After looking up more about mandoline-related injuries, I have discovered that I’m far from the only one to lose blood to one of these demons of the kitchen.
Judging by the other injuries I’m seeing, I’m also one of the luckiest, having only a small, v-shaped flap on the side of my hand. The worst part is, many of these other people were actually using it properly by holding the top of the handle, yet ended up losing parts of their fingers. I just asked my cousin about it, and he–a freelance chef–has been injured by this thing on numerous occasions, including losing the very tip of his thumb TWICE.
If you have one of these in your kitchen, for the love of fuck, BE CAREFUL WITH IT. My cousin suggested wrapping a rag around the base of the object between you and the slicer.
I’m contemplating getting a pair of cut-resistant gloves before I try tussling with this beast again. I think the fact that Googling “mandolin slicer injury” (I initially mispelled it) brings them up on the side of the page is a sign that these contraptions are a force to be reckoned with.
yep, they’re pretty dangerous things when not used properly.
I can be a bit lax with my knives at work much of the time (company policy says I have to wear a cut resistant glove, I almost never do)
but damn, I make sure I am doing the proper thing whenever I use my mandolin.
I’ve injured myself enough in my career as it is 😛