Looking for a decent slicer

[SmokinOutBack]

Hey gang, got a question about purchasing a slicer. Probably only going to use it for slicing beef for sammies, canadian bacon, maybe some cheese, nothing real big. Looking for advice and not wanting to spend a ton. On the other hand, don't want a piece of poop either. Something decent, but certainly not professional. Any ideas? Thanks.

[TATONKA3A2]

I second BBQ Derek - we purchased that same slicer about 5yrs ago for $80 at Fleet Farm and have been very happy with it. We have never sliced cheese on it though.

[MichChef]

"Shes going to teach me how to use it this weekend."

What's there to teach? You just slap a chunk of meat or cheese in it, turn it on and move the deck back and forth gradually slicing your fingers into thin slices.

[IrishChef]

Just an FYI: Cheese is really hard on slicers. Even the light duty commercial models will have problems with it. If you plan on slicing a lot of cheese, don't plan on a cheap slicer lasting very long.

[OL" Timer]

They are fine for hard cheese's, but not soft or crumbly cheeses, make for a sticky mess to clean up. Sprayed the blade once with Pam and tried to do Brie. :)

[SmokinOutBack]

Thanks for all the input guys, appreciate it. I'm not in a big hurry to buy one and just wanted some opinions. I had heard before that cheese slicers were expensive and that's not my main concern anyway. It would be nice to have a decent one on hand for bottom rounds, pork loins, etc.

[curious aardvark]

That looks like a rebadged Graef to me - which was what I was going to suggest. And I know chef's choice do sell rebadged graef's.
If it's made in germany then you're good to go

And if it is a graef it'll use a direct drive wormgear drive which will have no problems with cheese.

The graef classic 180:


Definitely looks like the same manufacturer.
And at $99 that's a serious deal
Go for it !

[Meat Hunter]

Don't know how you feel about ebay, but as you probably know, things made back in the day were usually built a bit tougher.

I got this a couple months back. One nice thing about it, ALL METAL GEARS. I don't believe any of the newer smaller style slicers out there today use em, just plastic. This one is the model 1101-E. I have used it to slice paper thin slices of pastrami, up to thick cuts for jerky. Take it nice and slow and she cuts perfect without bogging down. Just my .02

Well if you know the movie, then you can relate.

Actually, my phone books came last year, but today came my new slicer.
Not a top notch one, but a decent one for the price.
9 bucks brand new, never used. Off ebay. Opened it up, PERFECT. Lost my bid on a online auction site by 4 dollars on a nice used Hobart so I had to get something quick.
Sliced a few passes on some sirloin. Oh yeah, gonna be allot easier than using the old knife when it comes time to slicing bacon and such.

[Mikey]

Just an FYI: Cheese is really hard on slicers. Even the light duty commercial models will have problems with it. If you plan on slicing a lot of cheese, don't plan on a cheap slicer lasting very long.

Not so if you do one small thing; from the fridge, put your block of cheese in the freezer for 5 minutes max and you'll have no problems. I run cheese through my Rival all the time without any issues.

[Mikey]

I have another food slicer question.

What is the best way to clean the slicer for the first time?

Per the FAQ at http://www.chefschoice.com/faqslicers.html

Please refer to your instruction manual for complete cleaning instructions.

[DangerDan]

I have another food slicer question.

What is the best way to clean the slicer for the first time?

Un-plugged....

[curious aardvark]

Un-plugged....

I just wipe mine down - takes about a minute.
Don't put it in the sink !

[SmokinOutBack]

Derek, I learned alot too, these people are great! I have a store near here that sells Chef's Choice and apparently have the model mentioned in stock so I will check that out soon. As far as Ebay, I realize there are deals to be had, but I have had some problems dealing there in the past and would rather buy new from a store with a reputation and a return policy. Appreciate everyone's response, you guys rock!

[SmokinOutBack]

Good one!

[DangerDan]

I just wipe mine down - takes about a minute.
Don't put it in the sink !

Same here. After I remove the blade cover the switch becomes disabled and it won't run. Not sure about the home use models.
I have had to spray mine down once with the sink sprayer attachment before. It was pretty gunked from slicing a shit load of meat though.

Yup I don't like ebay or Craigslists.com. for that matter.

I got my globe slicer from an ad on craigs. A great slicer for the price.

Probably more than you want to spend but I bet there's room to barter.

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/app/2184100595.html
http://southjersey.craigslist.org/bfs/2186442267.html