Norpro Bread Slicer with Crumb Catcher Brown .5in/1.25cm

It's amazing that a simple, practical little product like this could generate such controversy! I almost didn't buy it because of all the negative reviews, but was convinced by the balance of the good reviews, and I'm very happy that I did. I've only recently started baking bread after about 25 years. Used to roll and knead and let rise, etc., because my dearly departed grandmother (Bessie May) made white bread so good, it melted in your mouth, and I wanted that memory, and her recipe, to live forever. Eventually I stopped, because I was never going to keep it up too long for all the work it took. A week ago, though, I ordered a $60 Sunbeam bread machine from Amazon (I'm on a budget), found the Bushman honey wheat recipe from Outback on the Internet, and I've been living in heaven ever since. Something this delicious, this healthy, with so little effort or expense is just too good to be true. And to top it all off -- I now have a nifty little bread slicer that makes the job that much easier!First, let me address some of the more common criticisms on this site: This tool is exactly as described: acrylic screwed into pine. You cannot manhandle, bang it around or otherwise mistreat it, or it will probably break. Second, the slice size is not adjustable, but you do get, in a matter of maybe 60 seconds, an entire loaf neatly divided into slices neither too thick nor too thin, ready to eat, freeze, or plan lunches a week ahead. As far as the platform being too wide, I presently have only a 9-inch serrated knife -- that is to say, not long -- and the board still accommodates it quite easily -- though, again, I'm careful about what I'm doing. I intend to order a longer bread knife just because I want one, not because I have to have one with this slicer.Finally: extremely easy to assemble, cute (love the "Our Daily Bread" touch), handy, stress- and worry- and work-saving -- inexpensive. Amazon has come through again, pretty much as always. Thanks Amazon, and Norpro, for such a convenient and serviceable little product for the average time-pressed, budget-conscious American housekeeper.*****One day after writing the above review, I really feel I should follow up with my experience with my second loaf of bread. My first use of the slicer was so easy, I was totally mystified at the 50 percent of reviews that were negative, but my second loaf was quite an effort to get through. It was not hot, but it was moist -- freshly baked and placed in a ziplock bag for a little while. I had exactly the same experience as the negative reviewers -- I had to struggle to get the knife through the bread without banging the point of my knife against the somewhat fragile acrylic. So this pretty much bears out the caveats in other (positive) reviews: make sure the bread is cool (and I would add, dry), and make sure you have a knife at least 10 inches long. These precautions should result in a really great experience with this slicer.

Well I love it now.... I find the construction just fine although I immediately broke off one of the plastic tines the very first cut I made with it using a very long bread knife. SO, rule number one, pay attention to the tip of the knife and don't let it slip behind the plastic tine because as you push the knife forward the tip of the knife will break the plastic. Ok, now you removed that issue. Next is the thickness of the bread. The standard thickness is ok, but I bake whole grain bread in a bread machine and using this, the slices are too thick for my taste. I went to Walmart and purchased two .88 cent cutting boards about 1/8" thick. I cut them to fit the bottom of the unit and the end, thus making the slices 1/8" thinner. Works perfect and also protects the bottom of the cutting surface. Next....the thing slides all over the place when you are using it. You could use a sheet of drawer liner...you know, that non slip pebbly stuff, but I decided to put small rubber feet on each corner on the bottom. Now it's perfect and works great. I would give it 3 stars without any modifications, but with a little tweaking it's a 5.

This is my third bread slicing guide. The first were foldable for easy storage which means they were not sturdy at all and frustrated me to no end. The first was plastic, moved everywhere and could only hold 1/4 of a loaf at a time. The second was bamboo that had three different width options which I didn't need at all and meant I could only do 4 slices at a time. One of the folding sized stopped locking so it was floppy and the whole thing moved even put on a cutting board.I am very pleased with my new Norpro. Yes, it is mildly inconvenient to have to put it together but come on - it's four screws and takes less than 5 min. Another downside is that it takes up storage space but personally, I'm so annoyed with the folding crap I've tried that I don't mind this because it gets the job done perfectly. I plan on setting it upright against the wall/backsplash so it's accessible but not in the way. I placed it on a cutting board and it did not travel across the counter as I sliced. It only has one width but I only use this for sandwich bread so the size is perfect for my needs and an entire 1.5 lb loaf from a large sized Pullman pan fits on the slicing guide, so no more cutting into pieces just to slice. The crumb catcher is super nice. All I had to do was dump it in the trashcan...no more crumby counter and floor sweeping!Oh, one negative that I took 1 star off for - one of the slats on the crumb catching tray was not glued on. I had wood glue handy though and it was fixed in a jiff.

If you like to bake your own bread and/or buy freshly baked bread (as opposed to the processed stuff), this is good to help you get even slices. The one drawback, however, is that the plastic part is a bit flimsy and can break unless you use it very gingerly. That is what knocks it down a couple of stars for me. But, as far as the evenness of the slices, it is great, and the crumb catcher is very handy making it easy to dump the crumbs out.