Last year I got a cheap Mandoline from Walmart expecting to upgrade later. I had to do modifications on it to get it through apple drying season. But a basic design flaw made me upgrade for this season. A lot of cheap ones have a single pivot point at the rear of the unit when adjusting the thickness of the cut. Add in a blade that loosens over time and you end up with noticeably wedge shaped slices. No big deal for salads but drying or frying with thin edges makes for crispy or over done edges.
After reading the multitude of “Best of” reviews from every imaginable online source, there was no clear winner. Looking at the always small number of negative reviews for any product on Amazon, I was still at a quandary of what to buy. So, I decided to go to one of those specialty Kitchen stores at an outlet mall. They had several brands of mandolines that I recognized as “Best” from reading up. The helpful store clerk was nice enough to open the boxes so I could examine the function and sturdiness of each one.
Ended up buying a PL8 Progressive Professional 2.0. They are $50 to 60 online. Stainless steel deck with plastic frame. The number one selling point is that the rear deck goes up and down level to the fixed blade that is held down by screws. Which is the number two point so I can remove and sharpen or replace easily. A third point is the well designed safety guard and feeder. A two piece design as you can see in the pic. The clear piece attaches to the frame and keeps the feeder in place. The feeder is spring loaded and keeps the item aligned with metal pins and plastic spikes. Fortunately, the clear piece also keeps the feeder from going too deep and hitting the plastic spikes and metal pins with the blade. When I do apples, the unsliced piece left over is just the right size to set aside for my wife to snack on with peanut butter.
Overall, it seems to be a sturdy unit made in China. Parts available in USA. A few negative reviews on Amazon had weird issues. One reported she shaved off the plastic spikes on the feeder. I suspect she ignored the instructions and did not use the clear piece in combo with it.
A few others said the adjustment knob was hard to turn or they broke it off. The 2.0 version has “Pull” written on the frame beside the knob. But even that may not be enough to get the attention of some users.
