The Slap Chop. Any Good?

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

I was thinking about buying a Slap Chop (watch the commercial here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTmC7UQj7_M)).
Is it any good?

[Tirian]

It might be. I wound up buying an identical Oxo food chopper which happened to be the same price, and that has been a great tool for doing just about everything that Vince is talking about.

[TheLaughingMan]

The Slap Chop let's you best enjoy Vince's nuts.

Couldn't resist. Sorry.

I don't really trust infomercials that much, so I can't say.

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

The Slap Chop let's you best enjoy Vince's nuts.

Couldn't resist. Sorry.

No, it's OK.
I burst into laughter every time I see that part. :smallbiggrin: :smalltongue:

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

I wouldn't buy one if my life depended on it. I see products like those for who are just plain lazy. Since I personally like to cook (and have been known to do such things as make my own pasta from scratch, and the like), I'd personally rather cut, dice, slice etc. whatever I'm going to be using the old fashioned way with a chefs or pairing knife. Sire every little piece may not be completely uniform, but I just don't care about something like that a whole lot, especially when I'm cooking for just me. If I'm at a point where presentation matters, then I'll make sure to be precise, but otherwise, no.

[onthetown]

I speak from personal experience: It sucks.

I bought it for the novelty because I love that infomercial so much, so it's sitting on top of the cupboards like the holy grail of the kitchen (it's one of my favourite things that I own)... but I've only tried to use it a few times because of how pathetic it is.

If you try to chop potatoes, they will get stuck up in the blades and you will spend ten, finger-rending minutes trying to un-stick them. Tomatoes are turned into mashed soup. The skin does not peel off of an onion "just like that", and it surely does not open "just like a butterfly" (that's another few finger-rending minutes, there).

But it's fun to be able to say that I own one. :smallbiggrin:

[Raistlin1040]

Are you sure you're slapping hard enough? Vince is a trained professional, his one-finger act is not for everyone.

[onthetown]

Are you sure you're slapping hard enough? Vince is a trained professional, his one-finger act is not for everyone.

Alas, I trained for many moons under the one-finger technique and could not master it. I am, indeed, using the full-handed slap.

Anybody else find it ironic that he was arrested for slapping (or beating or some such thing) a, uh... working woman?

[Surrealistik]

Your question is rendered completely irrelevant by this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWRyj5cHIQA

[SurlySeraph]

You already have a Snuggie. You do not need more overpriced crap they sell on TV.

[Xyk]

You already have a Snuggie. You do not need more overpriced crap they sell on TV.

This. You seem to be one of those people who buys things from TV pretending to be ironic. But you actually want them. Just as long as you leave the Bump-its alone. :smalltongue:

It's okay. I once bought a Shamwow.
Granted, it was for a white elephant party and entirely for comedic value.
IT WORKED JUST LIKE BILLY MAYS SAID IT WOULD. WHY USE A TOWEL WHEN YOU COULD SHAMWOW?!

[Mando Knight]

If you order now, he'll send you a second beating, absolutely free. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7QIcxoJU4g)

[Surrealistik]

If you order now, he'll send you a second beating, absolutely free. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7QIcxoJU4g)

MY FISTS, THEY ARE MADE OF STEEL! Lol, classic.

[Dr.Epic]

I was thinking about buying a Slap Chop (watch the commercial here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTmC7UQj7_M)).
Is it any good?

I prefer the slap chop commercial with TFII audio

[Mr. Moon]

I'm gonna say don't bother, because looking at the commercial, it looks like it can only cut up a teeeeensy amount of food at a time.
Looks like a pain, honestly rather than helpful, honestly. I'd rather use a knife.

[thubby]

*looks at snuggie thread*
stop watching infomercials!

[IonDragon]

This. You seem to be one of those people who buys things from TV pretending to be ironic. But you actually want them. Just as long as you leave the Bump-its alone. :smalltongue:

It's okay. I once bought a Shamwow.
Granted, it was for a white elephant party and entirely for comedic value.
IT WORKED JUST LIKE BILLY MAYS SAID IT WOULD. WHY USE A TOWEL WHEN YOU COULD SHAMWOW?!

You know, I saw a youtube video of some kids with one and it didn't seem to work any better than newspaper at cleaning up messes (in that it was nonabsorbent and just moved the fluid around more than cleaned it up).

[Mystic Muse]

You know, I saw a youtube video of some kids with one and it didn't seem to work any better than newspaper at cleaning up messes (in that it was nonabsorbent and just moved the fluid around more than cleaned it up).

My family has a Chamois and it actually works pretty well. However, we mostly use it for drying cars rather than around the house spills.

Also, no, don't buy the Slap chop.

However, for your enjoyment instead, http://www.cracked.com/article_15768_as-seen-tv-10-most-laughably-misleading-ads.html

[Klose_the_Sith]

You know, I saw a youtube video of some kids with one and it didn't seem to work any better than newspaper at cleaning up messes (in that it was nonabsorbent and just moved the fluid around more than cleaned it up).

I got an imitation shamwow (called ultra-shammie or something) and it worked brilliantly. It was literally just like the ad, which is something I don't think the actual shamwow is capable of.

Needless to say, hilarity ensued.

[Aedilred]

I have a slap-chop sort of thing that I was given as a present a couple of years ago. I don't find it that useful for many things, but I do use it when chopping lots of garlic. I don't like pressed garlic,and trying to chop more than one or two cloves with a knife is a pain. It works alright for small onions, too.

Cleaning it is a massive pain, though. I'm ambivalent about the thing in general. It has its uses, but I wouldn't go out and buy one.

[Zovc]

If you try to chop potatoes, they will get stuck up in the blades and you will spend ten, finger-rending minutes trying to un-stick them. Tomatoes are turned into mashed soup. The skin does not peel off of an onion "just like that", and it surely does not open "just like a butterfly" (that's another few finger-rending minutes, there).

Maybe you need to sharpen it? Mine works great!

Okay, so I don't have one...

[Tirian]

I have a slap-chop sort of thing that I was given as a present a couple of years ago. I don't find it that useful for many things, but I do use it when chopping lots of garlic. I don't like pressed garlic,and trying to chop more than one or two cloves with a knife is a pain. It works alright for small onions, too.

IAWTC. If I'm frying some meat or making a pizza or an omelet, it's effortless to add a half-cup of minced onions and a clove of garlic, and it is neither effortless nor minced with a knife. I quarter onions beforehand and store the remainder in tupperware. Cherry tomatoes would theoretically work too if they weren't nearly ripe, but I'm not convinced that's worth the trouble. If I ever needed chopped nuts, this is obviously the tool I'd reach for, but I never have. Pretty much everything else in the ad is ridiculous. Why am I chopping tuna and ham and eggs? I have teeth for that.

For me, having an easy choice to have more natural vegetables in my diet is a good choice, and a food chopped offers that. I'd put it up with my mandolin as something that maybe I wouldn't need if I were a master chef but it saves me time and hassle and I'm not going to beat myself up over it. (Just as a disclaimer: like I said below, I have an Oxo food chopper and not a Slap Chop. It wouldn't surprise me if the Oxo was easier to clean.)

[valadil]

Got one as a present. It's next to useless. The thing is too small to put anything worth chopping in. If I want to chop an onion I have to quarter it first. At that point I might as well slice it up the old fashioned way.

[Mando Knight]

I prefer the slap chop commercial with TFII audio

No otha class gonna do that!

[Xyk]

You know, I saw a youtube video of some kids with one and it didn't seem to work any better than newspaper at cleaning up messes (in that it was nonabsorbent and just moved the fluid around more than cleaned it up).

It was great though. We spilled a soda all over the counter, being clumsy partiers, and the shamwow sopped it right up with out even a bunch of swabbing. Personal experience trumps youtube.

[IonDragon]

It was great though. We spilled a soda all over the counter, being clumsy partiers, and the shamwow sopped it right up with out even a bunch of swabbing. Personal experience trumps youtube.

But youtube trumps a poster on a forum with whom I am not personally acquainted. And since I'm not about to go out and purchase a shamwow, until I receive one as a gift, all reliable sources point to it being terrible. Please upload a video of it working as advertised.

[Keld Denar]

For fine dicing of veggies, I prefer my Alaskan Ulu Knife (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulu). I don't care what it was initially designed for, you put that sucker on a cutting board with some diced onions or garlic, rock it back and forth while watching TV for 20-30 seconds, and when you look down, your veggie of choice will be so minced it'll almost be juiced. Thats about all I use it for anymore, and they are SUPER sharp.

[ForzaFiori]

My mom has an off brand slap chop type thing. She only really uses it for nuts, but it works great on them.

[TheLaughingMan]

My mom has an off brand slap chop type thing. She only really uses it for nuts, but it works great on them.

Ouch. blah blah white text

[IonDragon]

Ouch. blah blah white text

Ohohoho. Well played.

[thestarvingpoet]

If you're really interested in a product like this I'd recommend the starfrit manual food processor (http://www.starfrit.com/Products/kitchen/KITCHEN%20ACCESSORIES/ChoppersChippers/93900.aspx?sc_lang=en). My mom has had one for over 10 years and it still works like new. It was one of the first 'gadgets' I asked for for in the kitchen. I use it all the time for onions (no crying now!), and it's great for labour intensive jobs like making salsa, relish, coleslaw, etc.

[Dragosai]

I wouldn't buy one if my life depended on it. I see products like those for who are just plain lazy. Since I personally like to cook (and have been known to do such things as make my own pasta from scratch, and the like), I'd personally rather cut, dice, slice etc. whatever I'm going to be using the old fashioned way with a chefs or pairing knife. Sire every little piece may not be completely uniform, but I just don't care about something like that a whole lot, especially when I'm cooking for just me. If I'm at a point where presentation matters, then I'll make sure to be precise, but otherwise, no.

This made me lol at work getting strange looks over my cube. "Lazy"? If inovation is "lazy" then why are you using a modern knife? Shoudn't you use like a rock to smash things to little pieces or something?

[deuxhero]

Depends on if you actually chop stuff up regularly.

For instance I use it (or a similar product, would need to check) to cut vegetables to fine bits for preparing ground beef (which I do regularly) at minimum. Onions are still a pain (when you do the actual browning of the meat everything burn, uggh)


If you don't, don't.

[TheLaughingMan]

This made me lol at work getting strange looks over my cube. "Lazy"? If inovation is "lazy" then why are you using a modern knife? Shoudn't you use like a rock to smash things to little pieces or something?

That's the equivalent of telling someone who likes arcade games "If you don't like innovation, go back to playing chess, dinosaur. :smallamused:" It's annoying as ****.

[Jack Squat]

This made me lol at work getting strange looks over my cube. "Lazy"? If inovation is "lazy" then why are you using a modern knife? Shoudn't you use like a rock to smash things to little pieces or something?

Laziness is the mother of innovation.

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

But youtube trumps a poster on a forum with whom I am not personally acquainted. And since I'm not about to go out and purchase a shamwow, until I receive one as a gift, all reliable sources point to it being terrible. Please upload a video of it working as advertised.

I"ll second the Shamwow working. I saw a demo of it live at the state fair a few years ago. So, unless they have a different orange sheet of fabric they give to those who buy it vs the one the guy doing the demo is using, I'd say it works pretty much like you see it on tv. I officiate hockey games, and I use one to wipe my skates clean and keep the floor around my free of standing water/shaved ice, and it works rather nicely for that.


This made me lol at work getting strange looks over my cube. "Lazy"? If inovation is "lazy" then why are you using a modern knife? Shoudn't you use like a rock to smash things to little pieces or something?

Yes, I do think it's lazy in the sense that it's really not that difficult or take that much more time to just chop whatever it is by hand. But then again, I do enjoy cooking, and will take take an hour to slice and take the pits out of cherries for a pie, or spend two hours making fresh pasta. Personally, I think most of the kitchen gadgetry from tv infomercials is designed towards people who feel they are just too lazy to actually make an attempt to try and cook a decent meal. I mean seriously, it's not really too tough to cut a potato or a carrot or celery yourself, especially if you have halfway decent knife skills. I'm not saying you shouldn't ever use something like a food processor (let's face it, no matter how good your cooking skills are, there are just things you can't get fine enough or would take all day to do without having a little help for recipe).