Just like others said (reason I bought it) You can use it without cutting yourself! I've bought two mandolin slicers before and managed to cut myself and that was using the protection knob that came with it! I was never going to buy or use a mandolin again until I saw this. I have 2 food processor's that slice and shred and they're great, will still be using them, but they take up a lot of room in my dishwasher and I don't always want to go to all that trouble for a modest amount.The directions are pretty good, although my first use was difficult because I followed setup directions and turned A 360° and put C on 8 (thickest setting) and popped in a sweet potato. I couldn't push handle down all the way, had to push (really more like pump) handle and to my surprise out came french fries. So factory either set it wrong or you don't need to do that setup step for slicing, but I just turned A 360° again and slices came out.Slices do have partial, linear surface cuts in them, but I can't see why that would bother anyone, just wanted you to know so you won't think something is wrong. In fact I did a batch cut thiner and in strips, sprayed them with oil, and popped in air fryer and they came out with crispy edges! My sweet potato fries, although I love them, have never been crispy!I'm not crazy about tomatoes on this, but wasn't expecting to be, they really need serated blade, but they were better than I thought, just wasted tomato compared to slicing.Like others, I have to say I love this. Finally a mandolin I'm happy to use!Just wanted to add a tip I have found very helpful. Although the brush that comes with it is nice, it's been my experience with other blades and brushes that eventually the bristles get cut off, and I use this about every day that I cook. It is a little more difficult to clean because the blades don't come out, and there's quite a few places for food to get stuck. I found using a thin wooden skewer (you can buy a pack at the grocery store) helps immensely, even before cleaning, if I have a blockage. I can get into every nook and cranny. It keeps your fingers far from blade and you can run it down its ribbed area, up at the top by the blades and at bottom chute.Also if you buy thin flexible cutting sheets at Walmart to set it on, you can just take the sheet to sink, rinse and pop in dishwasher, saving you the mess on your counter you might otherwise get. Still love mine and it's been months.
