I've had few, but they were flimsy and poorly made. I've looked at some sturdier ones, but don't really know what to look for. They can be pricey too. I don't mind paying for quality, but don't want waste $ either. Anyone here have experience with this? Thanks,
Bill

I have an old classic French manoline that I still use but I have to say it freaks me out a bit as it didn't come with a finger guard. It also is a pain to get sharpened.

Kimberley (from Rouxbe) has an Oxo that is pretty nice to use. Also, the great thing about Oxo products is that they are guaranteed to work, which is a total bonus for me.

There are also many Japanese mandolines that are quite popular with chefs. They can be expensive (at least where I have seen them) but they are light-weight and easy to use.

Wow there sure many mandolines available these days. I just did a quick search on Amazon and there were tons. Perhaps you may want to check it out and read some of the reviews there as well. Best of luck!

I own several, and I have wasted money on some of them.

I have also found the OXO brand to be a reasonal price and works well on everything but tomatoes. (Alas, slicing tomatoes, I don't know.)

I have a small hand held one that is perfect for slicing onions, zucchini and potatoes for frying or gratins. Because it is small, it can be held directly over a bowl or pan. I think I paid about $12.00 for it. It even has a slight thickness adjuster on it.

Dawn and Nate,
Thanks for the info. I had been looking at the OXO and liked that one. I especially like that it has places to store the "parts". Will check out Amazon too. Do you think the "chainmail" type gloves are worth anything?

Thanks again. You all continue to do a great job here.

Actually had to look that one up. I had never heard of "chainmail" gloves before. For anyone that is curious here are a few links.

http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/001643.php
http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/001697.php

Now as for chainmail gloves being "worth anything", I can say they are worth a pretty penny, meaning they seem to be expensive. I think that this is one product that I may never use so I am not sure if I could advice you on this matter. Again you may want to check out those two links.

Cheers!

I have several Kevlar gloves and I use them on a weekly basis. I put a latex glove over them to keep them cleaner. They let me make paper thin cuts on tomatoes and onions. I cut a small slice off the bottom of the veg. and resting my hand covered withe glove on top, I can cut an amazing thin slice. This is not the way they teach in school but it works for me. My first glove was goven to me by a friend that owns a small meat plant. He insists that his butchers and himself wear them at all times they are using a knife. I pay $8.00 a glove.(he buys in bulk) My original glove has lasted about a year.

I decided to go with the Swissmar Borner V-Slicer Plus Mandoline. Not the cheapest or fanciest, but it seems to do the kind of jobs I had in mind. Very sharp, easily slices tomatoes and onions. It is not as versatile as some pro models with variable settings (it has two thickness settings), but it will also julienne in two sizes and could dice as well (have not tried that). It also stores itself and the blades in a snap lock case to minimize the potential of injuries. It will be handy for larger jobs like onion soup.

I also picked up a kevlar glove. It fits well, and works ..., but that's another story ;-)

Bill

Bill - Congrats on your purchase!

For others, I have the de Buyer Kobra. I like how you can adjust the thickness very easily buy adjusting the nob at the end of the handle and easy to clean. You can slice onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, paper thin and your fingers won't go along with it because it has a pusher. When you purchase a mandoline make sure it is a V-shape blade. This will help things slice well!