Swissmar Borner PowerLine Wave Waffle Cutter

I am a gadget person. Over the past 40 years, I have owned many kitchen mandolins. This is without doubt the best.As a total gadget freak, on Prime Day I went hunting to see if there might be something better. The simple answer is "no," there is not. While looking I also noticed that my current Swissmar, purchased on May 30, 2013, had just passed its 10th birthday. It seemed a good time to write a review of a product that has stood the test of time.During the past 10 years, I have used it on average about once a day. It has, without a doubt, been the kitchen tool that has been the single most used, best-value kitchen tool I have. (And I pretty much have them all.)For most of the past 10 years, it has been sitting on my kitchen counter where it has been exposed to sunlight. I also wash it in the dishwasher sometimes. As a result, the top and the standard blade I use 90% of the time have yellowed somewhat. Besides that, it is little changed from when I received it 10 years ago. The two blades I use less frequently are still quite pristine looking because they are stored in the mandolin container box out of the sun. (They have both had several hundred uses.)After 10 years of daily use, it seems absurd to claim the blades are just as sharp today as when I received the mandolin. However, whatever dulling has occurred, it is too little to notice. After 10 years of daily use, there is no issue whatsoever with the blades being dull. They *seem* just as sharp as the day I received it.Safety: I am a klutz. I am absent-minded and easily distracted. Yet, after literally several thousand uses I have yet to cut myself while either using or washing it. (I can not say that about my kitchen knives.) Yes, like any sharp kitchen tool, it should be kept away from young kids and it should be used with suitable care. Personally, I worry far more about cutting myself with my knives than with this mandolin.Cleaning: I have purchased some fancier mandolins with adjustable blades and/or safety shoots. They are fun for a bit and if doing a fair amount of cutting they can be a bit faster on the cutting end. But "oh my God," the cleanup on all those adjustable parts takes longer than cutting veggies up the old-fashioned way by hand with a knife. I use my fancier, "safer," adjustable mandolin only every few months because getting into all the nooks and crannies is too time-consuming.Cleanup on the Swissmar is really quite easy. Use any kitchen brush, soap, scrub back and forth parallel with the blades, rinse and you are done. There are no nooks and crannies for yuk to hide in.The pictures up-loaded are of my 10-year-old Swissmar mandolin which goes in the dishwasher, is stored on the counter where it is exposed to sunlight, and is used on a daily basis. You will see that the mounted blade is a bit yellowed, but that the others are not. If this concerns you, then store your unit out of the sunlight.5 or 7 pieces?: I would never consider not getting the 7-piece version. All the cuttings go in this holder, none on the floor. It saves a mess every use. I have no doubt that it has paid for itself several times in rolls of paper towels not used for cleanup. And also again in bits of food that did not escape to the floor. (Sorry doggies!)Also - this is my first review. Quality reviews short of 6 months seem silly to me.

Finally we can make waffle fries at home. Works great though it is a bit flimsy. You MUST have the piece that holds the potatoe from another mandolin.

I recently moved into my first apartment. Well, it is still run by the University, but at least I have my own kitchen. This seemed like a good addition for when I have to slice or dice a fair amount of food stuffs - at least until my knife skills get better.First, the pros. The blades are sharp. As long as you move in a fast, consistent motion, you might wonder if there is any resistance at all. That's been my experience with vegetables and potatoes, anyway, which is what this was made to cut. Cheese is a different matter. That is too soft and sticky. The bin catches everything easily, so there are no worries there.Next, the stuff that takes some getting used to. The washing is generally easy, but there are a couple of support braces on the bottom that are not sell positioned, so cleaning the bottom of the main blade takes some work. Also, using the hand guard takes some practice. It is easy to push the item off the pins before it is necessary, which leads to inadequate support of the food item while cutting. That item can be pulled out of the guard while there is plenty left to cut. It is equally easy not to apply enough pressure and have the remainder of the food item inside the guard while you go through the motion but don't cut anything at all. Once you figure out the right amount of pressure, the guard provides safe operation that barely wastes anything at all.Now for the unfortunate. When I was looking into Swissmar Borner, I saw some promotional videos (I think on their website) that showed the ability to adjust the height. This model does not have that. There are a few different inserts with different heights, but that is the extent of the possible adjustments. You can do thin slices, thick slices, thick fries, or thin fries. You can dice by cutting the item while it is still on the guard. It would be nice to be able to choose multiple thicknesses for different prep work. The other con is that you have to create your own angle. If you look at other mandolines, you will see many of them are angled, which seems more natural to me - at least in some circumstances. This item sits horizontal on top of its bin.In all, the device is fast and easy to use. It is just missing some of the bells and whistles that I would have preferred.