rigid, quick thickness dialer mandoline, go with this OXO. It's heavy gauge plastic and has a non-slip feet and comfortable handle. It got a 4 rating because it's not as sharp as it could be.

i love this mandoline. the blade is so sharp i can make perfect slices of cucumbers, potatoes, lemons and limes, anything! i use it to shred cabbage for cole slaw - flawless. i love that the blades are all stored inside so it's very compact. it's so easy to use. the food holder is large and protects my hand. i would definitely recommend this product. a great deal too.

If you know how to use a mandoline, this one works very well and is easy to clean. Using any mandoline can be a little frustrating, especially if you're careful and use the guard all the time rather than risk slicing your fingers. I would give this 5 stars except the way it comes apart and fits together is not intuitive, perhaps because the entire thing is white; you have to bend it this way, then that and pull off this piece and then that, which can get confusing when you have a dinner to prep. I'm also not terribly impressed with the julienne blade - but at least it has one. It excels at basic cuts, particularly thinner slices of any length, and can go through a mountain of prep in a flash. As advice, if you're cutting a lot, I'd try using it in a large bowl because then you can move the cut slices around and even put the mandoline on top as the pile grows.

This only worked well for cabbage. Potatoes and carrots got stuck because of the dull V-blade. Pell pepper got turned into mush. I didn't even think of trying tomatoes after that. Do not trust Cook's Illustrated review for this product (like I did).

UPDATE: I contacted Oxo about the dull blade and after sending mine in received a free replacement. The replacement V-blade is considerably better. I still find the design to be too cumbersome to clean (too many parts), but the slicing ability has been much improved by the new blade, I am adding one more start to my rating.

A mandoline slicer is a must for an OCD cook like me. The perfect slices you see in cooking shows cook evenly and quickly and look great on the plate- but they're impossible with a knife. Oxo has always provided good, solid kitchen gadgets, and their track record in my kitchen drove me towards this unit when I began the hunt for a mandoline slicer.

Upon unpackaging, this slicer seems a bit daunting. There are (2) extra blades in a seperate case along with a spacer to go with the food holder, and an additional (3) blades are housed in the unit itself along with the (1) installed slicer blade (a total of 6 blades included). All fit nicely within their respective slots / containers, and you can't shake any of the spares loose.

The instruction manual is pretty good. Good diagrams with supporting text. It has a bit of a learning curve (pages titled "How to Cube" require you to reference "How to Change V-Blades" and "How to Change Cubing Blades"). Also, each blade is color coordinated with the thickness know along the side, which matches the manual. This assures that your cubes will always be, well, cubes!

Your first and most basic slicing is simple. Food + food holder + back and forth motion = perfect slices (my first-cut items were a bell pepper and an apple). More complex operations require some reading- unlock, open food track section, open cubing / julienning blade section, remove / install cubing / julienning blade, install slicer blade, close up, unlock. But again, the slices were perfect (my next item was an onion- cubed perfectly within about 10 seconds). The crinkle blade adds some drag (USE THE FOOD HOLDER) but results in beautiful food.

The cubing feature alone is well worth the price. The food first passes over the vertical sawtooth blades and is scored, and then each subsequent pass a 90 degree turn scores the food in the opposite direction and the slicing blade seperates perfect little cubes from the food. Repeat until the end. Chopping an onion like your favorite Food Network star is complex and often leaves a good chunk of food un-choppable. This baby makes little pieces of 90% of the onion. Nice.

Cleaning is fairly simple. A stainless model would be nicer dishwater-safety, but longevity of the product is my goal, so I hand-washed after use. The dishwasher is said to dull blades anyways, so it's better to just take it for a dunk in some warm soapy water. Rince and let air dry on a towel and bam- you're good to go.

A storage container for the whole setup would be nice, but hey - this will probably remain on my counter anyways. I can't imagine a meal that wouldn't benefit from use of the mandoline.

One or two uses of this unit and you'll be an expert. Also, you can chop everything in about 5 minutes and put it all in little bowls mis-en-place style and host your OWN cooking show.

Just a darn good v-slicer. I had the older blue-light special that introduced the model about 10 years ago and it eventually fell apart. This one is comfortable and slices well. Beats paying 150 bucks for a heavy, steel model.

It's one of the best kitchen thingies I've ever had. I can whip through mounds of vegetables, slicing, julienning or matchsticking them with easy changes of blade. It cleans up well and is easy to store. Plus, it doesn't use a lick of electricity. Best of all, it's quite inexpensive. Way to go, Oxo.