This mandoline is a favorite among professional chefs, and we were excited to put it to the test. Like the Kyocera, it’s simple and sharp out of the box with a straight blade that executes even slices every time at every width. Cutting thicker slices of starchy sweet potatoes with this tool does require a bit of muscle, but if you’re taking all the right safety precautions (the produce guard that comes in the box works well), it’s not uncomfortable to do.
Its grippy rubber base meant we could lean the Benriner against any surface without fear of slipping, providing just the right angle for smooth use—though we will note that the handle was less comfortable to grip than the Kyocera’s. The large adjustment knob on the back of the tool was one of the most precise and simple methods for selecting slice thickness of any mandoline we tried. The three interchangeable toothed blades are a cinch to insert by loosening and tightening the bolts on either side of the tool, and you can easily order replacement blades should they ever go dull. Once inserted, the blades allow you to cut very skinny strips with ease; we particularly liked the julienne thickness, though there is one thinner and one wider option available as well.
Finally, unlike the Kyocera or the Oxo, the Benriner mandoline can be completely disassembled, which makes it the easiest to clean of any model we tried by far. There’s a reason this tool is beloved by chefs everywhere. If you’re interested in something beyond straight slices (maybe you’d like to be more precise about the thickness of your cuts, or you want to try out different blades), there is no better mandoline than the Benriner No. 64.
How we tested
To test the mettle (and the metal) of the mandolines, we used produce we thought offered a common use case for a mandoline: fennel and cucumber for shaved vegetable salads, cabbage for slaw, apples for tarts. We also made sure we tested produce that represented a range of sizes and textures—we looked for a mandoline that could handle both petite, crispy radishes and big, starchy sweet potatoes with ease. We sliced these five vegetables and one fruit on all the mandolines, first using the straight blade and testing adjustable blade thickness settings, then testing any additional blades that created specialty cuts. Depending on the mandoline slicer, that could mean fine bird’s nest julienne cuts, matchsticks, and french fry cuts as well as ripples and waffle cuts.
All of the models we tested came with a guard, and we tested each to gauge their effectiveness, but we also tried the mandolines without the guards. Thankfully, no digits were harmed in the making of this story, but we also recommend a pair of NoCry Cut-Resistant Gloves to any aspiring mandoline slicers out there.
What we looked for
Ease of use: How simple was it to start slicing right out of the box?
Any way you slice it, a mandoline has pretty much one job. As such, setup should be simple, and it should be obvious how you’re intended to use it. In addition to seeing if it’s intuitive to use, we took into account whether the instructions were easy to understand. Some models had brief instructions that fit on the back of the box. Others, such as the Oxo V-Blade, included a manual that was 17 pages long.
We also evaluated how easy it was to operate the adjustable blade, change thickness settings on the slicer, and swap blades for models that offered alternative cuts. We were looking for blades that were easy to remove and install without requiring too much contact, but that stayed in place once fixed into position.
At its most basic, a mandoline needs to cut. We evaluated how easily each model sliced fruits and vegetables while testing the full range of thicknesses and specialty cuts. Some mandolines faltered when the setting was placed at the thicker end of the spectrum. Others showed signs of strain on sweet potatoes, which present more resistance than less starchy vegetables like cabbage and radishes. We also evaluated the quality and consistency of the cuts. Were they even? Were they straight? Sharpness of the blade is important too: Just like with a chef’s knife, a sharp blade is safer than a dull one as the latter requires more brute force and can lead to potential injury.
In general, we found that mandolines that had the ability to make thicker cuts struggled to do so when faced with the sweet potato test—if you’re looking to cut starchy, hardy vegetables into slices nearing a half inch, we’d recommend you rely on your knife skills and a sharp chef’s knife instead of one of these tools.
Did it have safety features?
All of the models we tested came with hand guards, which, in theory, can be used to grip the fruits and vegetables while slicing to ensure that your hands never get close to the blade. We evaluated how secure these guards were and whether or not they actually did what they promised. In some instances, they enabled us to safely hold a small radish and shave it down to the tiniest nub. In others, the grips were wobbly and unstable or created a barrier between us and the task, making it feel counterproductive and potentially dangerous.
Most high-quality mandolines, like any high-quality knife, must be hand-washed. We evaluated how safe (and easy) it was to clean out gunked-up blades and attachments, and, in some instances, scrub pigment off of plastic that was tinted by fruits and vegetables. If a product was labeled as dishwasher-safe, we treated it as such to see how well it held up.
We tested mandolines that range in price from $14–$85. Part of the testing was to determine whether the extra bells and whistles were worth the cost or if a more humbly priced mandoline could get the job done.
Other mandolines we tested
Zyliss 2-in-1 Handheld Slicer
The Zyliss 2-in-1 Handheld Slicer was a good option for a home cook who wants to feel extra safe. Aside from being mercifully uncomplicated to use, the Zyliss has a sturdy guard that completely contains whatever you’re cutting, which felt more secure than other models. It was easy to adjust the blade with the nudge of a lever and the Zyliss created even slices for all of the produce. It also had a very effective julienne setting, which required no manual changing of blades. The push of a button on the side activates the sharp teeth that cut sweet potato fries better and faster than any other model we tried. The big strike against the Zyliss was its finely serrated blade, which created lightly textured slices. We preferred smooth, straight cuts.
Oxo Good Grips Mini Complete Grate and Slice Set
We were charmed by this mini mandoline set from Oxo. Its small size and different attachments (a grater, a microplane, and a slicer) make it ideal for tasks like grating garlic or slicing cucumbers, and we appreciated that all of the components can be stashed in the included box when not in use. This would make a good starter mandoline if you’re intimidated by the full-size ones, but the lack of adjustability when it comes to thickness and the limitations that come with a slicer of this size kept it from earning a top spot.
Chef’n Sleek Slice Handheld Collapsible Mandoline
The Chef’n had some interesting features we liked, but overall it just didn’t cut as well as our winners and was slightly confusing to use. While the Sleek Slice model has a collapsible handle, there are no clear instructions on how to fold it down into a stand or fold it underneath for storage. While we liked the clearly labeled settings that face the user while slicing, the mandoline struggled to stay locked in, leading to gradually thicker slices over time. Finally, the Chef’n mandoline wasn’t as sharp as our favorite models. Sweet potatoes caught and tore instead of cutting cleanly through, and more delicate vegetables, like cucumbers, flexed and bruised against the blade before it broke the skin.
Oxo Good Grips V-Blade Mandoline Slicer
The Oxo V-Blade Mandoline has, as the name suggests, a V-shaped stainless-steel blade with a plastic body. This model opens up like a Transformer to reveal three more blades, which can make crinkle cuts, julienne strips, and french fries. Once installed, the blades were a mixed bag: Julienned sweet potato slices were nicked and inconsistent, but the crinkle setting cranked out decent ripples. There are features to recommend—the guard on the V-Blade works well—but the heft and number of bells and whistles, some that deliver and some that don’t, didn’t feel worth it.
Benriner Vegetable Slicer, Super Slicer No. 95, and Classic Slicer
Bestides our top pick above, we tested three additional Benriner models. The basic vegetable slicer, the extra-wide Super Slicer No. 95, and the Classic slicer all follow the same design principles as the No. 64, with three interchangeable toothed blades, a ribbed surface, and a wide, comfortable handle. But the vegetable slicer and classic slicer don’t have a rubber grip on the base, and in lieu of a large knob on the back to adjust slice thickness, they feature a small, imprecise bolt. The Super Slicer is just a bigger (and more expensive) version of the No. 64, which makes it a bit more cumbersome and difficult to store.
Swissmar Börner V-Power Mandoline
Like the Oxo V-Blade, the Swissmar Börner V-Power Mandoline is a many-piece contraption. It’s a highly rated product by users online, but we found it a bit awkward and unwieldy. We felt we had to be extra careful when changing out the V-shaped blades (julienne blades and a french fry cut are available), and it wasn’t easy to adjust the thickness of each slice. That said, the Swissmar clicks together nicely into a compact unit for upright storage, and it yielded some of the wispiest cabbage strips of our entire test.
Mueller Multi Blade Adjustable Mandoline
We’ll start with the good of the Mueller Multi Blade Adjustable Mandoline: This is a kickstand-style model that’s dishwasher-safe (a rarity) with knob-activated julienne blades and a whopping five interchangeable blade styles to choose from. There’s a grater, two shredders, a wavy blade, and, of course, a blade for making straight cuts, all of which snap in and out of place with relative ease and stash comfortably in the included storage box. Unfortunately, all those extra features make it quite bulky. There were other downsides as well. The thinnest setting for this slicer is 1 mm (as opposed to the paper thin 0.5 mm you get with a Benriner or Kyocera). The blades themselves weren’t as sharp as some of the other models we tested (especially the wavy blade), and food got caught easily in the tip of the V. The grating and shredding attachments worked well, but you’re better off opting for a good box grater (which has the added bonus of more surface area and a vertical angle that gives you better leverage). All in all, this mandoline wasn’t worth the extra heft and extraneous pieces.
Rösle Gourmet Slicer
Due to its smaller stature, the Rösle Gourmet Slicer didn’t perform well in our tests. While its blade was sharp and its adjustment knob allowed for precise settings, slicing was difficult because of its short and narrow body. Every fruit and vegetable we tried to slice was wider than the blade itself, catching on the sides of the blades and tearing at the edges instead of creating clean slices. The adjustment system also collected a lot of water during cleaning, making it hard to dry evenly, and the handle wasn’t big enough to get a firm grip. the Rösle is, however, a precision slicer—just more specifically designed for high-end garnishes like shaving truffles or Parmigiano-Reggiano over a bowl of pasta.
Dash Safe Slice
The Dash Safe Slice Mandoline was unlike any other mandoline slicer we tested. It features a vertically oriented blade that requires you to manually pump it up and down with one hand while pushing food down a chute with the other—the guillotine of mandolines, if you will. The back of the slicer is where you’ll find the thickness dial (which ranges from 0.5–8 mm) and two knobs that activate julienne and matchstick settings. While it’s quite a bulky contraption when all set up, it does break down into a more compact form.
