KWS Metal Collection 420W 12 Inch Commercial Meat Slicer MS-12DS Anodized Aluminum Base with Stainless Steel Blade + Blade Removal Tool, Frozen Meat/Cheese/Food Slicer Commercial and Home Use

12” KWS unit; Out of the un damaged box the blade was hitting the metal blade guard near the top and the whole guide and sharpener attachment were off angle from being parallel with the blade. I had to disassemble the whole thing and realign properly before I could even turn it on. At the contact point the blade guard was poorly ground and cod have used a lot more hand grinding on the rough casting. I really want to go get my die grinder and clean that spot up because the rough cast metal is preventing good blade clearance. Once I got that sorted I went to open the blade depth and the pre installed alum knob was rubbing into the cast aluminum housing. Like metal on metal grinding. I hand to dissasemble the unit and pull all the carriage parts off so I could fio it over and disassemble the blade control knob and adjust it so it didn’t have metal on metal contact. There are plastic parts on that part of the assembly that are suspect to longevity in my opinion. I’m not really happy with the fit and finish of this unit. It’s cheaply manufactured. I would have sent it back if it wasn’t so heavy in the first place. It’s no Hobart but zI think it will be fine for kitchen use. Once everything was readjusted properly I sliced some homemade bacon on it without any trouble. The food tray and blade depth guide would really be a bit longer by a few mor inches as I had to fold the bacon slab in half to cut it. There are some nice things about the unit. The price point is obviously much lower than a commercial Hobart or Berkel. The footprint is compact and fits perfectly on my countertop. The weight is manageable. My old 12” Hobart took up 9sf of my countertop and weighed so much it took to people to move it. The KWS motor was quite and had the motor soft starts and gets up to speed quickly and had enough power to easily slice through 4” of bacon. Slices were even and the cuts looked smooth and clean. I talked to another person who bought the same machine and they didn’t have any of the problems I had with mine.

Spent countless hours over many months deciding which meat slicer to get, after watching every video, reading all the reviews on all the variations and brands of slicers, pricing every slicer everywhere. Decided to get this one, and am satisfied with value, material quality, size and cut quality. I will state I’m very particular and expect every cents worth from my dollar. It’s far better than the under $200 slicers, it’s enough better/bigger than the $3-400 slicers to be worth the difference if you need the increased size/power, and it’s high enough quality to be worth saving the additional $800 you’d spend on a big H brand slicer unless you plan on running this in a commercial setting nonstop (this is not my use so I can’t say either way if it’ll do that from experience). Just right for a home kitchen, someone who processes their own meats, food truck, small restaurant, caterer, and others who might use a meat slicer a few hours per day. Size wise it will cut full sides of bacon into paper thin or thick cut slices as good as the butcher shop can, will fit large roasts for cheesesteak or sandwich meats, will turn large cuts into steaks of any thickness 1/2” or under, it’s a bit oversized for summer sausage but still cuts it perfectly. Sliced 5lbs of frozen beef roast in about 15 minutes, paper thin and better than the butcher will do it. I prefer my deli meats shaved so thin they’re basically transparent and it gets that job done well. 1/2hp motor doesn’t bog down and will slice anything I can fit onto the feed table including hard cheeses like aged cheddar. If you’ll mostly just be slicing sandwich meats you’ll be ok with a smaller model, but if you want to be able to slice at the same level as the deli counter this one gets the job done. Be aware it is the same size as most deli counter meat slicers, this is not going to fit under a cupboard, it’s pretty much the same depth as a countertop. Have a plan for storage if it won’t always be on the counter, I’m placing it on wheeled cart so I can easily move it to the food prep area when it will be used, then the sink, then back away without having to lift this appx 60lbs multiple times for each use. People mention clean up in many reviews, the blade tool makes this a stress free process and worth the additional cost in my opinion. Like any nsf slicer this needs to be disassembled for cleaning, a straightforward process similar to any other slicer of the same type 9”-10”-12”-13”. Just remove feed tray with one knob and wash in sink, remove blade shield to wash front of blade while the blade is attached, then remove blade with tool and wash back side and then sanitize the body, reassemble in reverse, takes 10-15 minutes. Watch a cpl how to videos and you’ll be okay. Arrived on time undamaged direct from KWS in Southern Cali, ordered on a Monday and it was on my step in the Midwest by lunch on Friday. I rarely write reviews but was satisfied enough with this item that I took the time to do this one, maybe it’ll help someone like me who was on the fence… only regret is I didn’t order it earlier… I got no discount, no kickback, and have no affiliation with KWS. Paid full price, and am sharing my opinion of the KWS MS-12DS slicer only. Although I would expect that all their 12” slicers are very similar and likely their 10” slicers as well, are of the same quality and value. I doubt it’s going to break with my use, but I would buy another one. Hopefully any of that was helpful to someone considering this.

Purchased this slicer as a backup for my food truck. Didn't want to spend a bunch of money as its a backup and won't be used that often. My main slicer is a Hobart Edge13. Although this slicer is half the price as the Hobart was, it shows why its half the price. Nevermind the shipping damage that prevented this slicer from even working.. The fit and finish is very rough. Several blemishes on the body of the sliver, and the dial that adjusts the slice thickness does not start at the "0" setting, it travels past that to what woud be a "-1" position. Not a big deal but that just sets the tone of the quality of this unit. The edges of the slicer that house the blade are very rough and not sanded/grinded down. You could easily cut yourself on casting imperfections just cleaning the slicer. And the blade is exposed in a lot more areas than the Hobart I have, thus increasing the chance of accidentally cutting yourself. Cleaning this thing looks like it would be a chore too. No slicer is super easy to clean, but this one seems like it would be on the spectrum of difficult. This slicer is shipped via common carrier, and they clearly do not treat this heavy slicer carefully. One corner of the box was dented pretty good as if it was thrown or dropped. Not sure if that particular damage was the reason the entire blade housing was bend into the blade, keeping it from spinning when I tried to turn it on. Had to box it all back up, and lug this 60 plus pound slicer to UPS. Total PITA. At least the shipping to me and back to them was covered by seller, and they did issue a prompt credit for my return. I in-turn headed to the web restaurant website on ordered another Hobart. It was delivered on a mini pallet, completely secure from being able to get damaged easily. This is how any item as heavy and bulky should be shipped to avoid damage.