Product Description

Cut thick slices of apple for pies, or veggies for stir fries. Slice potatoes thinly for homemade chips, or cabbage for cole slaw. Shred carrots for salad, or julienne, or cube, or dice. With a helpful set of instructions and three cutters, this machine yields professional looking, uniform results, at great speed and without much work on your part.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #160 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Brand: Borner
• Model: V-1001
• Dimensions: 3.70" h x 5.30" w x 15.00" l, 5.00 pounds

Features

• Uniformly slices and juliennes vegetables and fruits thick or thin
• Also shreds and dices; for safety, holder grips food, blade inserts lock in
• Made of rugged plastic, with German surgical-steel blades
• Caddy stores all parts upright or flat
• 15 inches long, 6 inches wide when assembled for storage

Amazon.com Review
An inexpensive alternative to a professional stainless-steel mandoline, this device makes it possible to quickly, uniformly, and safely slice and julienne vegetables and fruits. It also shreds cabbage and neatly dices potatoes, tomatoes, and onions. For safety, a holder firmly grips food with stainless-steel prongs so fingers are protected from the German surgical-steel blades, and the three inserts accompanying the device lock in position. The inserts act as a guide for slicing against the V-frame's knife that reverses to create slices either 1/4-inch or 1/16-inch thick and two julienne inserts for creating 1/8-inch or 3/8-inch strips. For storage, the V-frame, all three inserts, and the safety holder fit into a caddy that can stand upright on the counter, lie flat in a drawer, or hang on the wall. Made of rugged plastic, the device measures 15 inches long and 6 inches wide when assembled for storage. --Fred Brack

Customer Reviews

Hasn't left the counter in ten years
I purchased the V-Slicer over ten years ago and it has been a faithful companion in the kitchen. The speed with which it slices/dices onions makes it more than worth the price. You can make french fries or julienne fries, onion rings, scalloped potatoes, carrot or celery sticks...the list is endless! Cleanup is no more than a rinse under water. The safety holder ensures that you won't be suffering any mishaps. But for safety's sake, keep this appliance away from the kids. The blades are VERY SHARP and can deliver a nasty cut if you don't handle them carefully. For that reason, I never wash them in the sink where suds can hide them and risk injury. But these warnings aside, this is a wonderful and versatile tool. It is as useful as a mandoline at a fraction of the price. You will reach for it often and the V-Slicer will be one of your favorite and most used kitchen tools.

Best mandolin on the market, beats out higher priced items
It has been a great investment and has paid for itself. I use it more often than any other gadget in my kitchen. Clean up is simple, just rinse and store in back in it's holder. The blades are still super sharp after being used pretty much daily since 1999, and it's November of 2002 now. I use it when I make chili, sloppy joes or tacos to dice onions and peppers in seconds. I use it whenever I make hashbrowns, potato chowder, potatoes au gratin or french fries as I can safely and swiftly slice potatoes into cubes, jullianed strips, chips, scalloped slices or fries. It can julianne tender-crisp delicate slices of veggies for stir-fry or as a lovely french side dish. You can make quick easy carrot and celery sticks for snacking, cucumber slices for salads, tomato slices for burgers, you name it this does it. And it's very safe to use if you use your head. I love my Borner V-slicer and recommend it to everyone. I buy this for every wedding gift and housewarming party I've attended since 1999! Yes, there are less expensive mandolins and more expensive ones, but the ease of use, super quick clean up, handy storage/safety holder and just overall sturdyness and reliability of this little tool make me go over the top raving about it. I could not recommend it more enthusiastically. Wait--I can! This thing rocks! Buy it, try it, you will adore it! Hmmm...having read through the other reviews of this product I will add a conditional caveat to the above review. The blades are really very sharp. When dealing with any cutting tool, just as you would with a chainsaw or with a knife--use care, common sense and precaution. Always use the little safety food guide that comes with it, and make sure that you are holding the guide properly so that the arrows point the right way and the guide slides smoothly! With sensible care the Borner V-slicer is safer than a knife and very easy to use. It has drastically reduced my preparation time on many dishes and it has become as essential to my kitchen as my chef's knife and fry pan. But again, this is a high quality product with German-made blades that stay sharp longer than you will. It's super sharp and slicey. If you like your finger tips and don't like blood and gore--then use the safety guide and a little care and you'll be a-ok. The V-slicer has a safety catch at the base. To get it out of it's case you simply release the catch and gently remove the slicer. If you reach inside or try to yank or force it out without releasing the safety catch first--you'll injure yourself. The unfortunate woman whose hand was badly sliced while removing the slicer from it's case probably didn't take the time to release the catch before she tried to remove it from it's safety case. Having had a tendon reattachment of my own after a box-cutter hit a metal staple, I really feel for her, but it's not the Borner V-Slicer's fault she injured herself--Please use care! It's a very sharp edged tool, and the bladed edges for julienne and cubed foods are dangerous too. Read the instructions, use the safety guide, store it in it's safety case and avoid touching the blade edges. With a little normal caution you'll soon be confidently slicing veggies in seconds like a pro.

View from a former salesman
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Here are some of the distinctions that you might not notice from a distance.

First off, it is a great slicer. The parts fit together securely and it feels like quality. It's made in Germany and has a stainless steel blade, which does eventually get dull. It can be sharpened, but it's a little awkward.

Just because you haven't cut yourself with a knife for years, doesn't mean that you're safe with this tool. The cutting action with this tool is distinctly different from using a knife. Take my advice and use the safety handle... even when you think you don't need it.

I remember cutting an orangeonce; my hands were wet... the blade hit a seed and my hand slipped. In a flash I had cut half way through the tip of my index finger. The good news is that it was a really clean cut and healed within a week, but I learned my lesson.

You have two different sizes of julianne cuts. One is nice for french fries, the other is more like shoestring potatoes. There are also two different thicknesses of slices.

If you want to make some quick diced tomatoes or salsa, just make a few cross-cuts on a tomato (after placing it into the safety handle) and then run it through the larger julianne blade.

I imagine that you will be happy with your purchase if you chose to get one. I gave everybody a satisfaction guarantee, and only had one come back, from someone who was just scared to use it.