Maybe I shouldn't have sharpened my Benriner

[BertMor]

Wus! I think I have a permanent X-Men Wolverine scar on my palm from using mandolines:Ooooh:

Hand guards are slow, do NOT promote control and even cuts, and no Virginia, there is no way you get the last bits cut with a hand guard.

I say, open the box, assemble said mandoline and throw out the hand guard

 

[Eamon Burke]

Hand guards are slow, do NOT promote control and even cuts, and no Virginia, there is no way you get the last bits cut with a hand guard.

Your evidence is irrefutable. Just what was said before, except this time you called me 'Virginia'. :razz:


They promote control because they have guide rails that keep the food moving in the exact same direction everytime, something your hand cannot do. They prevent(I'm guessing you didn't mean "promote cuts") cuts because there is a giant barrier between the blade and you, your hand shouldn't even get close(not sure how you think using a guide is going to cut you). If I had a video to show you how to get the last bits of a potato with a handguard, I'd show you. Mine has 4 teeth that stab the food, and a spring that pushes the back of the handguard against the food. After the food is small enough that the spring can feed it off the prongs, it pushes with constant, even pressure, and if you don't stop moving, it will keep feeding and cutting down to pieces as small as the tolerance between the tips of the prongs and the flat pusher in the handguard. I can, and regularly do, get 1/4" slices of potato down to the last 1/4".

Perhaps you just weren't using it right.

 

[BertMor]

Your evidence is irrefutable. Just what was said before, except this time you called me 'Virginia'. :razz:


They promote control because they have guide rails that keep the food moving in the exact same direction everytime, something your hand cannot do. They prevent(I'm guessing you didn't mean "promote cuts") cuts because there is a giant barrier between the blade and you, your hand shouldn't even get close(not sure how you think using a guide is going to cut you). If I had a video to show you how to get the last bits of a potato with a handguard, I'd show you. Mine has 4 teeth that stab the food, and a spring that pushes the back of the handguard against the food. After the food is small enough that the spring can feed it off the prongs, it pushes with constant, even pressure, and if you don't stop moving, it will keep feeding and cutting down to pieces as small as the tolerance between the tips of the prongs and the flat pusher in the handguard. I can, and regularly do, get 1/4" slices of potato down to the last 1/4".

Perhaps you just weren't using it right.

With 25 years in pro kitchens, I think I have a small bit of experience in using a mandoline. I'm not talking about guard rails because they are what allow you to go in straight lines (generally). Maybe you are not using it correctly. Using the hand tool is slow. You have to fit the food onto it, remove the bit after and reload. When I have a case of potato needing slicing for pans of scalloped potato's, NG, Virginia, Exec Chef Santa Claus is gonna rip you a new one for being a lazy slow poke.

Just my opinion, carry on!

 

[Salty dog]

Must be an old school thing. I can't recall ever seeing a hand guard much less using one.

 

[EdipisReks]

cut resistant gloves are much better than hand guards. i have a periodic tremor due to a medication i take, and i sometimes even use my cut resistant gloves on my off hand when using my knives. i use blade x5s, when i feel the need (i've gone through several kevlar gloves, and these have been the best fitting and most cut resistant). i sometimes use them for grabbing hot pans, too, as they are heat resistant, though they aren't as good, by any stretch, as my favored suede oven mitts.

 

[stevenStefano]

Cut and heat resistant gloves sound awesome. I use those hot glove type things in work all the time because they're a little easier than using cloths, especially when you're lifting things out of a combi oven when its on steam. Ones I use are pretty cheap though and don't last long