First, let me say that I have used numerous mandolins and while most work well for the average everyday slicing...all have failed me when I am trying to do very thin slicing. All the other units have preset thickness choices. For my needs, none have every been able to slice thin enough. I saw a Benriner in our local kitchen fixture store and laughed, once again, at the claims made on the package. OH WELL...what is one more slicer in the cupboard. While looking on Amazon, I noted there was also the Wide-Body version...a bit more money but probably more useful...so I ordered it.This is a simple machine with infinite thickness adjustments from it max thickness all the way down to zero; note I said infinite! No presets...just turn two adjusting knobs on the bottom to the desired thickness. In my case...thinness is what I'm looking for. I do a dish with sweet potatoes and they must be sliced very thin; about the equivalent of a couple of sheets of printing paper...thin! Since the two knobs work independent of each other, each controlling each side of tray, it takes a little looking to get both of them adjusted evenly; once you know they are even, just turn both knobs the same amount and all is well.As my confidence increased...I kept cutting thinner and thinner; to the point of being able to see through the sweet potato. OK... I'm sold! I played with the julienne attachments and found them to work well. Other reviews have mentioned the poor design of the blade guard/food holder; I have to agree that it is below par compared to the unit itself. But, that is not a deal breaker since I seldom use a guard anyway. Please note...the blade is SHARP and I like the fact that I can remove the blade and touch it up on my steel to maintain that razor sharp edge.There is no built in stand or anything to help old the unit up. I found it worked best over a silicone rimmed bowl (the silicone kept it from sliding around while in use). There is no place, internally to store the accessory blades. This unit is not burdened with a lot of junk features and the basic design and easy cleaning is just what I was looking for...plus that super thin slicing capability!This past weekend I used it to shred some cabbage for cole-slaw. It worked well and again i was pleased. It took me about 2 minutes to shred the entire head. Very pleased!A maintenance note. When washing...habit would dictate to scrub up and down the cutting ramp with your brush or sponge. Please don't do this! Only stroke it backward over the cutting edge. This will keep you from causing any unnecessary damage to the edge as well as your cleaning tool.I like it, I'm sold on it and am happy to say it is the best lightweight mandolin I have ever used! Highly recommended!====================================================UPDATE 11/02/15Our Benriner has been used a lot. I knew the day would come when the cutting edge would begin to lose it sharpness. Rubbing my finger across the edge, it was obvious the edge had curled a bit (this is normal and what happens to knives). I use a steel to clean up the edges on all my knives (If you don't know what a steel is, please read below). I removed the cutting blade and using my honing steel removed the burr or curl from the edge. In less than a minute, my cutting edge was, once again, super sharp. We have started dehydrating fruits and slicing through the core and seeds of apples and pears does cause damage to the cutting edge. I do wish that it would slice a bit thicker than it does, BUT...I originally purchased this because of its ability to be able to slice very thin...which it does amazingly well. I remain very happy with my purchase.What is a steel?A honing steel, sometimes referred to as sharpening steel, sharpening stick, sharpening rod, butcher's steel, and chef's steel is a rod of steel, ceramic or diamond coated steel used to realign blade edges. They are flat, oval, or round in cross-section and up to one foot long.