Bread Slicer Hickory Elite, Brushed Stainless Steel Guide and Hickory Wood Bread Board (5 Inch Loaf)

Well folks, this is the slicer for you. Full stop.I make all of my own bread, rustic sourdough (no added commercial yeast), all of them. However, I make them in Pullman Loaf Pans because frankly, I want the world's most amazing breads AND I want an easy to make sandwich, with uniform slices, that don't look like a football, an overweight knitting needle, or a few little sandwichlets sitting around. The one I make the most is Danish Rye, which is what prompted this purchase.First, make sure you go for the Hickory version. You are going to be using serrated knives on this thing, so go for Hickory, it's about 30 percent harder than Maple on the Janka Hardness scale. Maple will, of course, be fine and last forever. I slice a LOT of bread, so I opted for Hickory.Second, there is no second, this is precisely the slicer you need. Heavy, extremely well-built, non-slip feet, infinitely adjustable thickness (as you decide), beautiful. There are no plastic parts, and nothing on here looks as if it came from the lowest bidder. The (stainless?) steel guides are of such a gauge that they will last forever, can be used as a carrying handle around your kitchen, will never deform even from extensive use, and, even if the slicer is dropped, are extremely unlikely to be damaged. Similarly, and don't quote me on this, the slicer looks as if someone with a solid screwdriver could replace a guide in short order. That will never need to be done.I read through the other reviews, and beside the usual "I have no idea how to review a product so I will just type some noise in this box"-type reviews, a number of them don't seem to understand what a manual slicer does. No, it doesn't grip your bread—that is self-evident. No, it will not slice your bread for you. Yes, it is big. Also self-evident. Some of the other posters noted a good point, you need a longer knife, but that is generally true of any slicer.Being a fan of good wood, I gave mine three coats of beeswax/mineral oil, like one would season a good cutting board. The beauty of the hickory is unmistakable. The slicer just glowed, warm, inviting, and a nice tool for your kitchen. Most importantly for me was the ability to handle Danish Rye, if you know that bread, you know why. A sturdy slicer is a must, and this is the finest I've seen.All in all, my tool philosophy is this: if you have to buy one, buy one once and choose such that you never have to buy another one again.Buy this, and you will never have to buy another slicer ever again.UPDATE 22FEB2017: It's been almost two years, so here's some follow up. On weekends, I volunteer at a local soup kitchen and most of our food is donated. A local bakery started donating bread, and ever since I've been bringing this slicer with me each week to tackle the unsliced bread they give us. I've coated it a few more times with butcher block oil, and that's it—it's perfect. I would bet that this particular slicer has sliced more bread than a large percentage of these ever sold, combined, and it will still last forever. Yes, it's still big. Yes, you still need a longer knife. No, you won't ever need another slicer.

So I guess that based on all of the glowing reviews, I was expecting someing... I don't know... magical. The reality is that this is a *very* simple tool, which does, in fact, get the job done, but it still takes some practice. For starters, my bread JUST fits in the guides and under the hoops. (Actually, this is probably a good thing, because it helps to keep the loaf from moving around.) Once your loaf is in place, you have to make some adjustments on every slice to make sure your sides are evenly spaced, and that you're not tilting from the top or bottom. Also, don't squeeze it too hard, because that makes it bulge in the middle, and you'll get a slice that's uber thin in the center.Pros: This slicer is very well made, and super sturdy. I didn't do anything to it (besides a quick wipe down, obviously) when we received it, and it still looks perfectly fine. It does help you to make clean slices, and I am now (several loaves later) getting a consistent 14 sandwich-ish slices per large loaf. I love that it's made of wood and metal, because plastic shavings in your bread is pretty gross.Cons: It's big and bulky. I have a fairly small kitchen, and there just simply is no cabinet that can hold this guy. He therefore has to live on my counter. I don't love it, but that's the way it is.When it comes to slicing bread from a bread machine, I think this may be about the best choice there is. I would certainly recommend it, just don't expect magical store-loaf-like slices.

I ordered the hickory as I thought the wood would be hardest. It arrived with a rough surface that was not fully sanded. Knife cuts the wood, wood goes into bread. Single hoop of little use in getting even slices. My loaf from my bread machine was too wide to fit so it had to be turned on it's side which means more reasons for uneven slices.

I've been making my own bread off and on for over 25 years and have always struggled to get a nice, clean, even slice of bread. I've tried bread knives designed to get uniform slices, but those slices were always too thick. And bread guides that have the notches already placed for guides make just one thickness, which is not for me. (I like a sandwich can be made with very thin bread, and the next morning I want a nice, thick slice French toast.)This slicing guide makes it easy to slice bread to any thickness evenly. I place the bread on the board; then insert the knife between the metal guides and rest it on top of the bread. Slide the bread so that the knife rests where you want to slice based on the thickness you want. While slicing, hold the bread firmly against the back lip of the slicer. Voila! Perfect slices every time. I particularly like that I can make a grilled cheese sandwich without having to consume tons of calories, just by cutting down on the thickness of the slice.Of course, this slicing guide is expensive, no doubt. In fact, you can probably buy an actual breadmaker for close to this price. But if you want a quality product that is well made and does what it's supposed to do, this is a great choice. And I agree with another reviewer's comment: do not use any type of cooking oil to condition the wood; use mineral oil. Or just leave it untreated.I highly recommend the Bread Slicer Elite.

This bread slicer is excellent - minimalist in design yet extremely functional. The wood board is solid and should last long.Update (11/04/12):We have the Panasonic SD-YD250 Bread Maker and bake medium sized loaves in it. Dropped a star because we have trouble fitting a medium loaf through the slicer (even though the description states that it is designed for standard bread maker sized loaves). The loaf doesn't fit easily, so we have to squeeze it through. However, the build quality is very good.