Progressive PL8 Professional Mandoline,White, 2.3

Absolutely brilliant bit of kitchen gear !! I use a lot of fresh veg and fruit as part of my diet but by far the biggest pain I find in the kitchen is slicing up aubergines which are tough going to slice thinly even with a good knife. Because I use a lot of these in my cooking I was looking for something that could handle this quickly. I came across Mandolines as a possibility and bought a cheap one to try it out. It was useless !!! As my mother always said 'when you buy cheap you end up buying twice'. I did a bit more research and found the Progressive PL8 came up as star rated on a lot of reviews and although it seemed a bit expensive the chore of constantly slicing salads and those aubergines eventually made me press the 'Buy' button.It arrived really quickly (Thanks Amazon Prime) and I immediately put it to use slicing up some aubergines - it performed absolutely brilliantly. Sliced to perfection far better than I could ever do with a knife, totally effortless and in a fraction of the time as well. I have given it a run with making carrots Julienne, slicing cucumbers and French fries and even waffle cutting apples just to test it out and its amazing. It slices and cuts so much faster than with a knife and more accurately too - uniform slicing is a boon when doing food prep because the ore uniform the ingredients the more uniform the cooking will be.Word of warning here if your apt to be clueless with sharp instruments stick to the Play Doh kitchen range because the blades on this thing are SHARP - like a razor and will cut into you just as fast as it will slice into a potato. I know because I just had to run a finger along the blade to see and it bit into me like a lightsaber so be warned. Progressive have made it as save as possible with a cutting position for storage which lowers the blade out of harms way and the sliding safety guard for you to grab for with which help keep your hands away from those razor sharp blades.The sliding safety guard is a brilliant idea on this as it keeps the food into line with the mandolin. Without it on my cheap mandolin its too easy for vegetable to veer off the ramp. If you don't use the sliding element of the safety guard and use just the vegetable holder remember to stop well short of the blades or else you will run the base of the veg holder into the blades possibly damaging both (I have seen a reviewer moaning about just this). So if your doing it by hand because you feel heroic and aren't using the vegetable holder then be very careful because the blade will give you some serious ER type damage, if you do use the veg holder step before you get to the blades and then put the veg holder onto the sliding hand guard. That way you can cut up the fruit and veg right to the very end without risking your fingers or damaging the machine.Watch a few videos to get an idea of how versatile this machine is - I think its one of the best things I have ever bought for my kitchen, its a real time saver and much less hassle to mess about with than a food processor plus unlike the food processor its quick to clean (just run it under a tap and leave to dry) and also uses up a lot less space. Its quite large for a mandolin but a lot less than any food processor.Make sure if you get one of these you read the manual and watch a few videos to give you the idea of how to get the best from it. I'd buy one of these for any friends who like cooking as a present - just wish someone had bought one for me years ago !

Yes this was expensive but the quality is excellent. Its easy and really safe to use and dishwasher safe. Its very sturdy when in use. A very useful item to have in the kitchen as it is easy to clean so gets used regularly.

I like the fact that the blades are self contained reducing the risk of cutting yourself whilst cleaning or swapping functions. Also is well built and sturdy. Easy to clean, just run it under the tap water and all comes out. Takes a little bit of practice to get the slicing done well, I still haven’t managed to do the waffle setting, it just breaks apart, but normal slicing works well. Strips function I wish it was a bit thicker, ok if you like French fries style but can’t do thick cut chips. and Julienne could be a little bit thinner in my opinion but does the trick. Overall is a very nice bit of kit, better than other cheaper options out there.

This mandoline is extremely useful. I use this in a professional kitchen, and have been for roughly 9 months now. The blades are sharp and it contains a safe guard to prevent yourself from cutting your fingers. I have mainly been using it to slice down thicker cut vegetables such as red and white cabbages, onions etc. Which is ideal for slices making slaws and pickles.Very good alternative if you are on a budget. It's not a tool used everyday, but other than that, it's much quicker for those who lack knife skills or cannot afford a robocoupe in a practical kitchen.

There's a lot to like about this mandoline, and only one downside to it, so let's get that out of the way now: it's a fiddle to clean. I've ended up dousing it under the tap with running water whilst using a small brush clean it rather than a regular kitchen washing up brush. This is pretty much the only downside.Now for the positive qualities:The main blade height has four preset positions. Initially I thought I'd dislike not having the option to vary the blade height to suit my requirements but each setting is perfect for the job in hand, and due to the positive locking and rigid design, there's no flex in the mandoline deck thus ensuring consistently excellent results.A clever, side-mounted slider raises and lowers vertical blades, in separate stages, allowing for julienne or chips settings as desired, and the reversible main blade makes it easy to switch between fluted or straight cuts for waffle cuts etc.I particularly like the well sliding holder which is clipped to a rail on the side of the mandoline and can be rotated clear of the main deck, if you feel like risking your fingers. It's designed in two parts, much like a food processor funnel, allowing a high degree of control with minimal down pressure. Furthermore, a built in stop prevents any accidental damage to the blade due to the food spikes hitting it, and does so with the minimum of wastage.In short, despite being a little tiresome to clean after use, I think it's excellent design, sturdy construction and excellent performance more than make up for it.

I did a bit of research for the best mandoline out on the market and this came up top a lot of lists. It's very sturdy and feels like it'd last a long time. I've used mine a couple of times a week since I bought it.Be warned: Every mandoline will get you at some point. It's just science. Although the useful protector and guide kept me safe from slicing part of my finger off, it didn't protect me from picking it up whilst the julienne blades were exposed out of the dishwasher..doh.As for the product, great quality, great slicing, buy it.