Benriner Classic

Since 1969 · 57 years to 2026 · First made in Iwakuni, Japan

Benriner Classic, view 2 — The Japanese mandoline: a plastic slicing board from Iwakuni, made since 1969.

The Benriner Classic is a hand slicer for vegetables: a flat plastic board some 32 centimetres long and 11 wide, its deck ribbed lengthways to let the food slide, with a straight steel blade set diagonally across it. A screw at the side raises or lowers the deck to set the thickness of the slice. Three comb blades, fine, medium and coarse, slot in beside the main blade to cut matchsticks and threads, and a plastic holder grips the last of the vegetable so that the fingers stay clear. It is made in ivory or green.

Benriner Classic: The wooden-framed Benriner and its box: "Utility vegetable slices with Yamamoto's Benriner." The maker places it at the start of its history, before the change to plastic. — The wooden-framed Benriner and its box: "Utility vegetable slices with Yamamoto's Benriner." The maker places it at the start of its history, before the change to plastic. *Maker photograph, undated.* via benriner.co.jp

Its maker, Benriner of Iwakuni, traces it to a radish cutter devised by its founder, Uyuki Yamamoto, for cutting the fine strands of daikon served with raw fish. When he did so is uncertain: the company's own accounts have said 1934 and 1940, and Japanese Wikipedia says 1950. The early Benriners were framed in magnolia wood and sold mainly to inns and restaurants, and one surviving box offers them abroad as 'Yamamoto's Benriner'.

Benriner Classic: Early plastic Benriners in red and teal, with a box describing the 'Yamamoto-type all-purpose vegetable cutter' as made of ABS resin. The maker shows them against the 1960s and 1969. — Early plastic Benriners in red and teal, with a box describing the 'Yamamoto-type all-purpose vegetable cutter' as made of ABS resin. The maker shows them against the 1960s and 1969. *Maker photograph, undated.* via benriner.co.jp

In 1969, when the wood had grown scarce, the frame was moulded in plastic, and the Benriner began to find its way into home kitchens. Its boxes showed a smiling cook and promised that cooking could be pleasant and beautiful. A holder to protect the fingers came in 1973; in 1992 the corners were rounded and the colours softened to ivory and pastel, and the slicer travelled abroad under a borrowed name, the Japanese mandoline.

Benriner now makes wider and more elaborate versions, with dials, non-slip feet and decks of 95 and 120 millimetres. The Classic keeps the original 64 millimetre deck and the screw. It is still made in Iwakuni, where the company says the blades are ground and finished by hand, and it is still what it was in 1969: a ribbed board, a blade and a screw.

Timeline

1969 First made · Claimed Benriner Classic enters production in Iwakuni, Japan.
1973 Designed A safety holder for the vegetable is added, and a version with a catch tray is offered.
1992 Designed The frame is given rounded edges and the colours change to ivory and pastels; abroad it becomes known as the Japanese mandoline.
2011 Production Benriner moves into a new head-office factory at Tada in Iwakuni, where blades are still finished by hand.

Milestones as we found them, not as we've checked them.

The date

One source supports this year. Treat it as the maker's claim.

Three accounts agree that the plastic Benriner was introduced in 1969: Benriner's current chronology (1969, full launch of Benriner products and the basic structure of the slicer settled, after the move from wood to plastic in the 1960s), its English history of 2009 ('1969: Material was changed from wooden to plastic') and Japanese Wikipedia, which says the frame changed to plastic in 1969 because the magnolia wood used for it had become hard to get. All three trace to the maker, so the year is claimed. The wooden Benriner before it was the same kind of slicer and might carry the date further back, but its starting year cannot be fixed: the maker now says 1934, its 2009 English site said 1940, and Japanese Wikipedia says 1950; the name Benriner is dated 1945 by the 2009 site and 1955 by the current one and by Wikipedia. The entry therefore dates the plastic Benriner, the first year every source shares.

Also claimed

1934

Benriner's current website dates its founding and first wooden radish cutter to 1934; the wooden cutter was the same kind of slicer, but this year conflicts with the maker's own earlier account and with Wikipedia.

1940

The maker's English website, archived in 2009, said the first Benriner was introduced in 1940 and the company named after it five years later.

1950

Japanese Wikipedia dates the founding and the first radish cutter to 1950.

1955

Japanese Wikipedia says the wooden-framed cutter and the company were both named Benriner in 1955, the year the current website gives for incorporation.

Why it still counts

One product. The mandoline slicer is a type, made by many firms, and 'Benriner' now covers a range (the 64 mm Benriner, the 95 mm Super Benriner, the 120 mm Jumbo and others). This entry is the original 64 mm Benriner, sold today as the Benriner Classic: the queue's 'Benriner Mandoline' is narrowed to it.

The same object. The plastic Benriner of 1969, as the maker's photographs show it, was a flat ribbed board about 32 cm long with a straight steel blade set diagonally across it, its slice thickness set by a screw at the side, and comb blades to cut fine strips; the Classic today is the same board, 64 mm deck and screw adjustment included, with three comb blades and a finger guard.

The safety guard (1973), a hand-hold at the top of the frame, rounded edges and new colours (1992) changed details, not what the tool is. The maker's newer 64 mm models (No. 64, Kanade) add a dial, non-slip feet and a bowl notch and are not this article.

The production run. The maker's chronology, its 2009 history and its current catalogue describe an unbroken run, and no source records a stop.

First made

Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan

Where to buy · ££

From the archive

Benriner Classic: An orange Benriner and its box, which advertises a safety guard included; the maker shows it against 1973. — An orange Benriner and its box, which advertises a safety guard included; the maker shows it against 1973. *Maker photograph, undated.* via benriner.co.jp

Benriner Classic: A Benriner with a hand-hold at the top of the frame, in a bilingual box: "You can enjoy cooking with the Benriner cutter." Shown by the maker against 1982. — A Benriner with a hand-hold at the top of the frame, in a bilingual box: "You can enjoy cooking with the Benriner cutter." Shown by the maker against 1982. *Maker photograph, undated.* via benriner.co.jp

Benriner Classic: The New Benriner in ivory, with rounded corners, and its box; the maker shows it against 1992, when the colours changed to pastels. — The New Benriner in ivory, with rounded corners, and its box; the maker shows it against 1992, when the colours changed to pastels. *Maker photograph, undated.* via benriner.co.jp

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