Customer Reviews

Kyocera CSN-202-BK Adjustable Mandolin Slicer, Black

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Length:: 5:39 Mins

I use my chef knives for much of my food slicing but when I need a lot of uniform slices I like to use a mandoline. I have a professional model but I was looking for something for small jobs, like a few slices of carrots, potato or garlic. I like the idea of a ceramic blade so I decided to give this one a shot.

I liked this slicer okay but it could be better built, even at this price. I decided to make a video review in order to show it in action. I hope that you find it useful. Thanks!

Note:
I guess I forgot to turn my remote mic back on for the Bron mandoline piece. Sorry about that.

The Kyocera adjustable mandoline slicer is an excellent product! I have used mine for almost 1 year and have no major complaints, the only one being that Kyocera could have designed the guard to snap in place covering the blade for storage. I keep mine in the plastic "dome" that it was packaged in. It is definitely VERY SHARP, so use the guard. It will effortlessly slice any vegetable: onions, cucumbers, potatoes, carrots, etc.. Easy to use, no assembly, etc. Highly recommended.

Your first few experiences with this tool are likely to be delightful. It features a ceramic blade, which is much, much sharper than the machined steel blades found on most mandolins. It is small and light, making it quick and easy to use and clean. Adjustment is accomplished simply by rotating a rectangular piece of plastic on the underside of the tool to one of four positions.

Unfortunately, the faults in this tool will soon become manifest.

First of all, as many reviewers have said, it is dangerous. The guard that comes with it is worthless and it's difficult to imagine a guard for any hand-held mandolin being of much use; such a guard is, by necessity, too small and not held in a fixed line of movement relative to the blade. Second, this tool is dangerous even when not in use: there is nothing supplied to cover the blade when it is not in use, so if you have a drawer full of kitchen tools in which you dig to find things, your fingers will eventually meet the blade.

Second, there are only four thickness settings (3.0mm, 2.0mm, 1.3mm, and 0.5mm). This is somewhat limiting. That the thinnest setting is 0.5mm is especially disappointing: Be aware that 0.5mm is substantially thicker than "paper-thin," so if that's what you are buying a mandolin to do, do not buy this one.

Third, it is flimsy. Because it is constructed entirely of plastic, it bends while you use it. This is especially bothersome for the thinnest setting. When cutting thin slices, if the plane of the deck on which the food slides is not perfectly parallel with the plane in which the blade sits, you will end up slicing only part of the food, with your slice tapering out into paper-thin-ness and then into nothing. Cutting fibrous or dense foods is difficult at any thickness due to the flimsiness.

Finally, the blade, so sharp when new, dulled to the point of near inutility after slicing two bulbs of fennel and a bulb of celery root. The blade is neither replaceable nor even removable for sharpening, so as soon as the blade dulls, the entire tool is trash.

In summary, there is little or nothing that I can do with this tool that I cannot do as well with a knife and the knife is less dangerous.

I have had this slicer for over a year and use it quite often. Onions, potatoes, garlic, carrots, cucumbers, cabbage, apples, and zucchini are just some of the things I have used this for. It's great for slicing garlic thinly for drying. Soft foods such as mushrooms are better off sliced in an egg slicer. Tough-skinned foods like green peppers take some care to slice.

The guard is a real PITA to use. Be careful! This slicer can thinly slice your fingers just as easily as a clove of garlic. :>(

I like the adjustable thickness and the notches to hold the slicer on the edge of a bowl. Just as sharp today as when it was new. When done with it, just put it in the dishwasher. A must-have in my kitchen.

Edit 4/24/2010: I've had my slicer since 2007 and it is just as sharp today as when I received it. It has proven to be very un-flimsy. I have since ordered 3 more for friends who saw mine and wanted one just like it.

Edit 8/14/2011: Mine is still going strong. Still sharp and unbroken. My internet-lees friend called today and asked me to order two more for a couple of his friends. Five converts so far!

The 3mm size is perfect for slicing cucumbers for salads. It is EXTREMELY sharp and had managed to stay that way despite the fact that I use it often. It slices most firm vegetables with ease. Tomatoes can be problematic especially if soft. Super hard vegetables like carrots can be sliced with patience and care.

I use this product nearly daily, and in fact "wore out" the first one and this is a replacement.

Slices onions perfectly for salads, and slices citrus, and vegetables wafer thin.

A great addition to any kitchen. Very sharp...be careful!

This tool works remarkably well and is quite safe if used as directed. It is a little hard to adjust for old arthritic fingers, but I get it done!!

This slices things very easily. Apples so thin you can see through them.

Within that size slice, there are six layers of skin on the middle finger. It was just as easy to slice a digit as a potato.

Be VERY careful with this. The vegtable holder is annoying, but not as annoying as typing sans finger for a month or so.

This is a wonderful tool. However, you need to be careful. The thing comes with a food holder. When you get down to a 2 or so inches of whatever you are slicing, switch to using the food holder. Do not say to yourself "I can get one more slice of onion before I get the food holder" That leads nicely to the ER. If you remember that, you and your mandolin will be very happy. It is a tool with a cutting blade, just like a power saw. Keep that in mind, and all will go well.

Never having used or purchased a mandonline before, I was happy with this when i first got it although I agree that it is dangerous. My daughter and I both sliced our fingers a few times before we got the hang of it. The guard is not very good, but it's OKAY. The disappointment came because it broke so easily. We hand-wash it, and used it fairly often to slice onions and peppers in our salad. It does a nice job. Also does a nice job with cucumbers. BUT, the plastic edge broke on one side. I tried crazy glue and then epoxy. neither worked. We were still able to use it by holding it togeter with a rubber band and slicing gently. It was a pain. But then the other side cracked and broke as well.

For $25 I think this is a rip-off. I would like to investigate sending it back to the manufacturer or distributor because it should not be falling apart so quickly.

ND