Westmark Mushroom & Egg Slicer

If you like kitchen gadgets, you may find this Westmark Mushroom and Egg Slicer fascinating. With a similar concept to the very well-known wire grid slicer, this powder-coated aluminum press accomplishes the same goals with a sturdier and sharper grid of stainless steel ribbon blades. A matching cutting base presses the food completely through the grid, quickly yielding perfectly-even slices.

My personal experience with such gadgets is that they really look like a good idea, but in use they are hard to justify. It's hard to imagine anyone unable to use a knife who could use one of these.

The overly-long jointed arm is spring loaded for convenience, and theoretically that could be a good deal if you have to work one-handed -- but there's enough play in the joint that blades and grid don't always meet correctly. The construction is lightweight, with blades that can be bent easily out of line. Although it could work equally well on hardboiled eggs, kiwi, and strawberries in addition to mushrooms, this is not a high output device.

Add to that the obvious problems when it's time to clean this slicer, full of deep wedge-shaped grooves where food must get jammed, and with a fragile cutting grid that can be pushed out of shape with a scrubbie -- and this becomes a nice companion for the other egg slicers you never really use.

Find this Westmark Slicer:

• Click here to find this product at Amazon.com

Find this egg slicer on eBay:

Egg Slicer Westmark W1020 US $15.50   Auction Ends: 20d 12h 52m Make it yours...

Vintage Westmark Columbus W Germany Hand Held Egg Slicer Metal US $9.99   0 Bid Auction Ends: 17h 53m Make it yours...

Westmark W1020 Egg Slicer New Mandolines Slicers Peelers Graters Gadgets US $23.92   Auction Ends: 17d 19h 22m Make it yours...