Chef's Choice 615 Premium Electric Food Slicer - Best Price
With all structural components made of cast aluminum and stainless steel, this versatile, rugged slicer features a powerful, cool-running, high-torque electric motor and reliable, smooth gears for slicing with ease and confidence. The slicer's tilted food carriage and cantilever design provide fast, efficient slicing, delivering sliced food directly to large trays or platters. Its large-capacity food carriage retracts fully to permit slicing of extra-large roasts, hams, and other foods, while its 7-inch, multi-purpose; stainless-steel blade slices a wide variety of foods from deli-thin to approximately 1-inch thick slices. The unit's blade, food carriage, food pusher, food deflector, and thickness guide all remove for easy cleaning, while, for added security, the food carriage locks into position limiting access to the blade when the unit is not in use. Other convenient features include the slicer's intermittent on/off switch and its handy cord storage. A serving tray is included. The slicer measures 15 by 11 by 11-inch and carries a 1-year limited warranty.
Reviews of Chef's Choice 615 Premium Electric Food Slicer
Just got it, so this is a PREview, and an updated REview
Rating by : handicapped shopper, 
I did a lot of research before I chose this manufacturer. Chef's Choice had the best rating for a home slicer.
First impressions:
NOT gold, as shown in picture. Grey. (I don't care, but you might.)
Cons (?): I just unpacked it and read the instructions, which had typos (not a good start). The extra fuse fell on the floor because the bag was not sealed as it should have been (also not good: no seal in the bag, and why do I need one if it doesn't overheat?). Tried to register on line, no online registry (Hmm). Plastic square plate not listed in booklet (Guess what it's used for?). Wanted to send an email to ask about the unlisted plastic square (assume it's for catching slices), no email contact (What?), though you CAN call during business hours. CAN'T wash food-touching parts in the dishwasher, must be hand washed (Ugh). Comes with a serrated edge blade, and the reviews I read said that you really need a straight edge blade to cut thin slices well.
Pros: Construction is aluminum and stainless, as advertised. The only plastic is on the slider mechanism. Slicer mechanism moves smoothly. Seems to be well made. One year warranty. Not too heavy (My old Rival model, also metal, was much heavier.) Storage compartment for plug.
Bigger (not sure if that's a pro or a con) and better made (pro) than my old Rival.
Manual mentioned that foods with "uneven textures" should be "partially frozen" before cutting. Which leads me to question: Can I use it successfully to cut cooked meats i.e. roast beef, turkey, ham. etc. without "partial freezing"? I want to use it to slice food for dining/party settings.
I'll be back to update this review after using it for awhile. AND after contacting the manufacturer during business hours. LOL I'll also find out if we can register our products on line SOMEWHERE.
Update: Just used it to cut chilled roast beef.
I bought the non-serrated edge slicer blade (purchased separately) after reading the on-line reviews/recommendations. I like thin slices in my meat for sandwiches. It worked very well. The movement was smooth and almost effortless. The clean up was not bad at all. And I used the plastic square to "catch " the meat. I lubricated with a silicone based lubricant, since no lubricant was suggested and I had it on hand. NOT good. The oil migrated to the first few slices of meat (yuck).
Just got off the phone with Edgecraft, the manufacturer. The blades need lubrication every time you replace them, i.e. after washing or when changing serrated to non-serrated, etc. You need to purchase "mineral based food grade Vaseline" from a restaurant type supplier. (Amazon carries it, but it's VERY expensive through them. Read on. They gave me the name of Instawares.com Phone: 800-892-3622 Item #143-1063. I hazard to say that this lubricant is necessary no matter which food slicer you choose. I found a cheaper price for essentially the same product. I'm checking it out first before I recommend it. I couldn't find the item number at the first site and they are quite expensive. I will update the info.
"Partial freezing" means "chilled" for best results, though you CAN cut freshly cooked meat after allowing it to sit for "20 minutes or so for an average sized roast." DON'T cut frozen meat or meat with bones (I knew that).
You CANNOT register on line, though they might add it later, if enough customers, like me, complain. It HAS been requested in the past.
Hope this helps others, with questions like mine, to make their decisions about which slicer to buy. Happy hunting!
UPDATE:
The lubricant is NOT easy to find on line. I DID find Petro Gel Sanitary Lubricant, 4 oz. Tube(Carried by Amazon, but a very HIGH price. I found it on line for $2.31) I found it here:
Update:
Amazon deleted the link. Its at webstaurantstore.com
Update:
The manual is REALLY bad. I gives you very little information. Got an email from the president of the company. New info from him: Chill ALL meats before cutting. The fuse is included for people who don't read the manual and try to cut bones, frozen meats, etc. The slicer WILL overheat under those circumstances. The plastic tray IS for catching the meat (It says so "on the box." I didn't read the box. Did you?)
BTW. If you're like me, you will probably lose the fuse by the time you need it. I took a plastic zip bag, put the manual (such as it is) and the fuse inside, and taped it to the bottom of the unit. There is a recessed area underneath which is perfect for this. That way you won't lose them.
Update:
If you expect your thin slices to be as perfect as from the deli, I think you'll be disappointed. Because YOU, essentially, are the power behind the pressure. If you put too much pressure into your slice it will be thicker, less pressure thinner. I also found that you have to flip the meat occasionally because the meat slides a bit and develops a "tail" on the edge farthest from the blade. You may find a better solution to that issue, but flipping occasionally seems to work for me.
Update: I have used it, with the serrated blade, for cutting pot roast. I left the roast in the refrigerator over night, so it WAS chilled when I sliced it. I used a thicker slice setting, and it made beautiful, even slices. I did NOT have to turn the meat over with this blade and setting (no tail on the meat). I am very pleased!
Just one caution: The blade, especially the non-serrated, is very sharp. Take caution when washing it.
Best on the Market
Rating by : Charles Stembridge "Proteus",
I read all the reviews for most of the brand name meat slicers. Amazon makes it very easy to do this since they offer so many brands and models of brands, along with consumer reviews. Then I took the trouble to personally take a good look at the available brands at local merchants. I might mention that the Chef's Choice brand was only available at Kitchen Kaboodle, and then only the Model 610. Of course, I couldn't try out the meat slicers by slicing meat since none were plugged in, and it would be rather messy for stores to offer a demo on a product like this.
What I did find was the Chef's Choice offered almost 'frictionless' operation of the slider that carries the meat across the blade. No other brand was as easy to move. The Chef's Choice also has a 'slider lock' that locked the slider over the blade, a definate safety and storage feature. Few of the others offered this. The Chef's Choice also appeared to be just better built with more metal and less plastic in the 'structural' parts of the unit. The Chef's Choice Model 615 (unavailable locally) also features a little heavier motor than the Model 610, and most other brands in the same price range.
I finally settled on the Chef's Choice Model 615, mainly based on the larger motor and the quality of the Chef's Choice brand overall.
I tried it out the day after Christmas (it was a present), first on a boneless pre-cooked ham, then on left over Prime Rib Roast (bones removed). I sliced the ham at the 1mm setting (deli sliced) and got a whole plate of uniformly sliced ham, with very little effort and little motor slow-down. The machine also only left about 1/4" of the butt end of the ham unsliced. Then I sliced the Prime Rib Roast at about 1/4" slices. Again, the effort was minimal and the resulting slices were very uniform.
Clean up was very easy, all the parts that needed to be removed from the machine for cleaning came apart easily, and went back together just as easy.
NOTES: Keep your hands away from the blade when operating (the design makes this easy), and be very careful when removing and cleaning the blade. I can assure you that it will slice fingers just as easily as it slices ham.
Let the blade do the cutting - don't force the meat through the blade faster than it will cut. This machine will cut very fast, but will not compare to a $1500, 12" Hobart Deli Slicer. I do think that you get a very good value for the money, and much better than most.
I gave the Chef's Choice Model 615 'Five Stars' for Quality, Value, and Ease of Use.
Happy with my purchase
Rating by : N. Pham, 
After reading reviews upon reviews, I was just about to pull the trigger on the 610 model of this meat slicer. However, just as I was about to continue, I saw this 615 model listed on Amazon and handicapped_shopper's excellent review. That said, I would recommend seeing that review. I have some additional thoughts.
- When I pulled the slicer out of the box, I was a little intimidated by the size of it. This is certainly not something that will sit on my countertop. It being larger than I anticipated, I had some trouble finding a place to store it when not in use. Using it only once a week on the weekends (when I will try to slice up as much as I think I need for the week), I store it back in the box on top of my refrigerator. Perhaps when we leave our rental apartment, we'll have more space... but that's all together off-topic....
- Eagerly, I read the manual and started slicing. Operationally, it is very easy. I used the supplied serrated blade, while the other was on order. Note: The blade packaging and all advertising for the non-serrated blade states that it is for the 610 model, but it is compatible with the 615. Amazon did not have a storefront with it in stock, so I had to Google it. I did find free shipping. I don't think I'm allowed to list the store here. The nonserrated blade slices adequately the ham that I purchased. However, it left a "tail" as handicapped_shopper describes. This problem is worse with raw meat.
- I have trouble keeping the meat on the guide as I move it back and forth. As the piece gets smaller, it gets more difficult as, well. The manual and reviews say that it is best to slice meat "chilled." I found that it is difficult to hold onto the meat as it becomes less and less firm as it warms up. I think next time, I will partially freeze the meat to "a bit more than chilled" to slice it. With a knife, I usually partially freeze to the point where I need to apply some pressure to cut through. I would think that would be too much for this blade. I think just enough to help the meat hold its shape while cutting will make the cutting easier and uniform.
- What I just noticed was that the thickness setting can slip as you are cutting. Pay attention to the dial as you slice. If you apply too much pressure, the dial will turn and you'll end up with thicker slices.
- Cleaning is not difficult, however I found bits of beef inside the gears beneath the blade. I used a qtip to get these bits out. I was able to disassemble most of the parts that come in direct contact with the unit. I used a disinfectant wipe to clean the parts that might also come in contact with meat or my dirty hands, e.g. the power switch.
- Picked up Petro-Gel for around $8 from e bay.
I will still need some practice with the slicer and will update this review accordingly.
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