***quick cut review***

The LPASSC(Lunch Punch Animal Shape Sandwich cutters) make very cute shapes and generate more fun for both the sandwich maker as well as the eater(s).

however, the material used is not as tough as some of the stronger plastic(s) out there and certain shapes do not cut through as easily.

(update 11/15/2012)Our kids have outgrown these so we gave it away to a couple that has young kids. The owner of the company is planning on stainless steel ones. She DOES listen to her customers. We wish her the best in 2013 with her new line of products including the stainless steel ones! :-D
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***shapely review***

1) FUNability

to me, this was the most important factor when my wife and I decided to purchase this product. We have two kids (5yo & 6yo) and the quotidian and banal bag lunches were beginning to drag them down as well for us sandwich makers.

I surprised them and didn't tell them and when they got home from school, they talked about how delicious their sandwiches were (it is the SAME PB&J, but it just TASTED so much better)!!

it has lit a fire back into their boring packed lunches and they actually have offered to make the sandwiches themselves.

They have a new found love for their bagged lunches and THAT, alone, was worth the purchasing price...

2) Durability and CLEANability

with that said, for $15.00, I wish that the maker would've used better material(s) for the cutter.

The sharp edges are very thin and the plastic is the type that can create that "white" crease if one was to push down with too much pressure. This is a big deal because the white crease is the weaker part and with each use, it'll become weaker and weaker and will eventually break off.

one of my kids pressed down a bit hard because she had a hard time getting the "puppy" to go through and two white creases were formed. (this is after the third use...)

I cannot attest to if it is dishwasher safe if one likes to use the "heat" and "hot" cycle on their dishwasher. I am sure that the plastic will probably warp if they were washed in the "hot" and "heat" cycle. To be fair, I have NOT used the heat cycle and don't think I will due to the general issues of using plastic with heat.

(update: 4-21-2011 the Proprietor of the company and I have been corresponding and she is willing to send out independent testing on the material for its safety in heat. Her email is kiersten@thelunchpunch.com and our correspondence is in the comment section of this post. Please feel free to email her. :-)

I have used the "quick" wash setting for these and they seemed fine but the quick wash does not get the peanut butter out all the way.

I have found that hand washing these are the quickest and easiest way and it is actually NOT a hassle.

3) CUTability

Of the four molds (Butterfly, twin fish, puppy in dog house, and elephant and calf), the butterfly is the easiest to use. It cuts through the breads easily. The twin fish is a bit harder but still not too bad, the puppy in dog house and the elephant and calf are the hardest ones of the bunch. They require more adroitness and more dexterity. And at times, the breads get squished a bit and some bits are either pressed down or would fall off. (But that doesn't affect the kids, they like it anyways)

And I don't mean HARD as in that it is HARD labor. It is harder to cut THROUGH(the bread) with the puppy and the elephant but it is still "EASY" because all we do is press it down on bread. LOL

These molds also require BIGGER breads. We buy our breads when breads are on sale so we do not buy a particular brand although we try to stick to whole grains or whole wheat.

The height of these cutters are about 3-7/8" and the width are about 3-3/4". And the bread one use should be slightly bigger than those dimensions.

Those short stack Italian breads do not work well with these cutters.

White breads are easier to cut through than the whole grains (the 7 grains have given us the most trouble).

Now, don't get me wrong, when I say more effort, I don't mean that one has to use Herculean strength or having to lift a thousand lbs. It just takes a bit more "wiggling" of the wrists(and sometimes, HIPS) to loosen the bread. It still is a very quick process when all things considered.

I would suggest not using a lot of force as the cutting edges can bend and if one was to let their kids do it, to show them to NOT to push down too hard.

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I would recommend this product to all parents that are that trying to find a new way to re-lit some enthusiasm in their kids bagged lunches.

Listening to the kids' highly anticipated query when they ask, "mommy and daddy, what animals lunches are we getting tomorrow?" with the sparkles in their eyes, is well worth all the $15.00's, the hip and wrists wiggling, and even arthritis just to see those bright (sometimes toothless) smiles again, and again, and again...

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update: 4/21/2011

Ms. Kiersten,the proprietor of Lunch Punch, has really impressed us with her dedication to the product as well as being willing to listen and open to future improvements.

The customer service that she brings to the Lunch Punch Product is top notch.

We are now changing our rating of the Lunch Punch from 4 stars to 5 Star. A product is only as good as the people that create(s) it. And the Lunch Punch Company is tops...in our book. And it looks like they will always try to make improvements and innovation with their products.

I've been using and loving Lunch Punches for many months now. They are such a fun way to add pizzazz to any lunch quickly and easily. The punches are very easy to use, wash up nicely (they are even dishwasher safe!). What I love about the Lunch Punch sets is that they are just so cute and unlike other cookie cutter type things, the Lunch Punch is designed to use the whole slice of bread so that the only bit wasted is just the crust.

Even the packaging the Lunch Punches come in is cute. I really can't say enough great things about Lunch Punch. I love all the designs and consider them a lunchtime staple!

My girls thought these were a lot of fun, but I find them a little hard to use. The elephant's trunk get's stuck in the punch sometimes. Toasting the bread before I make the sandwich has helped with this, but that also makes the sandwich a little harder to "punch." Also, if you add a lot of veggies (cucumbers and lettuce come to mind), they have a tendency to slide around, but I still love the cutters and am glad I purchased them. They make everything from sandwiches to toast more fun. They are a great size and really just cut the crust off the bread. I was impressed there wasn't much waste.

These are so small they cut off so much of the sandwich to get the shape in … I hate using them because I feel like my kids will be hungry when they're done eating. The elephant and dog don't "cut" very well and never look like what you think they should. Not worth the $$.

I have bought other sets and just got these for my 2.5 year old nephew. My sister makes him the cutest Bento lunches for preschool, and these have added to her arsenal of cuteness. The fish make adorable little sandwiches. I can't rave enough about this product and neither can my nephew. These are also great for cutting other foods into shapes. You are only limited by your creativity!

My just 6-year-old daughter and my 7-year-old son stopped eating sandwiches for a while and it was becoming more and more difficult to find protein that they would eat--especially for my son.

So when I saw these sandwich shapes, I thought I would win them over with cuteness. So far, so good. My daughter loves the butterfly and the elephants. My son likes the elephants and especially the dolphins. Now they are asking for other animals (cat and squid in particular). (Note that the elephants--and only the elephants--come with an interim "cut" which provides some definition for the shape and is not intended to be a full cut--so don't press down too hard.)

These are fairly easy to use but not extremely fast. The shape needs a good deal of pressure and twisting back and forth, and even still, I turn over the sandwich and press the bread into the cutting areas. At least for the bread we use (whole wheat), my kids would have a tough time doing this well.

The sandwich eventually pops out pretty neatly. I'll upload some photos. The shapes come out great in the dishwasher.

Definitely wash the shapes out before they are used. The container they come in fits them nicely and compactly for storage, but it's a bit of a pain to get them in there neatly. I'll probably stop using it and just throw them in a drawer if I can find the space.

More shapes, please!

This sandwich punch is very good quality. The designs are intricate and my daughter loves her special sandwiches! I don't think I buy weird bread or anything, but they don't seem to fit the bread I buy very well. This results in a small portion of crust infiltrating the design and unnecessary wasted bread on the sides. Additionally, my 7 year old has difficulty using the elephant and dog punches independently.

I can't express my love enough for Lunch Punches! My kids are a bit older, 7 and 9 and they still LOVE them! They are easy to use, clean and so fun! My daughter raves that she has the best lunch in her class! She went so far as to say "your the best mom in the world" because of lunch punch sandwich one day! Thank you for making me be able to be that great mom for her!