Bought a Mandolin - but they didn't say there'd be blood!

I know that's what that knobby think is for: safety of your fingers. But as far as piercing anything (like a red onion,) it's useless. So, I didn't use it. My mistake.

To paraphrase what they said in Man of La Mancha: Whether the thumb hits the mandolin, or the mandolin hits the thumb; it's going to be bad for the thumb.

At first I couldn't tell how bad the cut was, because, I couldn't see through the blood. It just wouldn't stop. I might shave like a newcomer to B&B, but I nailed that vein with Precision! I should learn to shave so well. Have you ever seen water flowing out of your faucet in the morning? It was bad. I figured no worries. I have a styptic pencil. HA! I was shocked. If anything, it made it worse. I guess that burning sensation was all for show.

I finally got it to stop bleeding. (no small feat.) The next day, I bought gauze bandages, and medical gloves.

So, now, in order to keep the wound dry, I cover it with with gauze and tape it up and cover that up with a medical glove. I look like Michael Jackson in the shower. It's a crackup.

But hey the important thing is, this concoction allows me to return to shaving using what I call "single blade technology" 'Da best!

I agree the handle is junk on 9o% of mandolines.

The trick is using a DRY hand towel, folded along the length 2-3 times, then once along the width.
this gives you up to 8 layers of protection and you get the dexterity of using your fingers.


if your finger has stopped bleeding, i would suggest a squirt of superglue to help keep is sealed tight, or go get it stitched up.

might have something to do with your sig Duggo. YMMV indeed.

Perhaps you have a Benriner? When I was a cook and worked in restaurants with the cheap ones from Japan (always a Benriner), we called them the Japanese Finger Slicers. You cannot use one with out getting cut. I think I still have scars from those damn things.

The adjustable platform models from Bron work much, much better.

I bought a Kyocera adjustable mandolin slicer mainly for making Pomme Anna. It works great, but I have to remember to keep my pinkie far away from it. I slice it every time!
It takes a long time and lots of paper towels/Kleenex to stop the bleeding.

I've used a mandolin exactly once in my life, and have a noticeably large piece of my thumb missing to prove it.

Fnord5 said:

I agree the handle is junk on 9o% of mandolines.

The trick is using a DRY hand towel, folded along the length 2-3 times, then once along the width.
this gives you up to 8 layers of protection and you get the dexterity of using your fingers.


if your finger has stopped bleeding, i would suggest a squirt of superglue to help keep is sealed tight, or go get it stitched up.

Click to expand...

In those rare moments when I break out the mandolin, I also use a towel. It works fairly well, but I never use the thing when I can do the job with a knife.

Hello,

Welcome to Cooking 101.

All blades are sharp enough, or should be, to effortlessly slice through the food.

You, like myself, didn't know how serious they were when they told us that. My first opps, I lost the print to my thumb. It was gone along with a good hunk of flesh. On the + side, we shouldn't have the pleasure of finding out that our chefs knife can sever the tendons in our fingers or cut ourselves to the bone.

Conrad said:

In those rare moments when I break out the mandolin, I also use a towel. It works fairly well, but I never use the thing when I can do the job with a knife.

Click to expand...

Agreed. A sharp Chef's knife can do the work of a mandoline, just as well, with easier cleanup.

My only use would be for potato chips, or french fries.

Fnord5 said:

I agree the handle is junk on 9o% of mandolines.

The trick is using a DRY hand towel, folded along the length 2-3 times, then once along the width.
this gives you up to 8 layers of protection and you get the dexterity of using your fingers.


if your finger has stopped bleeding, i would suggest a squirt of superglue to help keep is sealed tight, or go get it stitched up.

Click to expand...

It seems to be healing nicely. It wasn't that bad a cut, but you wouldn't know that from the way it bled.

After I'm done shaving, I gently clean it with Dove, and add Neosporin, wrap and tape it up.

Any thoughts?

I admit, `til just about 10 seconds ago I was wondering how you guys managed to mangle or sever the tips of your digits with a stringed instrument.

What the...? Why a towel?

I figured that given the curiosity and varied interests of most B&B members, it couldn't be that simple.

I Googled "mandolin knife"..."mandolin sharp"

Ohh.

Damn. Ouch. I've never used one, and I guess I never will.

You should get a V-slicer.

We had a mandolin for all of a week and returned it because it sucked. The V-slicer cuts stuff up easily and it doesn't feel like you're an inch away from having less fingers than when you started.

Edit: Oh yeah, it's easier to move the food across the blade too.

professorchaos said:

Perhaps you have a Benriner? When I was a cook and worked in restaurants with the cheap ones from Japan (always a Benriner), we called them the Japanese Finger Slicers. You cannot use one with out getting cut. I think I still have scars from those damn things.

The adjustable platform models from Bron work much, much better.

Click to expand...

Hey Proffessor,

This was a cheepy: $21.xx after taxes. The only reason I bought it I couldn't slice an onion properly. It starts out nice enough, but by the time I finish the slice, the slice can be as wide as a badgers hind parts.

Even the sales guy said he thought it was "overkill" just to slice an onion. And the slices they did make weren't perfect.

So, after I cut my thumb, I went surfing like a mad man on how to safely slice an onion. It turns out, I'd been doing it all wrong. I found this French Master Chef, on the web, who demonstrated proper technique.

My slices are coming out nicer now.

One cut-resistant glove. Mine's kevlar. Knobby thing in the trash.

Mandolins are great for producing uniform, repeatable slices.

In light of the above, my recommendation is that you not purchase a table saw.

Fnord5 said:

I agree the handle is junk on 9o% of mandolines.

The trick is using a DRY hand towel, folded along the length 2-3 times, then once along the width.
this gives you up to 8 layers of protection and you get the dexterity of using your fingers.


if your finger has stopped bleeding, i would suggest a squirt of superglue to help keep is sealed tight, or go get it stitched up.

Click to expand...

+1. Also, don't try and slice everything. Finish the last parts off with your knife.

I love my mandolin. Its great for doing some real grunt work. One of the standard side vegetables at work is carrots. We go through 30-50 lbs of carrots a day. Using a mandolin makes life much easier and faster.

My daughter's learning to play the mandolin. I think I may have her stop, I didn't know it was so dangerous.

rabidpotatochip said:

You should get a V-slicer.

We had a mandolin for all of a week and returned it because it sucked. The V-slicer cuts stuff up easily and it doesn't feel like you're an inch away from having less fingers than when you started.

Edit: Oh yeah, it's easier to move the food across the blade too.

Click to expand...

Which one did you get?

liege said:

My daughter's learning to play the mandolin. I think I may have her stop, I didn't know it was so dangerous.

Click to expand...

When I talked to my Dad on the phone, and told him about it, mentioning the word mandolin, he asked "Was it one string or two?"

Duggo said:

Which one did you get?

Click to expand...

I'll have to get back to you on that one. All I really remember is that it cost $50 and makes excellent fries.