Mandoline recommendations?

Thinking of buying one. I don’t do deep fried things, so wouldn’t make French fries, but the other day I made a potato galette and it was a real pain trying to get those slices as consistently thin as I wanted. Came out OK anyway, but I decided to go for a mandoline.

Actually, it came out like a cross between scalloped potatoes and a galette. I had some Brie around so instead of extra butter, I threw chunks of that between layers of potatoes and shallots and herbs. Brie is good for that.

Anyway, I don’t want to spend top dollar. I decided not to get the traditional French version with the horizontal blade. I’ll go with the slanted blade or V shape. I’ve narrowed it down to Benriner from Japan, or Mueller from Austria. Both are under $100.

Any pros or cons or other preferences? What would you look for and what do you like about whatever model you use?

And I was going to get some cut-proof gloves too. I’ve cut off the end of my finger with a chef’s knife and don’t plan to do it again.

Super Benriner, all the way.

https://www.amazon.ca/Benriner-Mandoline-Slicer-Japanese-Stainless/dp/B01CZXJINY

That’s exactly the one I was considering.

Any downsides? The older version had a mediocre finger guard - that’s improved?

That on looks pretty similar to one I’ve been using for 15 years. Easy to use, you really don’t need to worry about any guard, just use the little hand thingy when you get down to a couple inches. Works great for potatoes, onions, zucchini, etc.

It appears they have fixed the finger guard issue. I don’t use the finger guard on mine, and am just really careful with it. If you feel more comfortable getting a glove, then definitely follow a safety-first protocol and get one! The mandoline is really sharp and I love it.

I strongly encourage getting what Amazon calls the “new wide version” with the new guard (I have the old wide version - but I bought it years and years ago). Basically, the “wide” version is what everyone calls the Super model.

In the photo above I have the one in the top left. I do like the storage and have had zero issues with the guard

I have the Benriner and am very happy with it. It also comes in handy when you need to change your fingerprints…

I have a Bron, a very kind gift. It is a real top of the range machine but one sees why it is named after a musical instrument, it needs the same amount of practice to master it.

I’ve had multiple brands over the years, but always come back to using the Benriner. I’ve never successfully used the various guides and guards, I just go slowly and take care. We also have what we call Mandoline Protocol in our kitchen - if anyone is using it, no one else is allowed to talk or otherwise distract the user until the task is complete.

I’ve had a Mafer stainless steel version 25 years,
The blade comes out and I get it sharpened every couple of years and hone it now and then. If I had bought plastic ones I would have spent more by now…

Tom - that’s a nice model, as is the Matfer. More than I wanted to spend at the moment though. I do like the idea of Mandoline Protocol - and my wife will be very pleased that I have yet another rule!

The OXO used to be the top rated choice.

Does anybody just use a cut resistant glove instead of a hand guard?

The OXO was one of our rejected brands. I never used it once I discovered the Benriner. We finally threw it away when we moved the last time.

What about julienne cuts on the Benriner? I love the simplicity of it and the fact that you can sharpen the blade.

+1

I have had a classic Bron for many years. Most of those years it has been folded up and in the basement. During COVID confinement I have pulled it out and used it for coleslaw and green mango salad, among other things. I have a kevlar glove. I also have a scar on my right ring finger from before having a kevlar glove.

I got an Oxo as a gift and haven’t needed to replace it. I use it less than a dozen times a year though. And I have cut myself twice, though once was getting it out of the dish drainer. That was a dumb one.

I cut the tip of my finger off a month ago using my mandoline. Luckily the loss is deminimus compared to other injuries I still suffer from.
The easy mistake is to cut different types of vegetables one after the other. Carrots were taking their own sweet time and then I switched to cucumbers which went much faster-causing me to “miscalculate” before looking again as to where my fingers were in relation to the blade.