In Cook's Illustrated May 2008 issue, a writer gave a somewhat unfavorable review of the Shun Mandolin. The manufacturer of Shun knives felt it was important to address this and sent a letter to the writer of the article, Elizabeth Bomze, making her aware of their concerns with regard to the tests they performed. Following is that letter summarizing the salient points:

1. One of the key tests performed was a “tomato slicing” test. There are a couple of issues with this test first off, there is very rarely a time when a home cook (or even the professional chefs we work with) needs to slice massive quantities of tomatoes. Because of this, we designed a mandolin for the functions chefs do need it for – root vegetables, French fries, onion rings, and so on. Second, we state in our manual that the mandolin is perfect for firm fruits and vegetables. If a cook wants to use our mandolin for tomatoes, it can be done, but the spring in the food spike needs to be removed and the cook should know that the faster they go, the smoother the slices will be. They were absolutely on-track with one comment, though you have all seen that it produces “crisp, beautiful potato slices.”

2. They speak in the article about the importance of “safety first” but nowhere do they acknowledge a single safety measure that we have taken with the mandolin. Ours is the only mandolin tested where the grip is not directly above the blade (which, as you all know is amazingly sharp). Ours is also heavier than others, which keeps it from tipping during use. They listed this as a drawback. Our users have listed it as an asset. Our designers also made this mandolin in such a way that the wrist is kept neutral, alleviating fatigue.

3. All of the other mandolins in the test have one thing in common that our mandolin does not have: once the user has dulled the blade on the other mandolins, they will have to be thrown out and replaced. Ours is the only mandolin with a removable, resharpenable, replaceable main blade. This is one part of what makes the Shun Pro mandolin an heirloom possession, as opposed to future land fill. When we restaurant-tested this mandolin, they were able to julienne 55 thousand pounds of vegetables without having to do any maintenance on the blade at all.

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