Customer Reviews

Pinzon Stainless-Steel Mandoline

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I bought this as a gold box item, thankfully, because otherwise I would have returned it. All I use it for is to slice onions thinly. I've used the straight blade less than 10 times and it is already dull. I read the reviews for the previous Pinzon mandoline which were universally terrible but I also read that Amazon had taken that model off the market and replaced it with this one which was supposed to be much better but my complaint is the same as the other model. Also the slices get stuck in the machine. I had better luck with my plastic V-slicer. I gave the mandoline 2 stars because it does have a lot of attachments and is easy to use but it is difficult to clean and doesn't serve its main purpose, to slice!

Update 2/29/08: I now absolutely hate this product. The straight blade has completely dulled. The food slices get caught under the mandoline by the blades that are turned to dice the food rather than slip out to the bowl or plate underneath. Make sure you use the food holder to slice because the blade is so dull, the food slips and you will get cut. This mandoline is going in the trash. I won't even donate it because I'm afraid someone will get hurt.

It does a good job of slicing but I am reluctant to use it unless I have a large volume to slice. It requires great care and time to clean it after each use. If you just have one onion, for example, don't bother with it. If you have a 10 pound bag of potatoes, it will save you time and will make uniform slices. However, the slices drop down below the unit which is already slanted downward so there is not much room for the slices to accumulate before you have to remove them. I think it would be better to have all legs the longer length so there is more clearance below the blade and you could place a bowl to catch the slices.

...stylish, well-constructed, and almost completely useless as a cutting instrument. I cannot even begin to fathom what this product's designers were thinking when they decided on the blade design. If you doubt how important an angled blade is try cutting something, anything, by pushing a knife blade through it without pulling it back and forth as you cut. There are a few things it cut acceptably well before the blade dulled by the 3rd or 4th use, but virtually everything came out as if cut by a rusty lawnmower. Prospective buyers would be better off buying the cheapest angled or V-bladed mandolin they can find than purchasing this product. I have used mandolins in commercial kitchens for over a decade and have never come across one as useless as this.

I love Pinzon products, and I own quite a number of them. I've found the quality and value to be superb in every case in my personal experience. I'd read all the earlier reviews of this mandoline, which essentially said the mandoline is substantial and well-designed but suffers the fatal flaw of having very dull blades; that this flaw rendered the whole thing pretty much unusable. This is undoubtedly what prompted Pinzon to redesign the blades and reintroduce the mandoline for review on Amazon Vine.

I was very excited to get a shot at using/reviewing this mandoline. I have a plastic V-slicer-type mandoline that I've enjoyed, but it's considerably smaller than the Pinzon and has only four variations--achieved by changing out a plastic wedge--for thin, thick, thicker, and one-size julienne cuts. The Pinzon is a vast improvement over that, in that it has the rough and fine grater blades, a crinkle-cut blade, and a flat slicing blade that can be used alone or with one of two julienne blades that rotate into position with the turn of a knob. With each of these blades, you have a choice of 0-2-4-6 depths of thickness, again with just the turn of a knob, so the combinations and permutations of the blades are amazing. The mandoline is potentially a restaurant-quality mandoline at a very fair price.

But, woe is me, I was apparently sent the wrong model to review. Instead of the spiffy new model with the superior new sharp blades, I received the dull-bladed one that everyone has been complaining about. Had it not been for that, I would have given this product at least four stars. But the dull blades I received make it impossible to test the new product and so I have to give it two stars--one more than it deserves because it IS beautiful. If I had not received it as a complimentary review product, I would be returning it for a refund. I'm just hoping now that Pinzon will come out with a separate replacement blade set that I can purchase to use with this mandoline. Otherwise, I can't imagine what I'm going to do with it. Certainly not slice anything.

I confess, I'm a total klutz - especially with anything sharp. After multiple friends ranted and raved about their mandolines and suggested I get one so I could slice safely, I thought about it but figured it was just another of those gadgets that'd take up space and never really do what was promised. However, when I found this on sale, I figured I'd give it a try. It'd have been a bargain at the full price. It does EVERYTHING as promised - it's as safe as my friends said a mandoline would be - and it's even easy to clean.

Extremely pleased with the product. I used mandolines before in the restaurant industry, and it is so nice to own one for home use. It is well made and sufficiently heavy-duty for more than use by a homeowner.

As others have mentioned, this is most useful with a large quantity of product. However, I've used it a number of times to make homemade french fries while only using one potato. The uniform cuts are amazing, however, I wish there were more control over the thickness of cuts. The perpendicular blade makes for a nice dice or chop.

Edit: changed large quality to large quantity

Been wanting a Mandolin for awhile. A one Day Sale put these dont to fifteen buckaros here on Amazon.
This cleans up easily , folds down to be somewhat easier to store... but it is still bulky. The blade option are a nice feautre.
Sliced 16 potatoes for scalloped potatoes in minutes.... very nice.

Note: a mandolin is only useful for larger jobs, otherwise the cleanup and all that, make it worth using just a knife and a cutting board.

I got this for my mom so chopping viggies and stuff would be easier.

SHE LOVES IT. I have looked for mandlines around and they are either flimsy, HUGE or expensive. I was gettgin ready to buy one at a restaurant supply (Huge and $200) when I found this one. It is stainless steel so it is not flimsy and it is a good size for at home.

This is a sturdy mandoline. I previously owned a plastic mandoline and it worked fine but this one feels much more secure when slicing. The rubberized legs keep it from sliding around the counter and it doesn't flex when pushing the veg down the plane. I use it on top of a cutting board or cookie sheet.

Out of the box there was machine grease visible and it had an odor so I put it on the top rack of my dishwasher and did a quick wash even though the product description says to hand wash. There was no problem with this and the grease was gone.

I sliced carrots and potatoes and shredded onions and cheese to test its ability. *See my photos at the top of the page. To use the "pressing cap", first cut the potato or onion, etc. in half or smaller, press the vegetable onto the pins (they hold the veg in place. *See my photo of a potato in the pins. Then put this contraption on the stainless plane. To do this, slide the bottom square part on to the metal rails of the mandoline & place the "pushing cap" on top of this plastic part. Push down on the round handle which also pushes the food in contact with the blade. The cap comes on & off to add more food but the bottom part holds the contraption on to the mandoline allowing it to slide back & forth in a straight line.

I used the "fine shredding blade" for the onions. It worked well although the "pressing cap" had a hard time holding the onion near the end of shredding. That's just the nature of onions; they come apart in sections. For the carrots, I did not use the pressing cap because I wanted rounds and just held the carrot in my hand, running it over the "smooth blade". You need to be extra careful if you're not using the pressing cap because you could easily slip and slice your hand. For the potatoes, I used the smooth blade and the "waved blade". This is where the mandoline really shines. It sliced through 5 potatoes in no time, leaving perfect slices. The waved blade took a little more effort to slice but it wasn't difficult.

I shredded cheese using the "coarse shredding blade" and the pressing cap for safety. It did a really good job shredding cheese and the position is more comfortable then shredding on a box grater. *See photo

The instructions are very skimpy. I had used a mandolin previous to using this one so I generally knew what to do. Better instructions would be helpful especially on how to safely use the "pressing cap" and how to safely slice without the cap. You can really do damage to your fingers if you are not careful. There are no measurements in the instructions for how thick your slices will be in each position of the thickness knob; it's trial and error.

Amazon should sell replacement blades because these blades will dull over time; even good knives dull with use but they can be sharpened. You may be able to sharpen the smooth blade but not any of the other blades.

This is a handy tool to have if you are doing a lot of slicing and/or you are not good at slicing evenly. I don't use it every day in my kitchen because I have fairly decent knife skills and sharp knives but it makes it quick and easy to crank out a batch of scalloped potatoes.