No matter what you choose, get the 10", I have the nine and "That 1" makes a difference" . Mine is Avantco but I love my LEM Products....That looks just like my Avantco and that is a great price

Make sure that slicer has enough travel to do what you want.  If you plan on slicing 12" of bacon, it may be too small.  Check out user reviews. 

DFW said:

...so really need to make sure I'm gonna use it regularly before making that type of investment.  Thanks!

Absolutely! I bought a 1949 Globe 150 a few years ago (11 7/16" blade). Don't remember when I last used it, but it was to slice up a loaf of homemade bread! Probably been a couple of years, considerably longer for meat! Too heavy to move around, PITA to clean and I don't often cook things that require a slicer. The good news is, it only cost me 100 bucks.

Watch the videos of Franklin BBQ or Katz's Deli in NYC. They cut a gazillion pounds of meat every day... with a knife! Food for thought.

DFW said:h

Carolina Q said:

DFW said:

...so really need to make sure I'm gonna use it regularly before making that type of investment.  Thanks!

Absolutely! I bought a 1949 Globe 150 a few years ago (11 7/16" blade). Don't remember when I last used it, but it was to slice up a loaf of homemade bread! Probably been a couple of years, considerably longer for meat! Too heavy to move around, PITA to clean and I don't often cook things that require a slicer. The good news is, it only cost me 100 bucks.

Watch the videos of Franklin BBQ or Katz's Deli in NYC. They cut a gazillion pounds of meat every day... with a knife! Food for thought.

Love that it was only $100 though!  I've looked around CL here in the Dallas area and seems like everyone wants $500+ for the big slicers.  

This also brings up another pain point: cleaning the slicer.  What features should I be looking for that will make cleaning easier?

Safely come apart and apart completely ...water tight switches and cord cap....i can remove me blade, blade cover carriage easily ( I keep the sharpener off unless using ) I can then put the slicer body in my sink ( it's commercial size ) spray with bleach and wash off with hot water without worrying about the electrical 

I have the advantco 9” as well.  No, you can not do a full width of bacon on it, but I am perfectly fine with that. I cut my bellies in half anyway and when cooked they end up being the width of white bread without breaking the slice.  

I was standing in front of the entire Advantco line when I went to buy one. The footprint size and weight of the 10” made me go with the 9”. The difference between the two was huge.  For me, it was the correct decision. I had it for 5-6 years now and use it often. 2x a month at least and sometimes weekly. If I got the 10”, I do not think I would use it nearly as much because I can not keep mine in my kitchen. I keep it under a 30” round table in our dining room. The 10” would never be able to fit there.

I make all my lunch meats with it and if doing a charcuterie board, all that as well.  Cleaning for me from beginning to end takes me about 25 min if doing something clean (like bacon) or 40-45 min for a messy slicing session like a lot of roast beef or pork.

Also, one thing that sticks out in my head was that there was a sign in front of the advantco that said something like “If you are going to slice cheese, 10” is the minimum”.  Not sure exactly why that is.  Maybe for large bricks of cheese like Swiss or provolone I can see it. That constraint did not apply to me. With that being said, I slice other cheeeses with mine - think Cracker Barrel, and other small bricks of cheese that you can get in the cheese section in the grocery store with no problem. 

If you have the opportunity, see if you can see them in person before pulling the trigger. Then weigh size and portability vs real needs vs wants. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Also, one thing that sticks out in my head was that there was a sign in front of the advantco that said something like “If you are going to slice cheese, 10” is the minimum”.  Not sure exactly why that is.  

I’m guessing It’s the motor size, not the blade size. Cheese needs more horsepower than meat

Could the friction on a smaller blade cause to much heat to cut cheese well?

Photo Egg said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Also, one thing that sticks out in my head was that there was a sign in front of the advantco that said something like “If you are going to slice cheese, 10” is the minimum”.  Not sure exactly why that is.  

I’m guessing It’s the motor size, not the blade size. Cheese needs more horsepower than meat

Could the friction on a smaller blade cause to much heat to cut cheese well?

HeavyG said:

Photo Egg said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Also, one thing that sticks out in my head was that there was a sign in front of the advantco that said something like “If you are going to slice cheese, 10” is the minimum”.  Not sure exactly why that is.  

I’m guessing It’s the motor size, not the blade size. Cheese needs more horsepower than meat

Could the friction on a smaller blade cause to much heat to cut cheese well?

I've only got a "toy" slicer (Chef'sChoice 615A) not one of those big burley slicers that are all the rage.

It's a 7" blade and it has no problem cutting the cheese I run through it. I cut the cheese straight from the fridge and I haven't noticed that it heats it up to any noticeable degree (no pun intended).

I've never tried cutting cheese paper thin tho so that might well make a difference in heating up the cheese. I'm also not cutting more than just a couple pounds at a time so that might make a difference also.

For home use it's likely fine. For a deli or grocery store doing it all day it's another story.

@CtTOPGUN - I have a 10 inch, used commercial machine but my Chef’s Choice 615 is the most used. Great for firm cheeses and most cured meats. 

For some reason people are turned off when I cut the cheese. Maybe it's the size of my slicer? Advice needed, folks.