NorproApple Master-Apple, Potato, Parer, Slicer & Corer with Vacuum Base, Red frame

Doesn't work well for potatoes

Having picked well over 10 lbs of apples with my family, I was ready to make apple sauce. However the idea of peeling, coring and cutting all those apples was daunting. Looking for an easier way, I came across the Norpro Apple Master, without clamp (I don't have a good setup for a clamp). It arrived and I went to work. The only assembly required was screwing the handle onto the arm - it screws on left not right, btw. It worked great! I easily save over an hour prep time with the Apple Master. I got through about 6 lbs of apples in 15 minutes or less. The slices are nice and even. I haven't perfected a centering technique so my cut apple needs a little, minor clean up but that's nothing because 99% of the work is done for you. My 5 year old thinks it fun to use (properly supervised of course) and I love the extra pair of hands in the kitchen. It's so easy to use, I see myself making homemade apple pie this year, since the hardest part of the job is taken care of!I had a minor hiccup this morning, thus a 4 star rating instead of 5. I was half way through my next batch of apples for applesauce when the Apple Master stopped advancing an apple through the cutter/corer. It cut deeply into the apple flesh before I realized it wasn't working. I found if I stopped and gave the apple a nudge, it would contine to work fine. This is something I intend to watch closely because I've only used the Apple Master twice and I was surprised to have an incident this soon.Even with the nudging, this is an a great product for anyone who makes a lot of applesauce or pies. Heck, it's good if you just want to eat an apple.***update 11/19/2012 - I'd probably knock a star off my original rating. It took me the longest time to figure out how to adjust the peeler for oversized apples but that's not my biggest complaint. As I am going through my 10 lbs of apples while making sauce, the corer will shift. I put it back, it shifts again. The metal of the corer is not the sturdiest I have ever seen and the 'flexiblility' that it is supposed to offer can eventually become overwhelmed with use. I'll probably look for another peeler - this one is good for small jobs not big ones.

I'm a retired mechanical engineer. I've bought 4 peeler slicers for Christmas gifts 2012 and the experience has made me a bit of an authority. Of the 4 different brands I have tried and either kept or returned, this NorPro is slightly superior. I don't know how many brands are available, but it's certainly more than (8) and they all copy an ancient original, even copy the original mistakes. They all use the same cast body design which are all easily broken if you overstress the crank. Until someone offers a redesign, I can recommend the NorPro as a way to increase your consumption of apples because it's easy and fun and quick.That said, these machines are not for everyone.There are two very critical adjustments on all of them; not everyone is able to handle this. People that experience broken forks on the end of the crank probably let the coring blade slip off center, they just kept on cranking and broke off the tines of the fork when the fork straddled the coring blade. I think the NorPro holds better than the rest.Some people complain that the suction cup will hot hold onto their counter top. That's true. Counters have to be NON-POROUS; wood and unsealed granite will not work.Some people return them because the crank knob will not screw onto the crank at initial assembly out of the box. That is because the screw threads are LEFT HAND THREADS and none of the instruction booklets mention this fact. Turning the knob screw counterclockwise works. (I think the Victorio is right hand threads.)Some people hate the device because they had apples with soft cores. Soft cores will not work on any of the various brands.Some people complain that the two ends of the apples will not get peeled--that is true. Adjusting the peeling arm to peel the front end will just overload the mechanism and lead to unhappiness, especially with soft core apples.Some people complain about rust. I have not seen any rust on any of the brands that I have tried out; certainly none on the NorPro. I just rinse in cold water after each use.Why is it slightly superior?1--Has plastic bushings for the crank shaft to turn in.2--Has an oversized rectangular washer that clamps the coring/slicing blade in place and supports it against the bending force of the advancing apple. (The long end of the rectangle should be UP to support the blade best.)3--Has a longer beveled edge on the slicer blade which (I think) will make it sharper.4--Has 7 coils on the peeling arm spring. All others have 6 coils which give them a less precise pressure.5--NorPro has printed an instruction booklet of their own, not one of those dismal bad xerox copies.The photo on the NorPro listing shows a different design of the screw advance lever than what I received. That does not matter. The NorPro art department is just out of it. Since all designs are subject to change without notice, remember that this review is dated December, 2012.David

2nd one we've owned. Be careful with really hard apples, that's how our first one broke. Our fault, not the products

This works great for peeling and slicing apples. It removes the core and peal. It is a much faster way to peal apple's for a pie.

I really wanted to give this 4 1/2 stars. The package arrived earlier than expected and it was exactly what i needed and on my budget, the price was right. It works great once you get it adjusted to your preference. I only have 2 small complaints and in the grand scheme of things they are very small.1st complaint: If you aren't someone familiar with how these are supposed to work the directions aren't very clear and speak to you as if you know what they are talking about. Luckily for me I kind of had an idea of how it worked. I think the directions need to be a little clearer for beginners.2nd complaint: The suction cup thing doesn't always stay suctioned. I just got in the habit of turning the handle every couple apples. It didn't slow me down very much but I thought it worth mentioning.Like I said for the price it does an amazing job and it saved me from extra time spent coring and hand peeling. I did a 1/2 bushel and a peck of apples this weekend. 10 quarts of applesauce and 3 pints of apple butter. Haven't used it for anything else yet, but I look forward to some homemade curly fries. I would recommend this product to everyone.

It is easy to use, grips to the counter well. However, it broke 4 months after purchase.