Mandolin safety guard - recommendations?

[babybat]

I've just bought the OXO handheld mandolin www.oxo.com/p-549-hand-held-mandoline... , mainly for slicing veggies for salads. It's easy to use and clean, but the safety guard supplied with it is frankly, rubbish. The spikes don't grip the food, unless it's a short (1 or 2 inch) segment, and it's tempting to forego it entirely, but that's how fingertips get lost! Can anyone recommend a good replacement safety guard I can buy so I don't end up with shredded fingers?

[John Francis]

Another approach, maybe just for geeks: Alton Brown skips the safety guard and wears a Kevlar glove on his slicing hand. amazon.com sells several, most for under $10. They're heat-resistant too.

Oh, I see that Blythe spirit has already mentioned Kevlar gloves. Since Chowhound in its wisdom doesn't allow posters to delete their own messages, and it isn't worth the trouble asking them to delete this one for me, I'll let it stand.

[kaleokahu]

Hi, babybat:

Don't fool around with cut-*resistant*. Get a real steel glove. http://www.northernsafety.com/Product... Pricey, but what would you sell one of your fingers for?

Aloha,
Kaleo

[sherrib]

I was using the OXO safety guard when my hand slipped off of it while slicing potato. Yes, an emergency room visit ensued. What's odd to me is that all of OXO's grips are that nice rubbery material but, for some reason, the mandolin has a plastic, slippery material on its guard.

[shashig]

I had the same experience...I've always trusted OXO and didn't think twice about the clear plastic base, on which my tomato ended up slipping drastically, with bloody results and a trip to the ER. Don't know if I'll ever get back on this horse.

[njmarshall55]

Don't have any recommendation, but all I can say is one sliced thumb and I use it religiously. NEVER want that to happen again.

[will47]

Lots of restaurant chefs seem to just use a clean side towel.

[Kelli2006]

Using a side towel is common but it will also leave fibers in the food.

The best way to protect your fingers is a fish filleting glove. http://www.amazon.com/Rapala-BPFGM-Fi...

[Blythe spirit]

I've seen fairly inexpensive Kevlar gloves on amazon. The guard on my Benriner is not good so I slice slowly and mindfully. If you don't use a glove , just remember that that last little slice of potato or cucumber is not worth a trip to the emergency room.

[greygarious]

The Boerner (also spelled Börner) V-slicer http://www.amazon.com/Swissmar-Borner... has an excellent guard. The round knob you see at the top is a plunger with holes riding along 1-1/2" spikes. If there were an onion under the guard in the picture, the plunger would be all the way up. You hold the safety guard while applying pressure on the plunder with the palm of the same hand as you move the food back and forth until the plunger is fully depressed. Try looking on eBay for a used one, or contact the company. This guard can be used on other types of slicer/mandoline.

[oldunc]

I have a cheapo mando that is (or was) the Crate and Barrel house model. The maker seems to be Leifheit. I only use it occasionally, mostly for potatos, and the guard works fine. You'll probably need to change tools to change guards. I did cut myself on a mandolin once before I quit drinking, and wasn't anxious to repeat the experience- only time I remember cutting myself in the kitchen while actually making a cut.

[DGresh]

I have a mandolin (don't think it's the same though it's an OXO). I also hated the guard that came with it; in order to grip the food you mangle most of it with the little spikes. So I bought a "chain mail" glove at BB&B. It works great.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/produ...

[Clarkafella]

Wow, I am *so* going to get one of those before I lose another damn fingertip!

[MikeG]

I hear ya. I waited to get one until I had almost lost a bit of fingertip - talking on the phone and using a mandoline at the same time is really not a very good idea! So I'll also mention that I'm still really careful with the mandoline even with the glove. I sort of quasi-tested the glove with a sharp knife, and while I think it would protect you from a glancing blow against the blade, I'm not sure it would save you if you hit the blade with a head-on, firm slicing motion - mandoline blades always seem to me much sharper than I expect them to be!

[MikeG]

I don't know if they're readily available in the UK, but I myself use a cut-resistant Kevlar glove similar to this: http://www.amazon.com/Microplane-3400... . I bought mine at fishing tackle store but they sell them in kitchen supply stores here, too. They do make metal mesh gloves as well, but those are very, very expensive.

[babybat]

Just had a quick look, and these are available in the UK, so that looks like it would be a good option - thanks!

[mikie]

The cut resistant gloves are a finger saver. We just bought a Rösle mandolin and a cut resistant glove at WS. I haven't used the glove yet because all I've sliced so far is zucini and that has a handle on one end. Mrs. mikie used the glove the other day slicing apples for a pie, but only after almost cutting herself. The old plastic mandolin we had came with a pusher but it wasn't easy to use. The glove is far superior.

[pine time]

Sorry, I don't have a replacement idea, but for heaven's sake, use *something*! No matter how often you see TV chefs using the palm of their hand, don't do it. I've got the scars to prove just how bad an idea that is...