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129 of 129 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Matfer vs Bron vs Benriner, November 24, 2001
This review is from: Matfer Mandoline 2000S (Kitchen)
My first mandoline was the Bron which is visually the most serious/macho/cool of the bunch, but its shortcomings were unacceptable - the slicing blade is one-piece stainless, and can't hold a sharp edge; the julienne blades are not sharp and can't be sharpened; and the safety carriage is designed to not go past the cutting edge. I sold it.
I now have a Matfer (the all-stainless model) and it has a 2-piece slicing blade: the cutting edge is high-carbon steel (which can be sharpened and hold its edge) welded to a stainless part. The julienne blades are very sharp (altho can't be resharpened). The safety -gadget thing works well, but can't be used for waffle cuts. I use the Matfer only for waffle cuts and if I have large quantities of slicing. If you want french fry size potatoes or are slicing celeriac, you're better off with a sharp knife. The disadvantage of this machine is that you can't adjust the slicing blade's uniformity of thickness - my slices are thicker on one side (the Bron had more adjustment leeway).
The machine I use the most is the Benriner - the slicing blade is very sharp and is sharpenable. The (unsharpenable) julienne blades are extremely sharp. It can't do waffle cuts and is not good for massive quantities of large cuts. It's best for finer julienne and thin slicing such as potatoes, cucumber or daikon.
Don't even consider using these machines without the safety gadget.
Unless I have a large quantity of slicing to do, I'd opt for a sharp knife, because cleanup time counts too.
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207 of 213 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Slices, julienne: yes; Crinkle, waffle cuts: no, November 13, 2000
This review is from: Matfer Mandoline 2000S (Kitchen)
I returned the mandoline. Unfortunately, it did not perform as I had hoped. I have had an inexpensive plastic mandoline for several years, but have never been able to cut anything but soft vegetables like zucchini or potatoes with it. I have an inexpensive tool that slices all vegetables in all thicknesses. When I purchased the Matfer Mandoline I looked forward to what was labeled as a "professional" model that I hoped would be able to do waffle and crinkle cuts on vegetables like carrots as well as slices and julienne. I was unable to do so. The serrated blade does not seem to be sharp enough. I called the customer service number at Matfer and they admitted cutting carrots could be difficult. Waffle and crinkle cut carrots are however, pictured in the video although the demonstrator does not use anything sturdier than a zucchini for any portion of the demonstration. I also found the "pusher" difficult to use especially on smaller vegetables. The grip points do not really hold the vegetable. The customer service representative said it was important to use force in pushing vegetables through. But that resulted in the pusher cutting grooves in the vegetable and sliding over the vegetable. I purchased the mandoline after reading all the rave reviews here and am very disappointed.
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65 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simple and Effective - everything you need in a mandoline, December 25, 2000
This review is from: Matfer Mandoline 2000S (Kitchen)
Contrary to the opinion of others that saw the Matfer Mandoline as difficult and even dangerous to use, I found no such problems. Foremost, it is not dangerous. Of course if you run your fingers down the side of the blade you run the risk of cutting yourself, but if you follow directions or at least have some common sense, that will not happen. In all the times that I have used it (quite a few), I have not injured myself once. Regarding its inability to cut, specifically the waffle cut, I am puzzled in that regard as well. As soon as I opened the Matfer Mandoline, I watched the 11 minute video, and then proceeded to make waffle cuts on a potato. They were fine, and with a quick adjustment, as instructed in the video, I achieved the result that I wanted. I tried with carrots as well and attained the same success. My only complaint, though ever so small, is the scant reading material that came in the box. I was hoping for a small book, but instead I got a pamphlet. Although all the cuts are covered on the video, some paper reference would have been nice. However, that is rather insignificant to what it can do. All the three Julianne cuts worked well, and it is designed to accommodate left as well as right-handed people. It is also convenient to clean and store. Altogether, a fine product.
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