Side by Side Comparison of: Heuck vs Maxi-Aids vs Tops MFG. CO., Inc. vs Harold Import Company, Inc.

I owned a Feemster Veggie Slicer many years back, and it was my absolute favorite kitchen gadget! Somewhere in our multiple moves over the past 30 years, it got lost, so I replaced it with a new one and was terribly disappointed with the new one, because the blade was no longer carbon steel but stainless. I still used the thing, but it wasn't nearly as sharp--AND I couldn't sharpen it.I'm teaching a cooking class for a Scouting group, so I decided to order one of these slicers to allow the class to use. Imagine my delight to find this new one had a carbon steel blade, once again. I just cut up a huge salad onion--into paper thin slices--in a matter of minutes! I'm beyond thrilled!

This is my favorite kitchen utensil. We had one of these when I was growing up and I think it might still be in use by my stepmother. I ordered one and have been using it for years now. I've even ordered more as gifts for other people. The Feemster Original Vegetable Slicer makes the perfect sliced potatoes for "au gratin", cucumber salad, apples for apple pie, I've even used it on fresh strawberries to make strawberry shortcake. This is a wonderful tool for your kitchen and helps make a great presentation by keeping your produce sliced perfectly.

The one that I received is not put together very well. The notches on either side for adjusting the slices do not line up. I cannot simply press the intended tab to hold the adjuster in place. So, using this device takes a bit more work than I expected.I use this all the time. I love it!This slicer has sped up and simplified my fruit drying and applesauce making by such a ridiculous amount for a such a great price I would buy it again even if it came as poorly put together as it has this first time. It is very easy to clean and takes up very little space for storage (similar to a cheese grater.) I do not use the plastic holder thingy, I have been trying to eliminate plastic in my kitchen so I wish it was wood like some other slicers have, but that would probably make it more expensive and a metal measuring cup does just fine.

I have 4 slicers all the other ones are bigger, usually plastic, more expensive, more features. But I grab this one 9/10 times. The only time I will go to the other ones is if I want to julienne something which is probably twice a year. In fact we are getting ready to move and I have made up my mind to just get rid of the other ones. All you need is this slicer and a cut proof glove and you can get through a lot of produce. The thing I like about this one compared to others:Price-doesn't matter how much you pay the blade will go dull. I can buy 5 of these for the price of my more expensive oneSize- this thing is small. There is no issue storing it. Myths size would be comparable to a tissue box with 1/4 chopped off. My other one would be lucky to fit in a work boot box.Adjustment- this has double the size adjustment of my of the slicers. I like using it for potato soup because I can make most of the pieces the same size so they get done at the same time. The other slicers I could do that on but I never used it for potato soup because they made the slices too thin.The worst part about this slicer is the adjustment. It is just notches cut in the round bars. You need to check to make sure it didn't move on you. I have found that with some different colors from my daughters nail polish it makes it much easier. Just mark each notch, both sides, with a different color and it is not an issue.The other problem is with the safety device they send you. I think a lawyer said you have to put it in there so they just threw the cheapest thing they could find. My advice, throw it away and buy a pair of cut resistant Kevlar gloves. I only use one while using this so if it gets wet or covered in food I throw it in the wash and use the other glove.

I had ordered this same slicer from another CHEAPER vendor on Amazon that was crooked, didn't work right, but was a couple dollars cheaper...bad move!I just threw it away, figuring the postage would cost as much as the slicer ...reordered it from this vendor and it was MUCH BETTER quality, works just like my old one that I missed,and I am very happy with it.What I love about this simple little slicer is the fact that you have virtually no clean up, it's quick, slices evenly and very handy. When you are finished you only have to wash off the slicer, dry it...put it away. You are not messing with dirtying many blades, plus the holder, and blades...too much junk to mess with. There might be more expensive slicers out there, but this little guy does the same job,so much cheaper...and easier to use!

I have been buying this product for years. I am somewhat spoiled because I used to pay about $5.00 for it at a localkitchen tool outlet and I would go through several in a year, I am much more careful now at the present cost.I have several Mandolin type units but this is the best Jersey Tomato slicer you can buy, period. You must be very careful when using this device. No distractions, no kids. Good idea to get yourself a "Cut Glove" at your local restaurant supply store. (best price at this type store). If you want to cut Tomatoes for a long time I suggest that you use device for Tomatoes only. The blade gets dull easily and blade is not replaceable. When the blade goes just through it away and buy a new one. Does not cost that much to get the perfect Jersey Tomato slice.

Quick and easy way to slice or make julienne of just about any veg (cukes, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, zucchini, even tomatoes, etc). Just need to be careful with the blade (very sharp). I remember my mother had one of these over 65 years ago. She used it routinely, long before the development of fancier manual and electric slicers. Stumbled across this by accident and very glad I did. Have a mandolin recommended by America's Test Kitchen, which use for other preparations, but can't beat this for quick, easy, and very affordable. Oh yeh, very easy to clean, but careful of the blade.Only negative - the base plate can slip, increasing the size of the slice. Need to brace the plate with thumb and fingers of unused hand. Definitely recommend

I have owned one of these for over 40 years and it finally got bent out of shape making it less than easy to use. I ordered this one and there are pluses, the plastic on the feet helps and the plastic you can place over the sharp edge is good, but the edge does not seem as sharp as the 40 year old one I had. It had never been sharpened in any way and worked well, So I am a bit disappointed in the cutting edge.

My parents gave my husband and I this slicer a long time ago, I'm unsure what ever happened to it, but we missed it and could never find it again in stores around our area. Finally found it on Amazon, and we love using it especially for french fries, scalloped potatoes, and other vegetables. I would recommend it to anyone!

I have had a Feemster Slicer for at least 40 years. I really like it and use it at least once a week. I decided to give one as a gift and ordered this. There have been a few changes since the original. The feet now are coated with a non skid surface and the vegetable holder to keep you from cutting yourself is also new. Both are improvements. I tried this new slicer out and was surprised to see that it wasn"t as sharp as I had expected. Worked fine but was about as sharp as my old one that has been in use forever. I'm happy with the purchase and think my friend will be too. The only improvement on this would be to have made the blade sharper.

I bought this because it is much like the one my grandma had/has been using for a long time. It works well however it seems I can't manage to hold the tab and keep the same slice thickness each time I use it. I find it especially difficult to manage with thin slices (such as super thin slices needed for coleslaw, etc.). Anyhow, be careful with this as you can easily take off your fingertip unless you use the guard. Speaking of, the guard is great for things like potatoes and other large vegetables/fruits but for things like carrots, you'll have to slice without the guard until you can get as far down as possible without slicing your finger :-) There are more "modern" sorts of veggie slicer but they have a lot of plastic and parts that are harder to clean so I'll stick to my older metal model.

I bought this because it was cheaper than buying a replacement for the lost slicing blade for my food processor. The blade is very sharp steel, with a protective cover for when it's not in use, and the slicing depth is very simple to adjust. On the down side, I wish I had purchased a more conventional, even if more cheaply made, mandoline type slicer, because I would not have my veggies running right off the end of the unit as they are prone to do with this one. The blade on this slicer is fixed and level/horizontal, so a creative person (which I am not) could probably make some sort of piece to add to the back of the blade so that if his/her vegetables ran off the end off the blade he/she could just reverse direction and slide them right back on, instead of having to pick them up and kind of start over, as I have to do. Nonetheless I am pleased with the quality of this inexpensive product and continue to use it.

While this product gets the job done, it is less sturdy than I would have liked. The adjustable piece which allows for different thickness of vegetables does not stay totally even when I slice vegetables. That being said, It was very inexpensive and gets the job done. If you want perfect slices every time this is probably not the route to go, but if you are looking for the convenience of the product for slicing vegetables it is a good buy for the money.

It is bent and not straight and it is hard to hold while grating ...but once Ingetnit held corrects it is faster than any other method Inhave found...I needed it for making Cole slaw

This is my 3rd one of these, first with the veggie holder. They work fantastically well, and are extremely sharp ... BUT, they are also extremely dangerous. It is VERY east to cut your finger, or take off a small piece of the end of your finger!DO NOT get too close to the blade for any reason when cutting your veggies. I am used to it, and love it. My wife will not even touch it!

I am a sucker for kitchen gadgets, particularly ones that have stood the test of time, so when I saw my sister-in-law use my mother's Feemster vegetable slicer to slice potatoes, I had to have one. It looked a lot simpler and easier to clean than my mandolin, and takes up less space in an already crowded kitchen. Unfortunately, I found it hard to cut anything with the modern version of this slicer, the adjustable tray slips during use, and does not give an even cut (thicker on one side, center, and front-to-back). I was not able to slice potatoes thin enough to make chips with. With more practice, I might be able to get better results. This is one kitchen gadget that, for me, does not stand the test of time. If you want to slice vegetables today then you might want to check out the Müeller Spiral-Ultra 4-Blade Spiralizer. It does that and much more, replacing several other kitchen gadgets.

My friend has the "original" and I was hoping to get one the same as hers. Hers worked awesome. The measuring guide doesn't stay put and moves. It is definitely more flimsy and the quality is just not there. As I really was impressed with hers, I ordered 2 - one for our house and the other for our trailer. I am definitely disappointed :(

I ordered three (3) of the Feemster's Famous Vegetable Slicer made by Heuck. My initial inspection shows that the sliding shelves on two (2) of the three (3) don't exactly align properly with the slicing blade, which would result in uneven thickness of any food item sliced.The Feemster Slicer isn't nearly as well built as an older example I owned. The sheet metal components seem to be thinner and the supporting frame isn't as thick... meaning it's likely much less durable than the old original slicers that were made in the U.S.A. - before production was moved to China.That slicer lasted over 30 years before the spot welds on one side of the slicing blade gave up. I doubt I'll see a fraction of that service time with this new Feemster.It's regrettable to see this product has been subjected to a cheapening to drive down production costs. I would gladly pay more for a Feemster Slicer that was made the "old fashioned way" in the U.S.A.Someone commented earlier this product isn't "dishwasher safe". However, all parts save the vinyl covers for the front and back legs are steel... so, I'm of the opinion this item is safe for your dishwasher - provided you are not using a citrus scented dishwasher detergent.I'll add my observation too that the pressure sensitive yellow sticker with Heuck's "Caution: Blade Very Sharp" warning doesn't peel off too readily and will require some extra effort to remove.

We have one of these that's 30+ years old and works well. The China model is horrible, guide does not lock in place and eventually the rivets holding the blade break and you have a worthless piece of crap. I love the simplicity and how well the older models work. I would pay more if they built a unit as well as they used to.

We have one of these that is 37 years old and I only replaced it because of it's age. We are now using it again! The new slicer plate will not remain in the position that it is placed, even when I attempt to hold it in place with my thumb and forefinger. My wife just cut her finger badly because of this. I sincerly wish they made things with the quality of the past! I am returning this item.

This doesn't work very good for slicing. The gadget that supposedly holds the food you want to slice is useless. Even if you just hold an onion in you're hand and try slicing it with the blade it really doesn't slice very good.

Growing up, we had a similar slicer but the thickness was not adjustable. I was looking for one like my mom had growing up. This was very close but can adjust the thickness. I thought that was a good feature but after trying to slice some potatoes, it wasn't what I had hoped for. The adjustable piece moved as I sliced and I wasn't able to get a complete slice, it kept breaking off towards the end and got jammed between the two pieces. I'm going to continue to use it...until I find another one I really think would be better and more like I had growing up...if they even make them anymore.

I really don't understand all the good reviews I read before purchasing this product. The so called notches would not hold the tray in place and even worse, they were not even. I had to sit there and hold everything completely still to just make it through one apple. The blade on this thing was a joke. Right out of the box there were already imperfections/pits on the blade. I just went back to slicing my produce by hand until I can find a suitable replacement.

I was disappointed with the product because the blade was not stainless steel when the item was described as stainless steel. It was made in China where the blade could have been made out of S/S, and would not be susceptable to rusting. Most veggies are acidic which would cause rusting if not perfectly cleaned. Most other Banjo slicers available today are made out of S/S to prevent rusting.My family had the feemster for 20+ years and I was disappointed in the company that they wouldn't spend "another buck" to modernize this Icon which so many of us remember.

I had one of these, when they were made in the USA (Cincinnati) and I used it for 20 years before it became dull enough that I decided to replace it. I did not realize that it is now made in China. Right out of the box, the blade was so dull that it would not make thin slices but just tore and mangled the onions I was trying to slice. Today I tried to use it, for about the 5th time, and not only did it mangle the onion I was trying to slice, but the platform would not stay in the slots correctly and I ended up cutting my thumb badly. This is NOT the product I purchased 20 years ago, just an evil, horribly inferior look-alike. So much of the cutting implements - this, scissors I recently looked that were labeled Fiskars but were also terribly dull and made in China - are of terrible quality, not even close to being able to cut the things they claim they are designed to cut.

This product is so poorly made that it is dangerous to use. The sliding blade does not stay in place and collapses down to the bottom adjustment - I remember my mother's version of this tool and it was great - they just make everything cheap today.

The adjustable plate was warped, so all my slices are thicker on one side than the other, and the grooves to hold the plate in place are so shallow that it constantly slips. I got this to replace the 50 yo. one I stole from my mother - it rusts up after every wash - but I'd rather take steel wool to that one every time I need to use it than use this piece of crap again. I tried to hold the tab as directed, but if I put enough pressure to keep the plate even, it would slide out of groove. It is very sharp, though, and the blade protector is nice. Also, it rusted after one use :P

Mine didn't work at all. Every time I made a slice the adjustable tab would slide out of place, it won't lock in. I had to re-adjust it after every slice.The round plastic safety guide is useless because the little spikes are so small they don't grip the food you are trying to slice.I bought this because my Mom had one for 40 years or more and I thought it would be quicker to order another one than to dig in boxes to find her's. Now, I'm going to go and dig in those boxes because that one lasted all these years whereas this new one couldn't even make it through one potato.Customer service was great, they refunded the cost immediately...five stars for the seller but the product is no good...at least not the one I received.

The Feemster is already in the garbage!! It literally fell apart!! There are 2 little pins on either side of the blade, and on the first use, the pins on one side of the blade dislodged and could not be reattached. I have used a Feemster slicer for more than 30 years and never before ad a problem. Maybe the problem now is that they are made in China. Save your money!!

This product would work really well if.......you had three or four hands. Yes, the blade is sharp, but the metal piece that determines the slice size does not even remotely lock in place. I could not hold it in place with one hand while slicing with the other. This wasn't even donated to Goodwill. It went in the recycle trash. Hated it...what a waste of my hard-earned money.