Knives & Cutting

Cheese Slicer

A handheld tool with a wire or blade slot that shaves even slices from a block of cheese.

A cheese slicer is a handheld tool, either a wire stretched across a frame or a flat plane with a slotted cutting edge, that shaves thin, uniform slices from a block of firm cheese. Drawn across the surface, it produces even slices for sandwiches and boards without crumbling the cheese. The Scandinavian planer style (osteskærer) is especially common for semi-hard cheeses like gouda and havarti.

A cheese slicer — in its classic form, the Norwegian ostehøvel — is a handheld tool built around a single, taut steel wire stretched across a U-shaped metal yoke, with a small roller set into the opposite end of the handle. The roller rides along the face of the cheese as you draw the tool toward you, and it sets the slice thickness; the wire does the cutting. Because a wire parts cheese cleanly rather than tearing or dragging through it, the slicer produces remarkably even, uniform slices from a block without crushing the paste or smearing the surface fat. It is, in practice, the cleanest way to portion a semi-hard wheel at the table or the prep counter.

What distinguishes a wire slicer from a cheese knife or a cheese plane is precisely that wire. A knife shears; a plane shaves; the slicer shears along a line of almost zero thickness, so there is almost no friction, and the slice falls away intact. The tool was designed in 1920s Lillehammer by a Norwegian carpenter, Thor Bjørklund, specifically to deal with the country's everyday semi-hard cheeses — Jarlsberg, Norvegia, Gouda-style wheels — and that remains its sweet spot. Reach for it on anything from a young Gouda to a well-aged comté, and you will get thin to medium slices that melt evenly on a gratin or stack neatly on a sandwich.

Outside that range, the tool's logic breaks down. Soft and sticky cheeses cling to the wire and pull a ragged tear; very hard, long-aged cheeses can snap the wire outright. A wire slicer is also not a grater, not a chisel, and not a substitute for a proper hard-cheese knife on a 36-month Parmigiano-Reggiano. Used within its limits, though, it is one of the fastest, neatest ways to put uniform slices of cheese on a board, a burger, or a tray of croque-monsieur.

Alternatives

Sharp KnifeWire Cheese CutterVegetable Peeler For Hard Cheese

Types & varieties

Wire cheese slicer (roller-and-yoke)

The classic Norwegian ostehøvel: a wooden handle with a U-shaped metal yoke holding a taut wire, opposite a small roller that rides on the cheese face and sets thickness.

Stainless-steel wire slicer

An all-metal version of the roller-and-yoke design; dishwasher-safe and more durable than wood, though heavier in the hand.

Cheese plane

A flat handled tool with a slot through which a thin trapezoidal blade protrudes; you draw it across the cheese. Examples include the Opinel No.216 and Boska models. It produces thinner, shaved slices than a wire slicer and is a related but distinct tool.

Marble bench slicer

A block of marble with a hinged wire arm anchored to the base; the wire drops to cut a slice as you press the arm. Sits on the counter with no roller involved, and gives a stable base for cutting through wheels of semi-hard cheese.

Compact pocket slicer

A miniature wire slicer designed for lunchboxes and travel, working on the same roller-and-yoke principle as the full-size Bjørklund-style tool.

How the wire sets it apart

Three tools get called a 'cheese slicer' in casual usage, and they behave quite differently. Knowing which is which saves you from a ragged plate of cheese and, occasionally, a snapped wire.

Wire cheese slicer (ostehøvel): a taut steel wire does the cutting. Produces clean, even slices of semi-hard cheese with almost no drag. Slice thickness is set by the roller on the handle.
Cheese plane: a slotted flat handle with a small protruding blade. You draw it across the cheese like a hand plane. Produces thinner, shaved slices than a wire slicer and is the better choice when you want a near-paper-thin shaving of a hard cheese.
Cheese knife (with holes or a forked tip): a blade tool, useful for soft and crumbly cheeses where a wire would drag or break. A different category altogether, not a slicer.

The wire is the consumable

The wire is the working part of a cheese slicer, and it is also the part that wears out. A new wire cuts cleanly; a kinked, frayed, or rusted wire drags, snags, and eventually snaps. Most manufacturers sell replacement spools, and swapping one in is a five-minute job. Treat a tired wire as you would a tired knife blade: replace it.

Common uses

Slicing semi-hard and hard block cheeses into even, uniform slices for sandwiches, burgers, and cheese platesProducing consistent slices for gratins, pizzas, and baked dishes where even melting matters from edge to edgePortioning cheese cleanly without crushing or dragging the paste, since the wire parts the cheese rather than tearing itShaving thin slices of hard cheese such as comté or aged cheddar when a cheese plane is not on handCutting uniform slices for charcuterie boards, breakfast boards, and croque-monsieur where presentation is part of the dishWorking through a wheel of Jarlsberg, Edam, Gouda, or similar Norwegian and Dutch semi-hard cheeses at the tablePortioning a block of cheese for portion control in catering and sandwich-shop settings, where slice-to-slice consistency is what the customer expects

Tips & pitfalls

Pull the slicer toward you in a smooth, even stroke. Pushing flexes the wire and produces ragged, uneven slices.
Press the roller firmly against the cheese face as you cut. The roller both sets thickness and keeps the slice from folding over on itself.
Replace the wire as soon as you see kinks or fraying. A snapping wire under tension can sting fingers and scatter cheese.
For cheese that is cold and brittle straight from the fridge, let it temper 20–30 minutes before slicing. A cold paste cracks under the wire instead of cutting cleanly.
Hand-wash wooden-handled slicers, dry them immediately, and rub the handle occasionally with food-safe mineral oil to prevent the wood from splitting.
Do not use a wire slicer on soft, sticky, or crumbly cheeses. The wire drags through the paste and pulls a ragged tear; reach for a cheese wire or a thin-bladed cheese knife instead.
On very hard aged cheese such as 30- to 36-month Parmigiano-Reggiano, use a dedicated hard-cheese knife or a cheese plane. The wire can snap on a wheel that dense, and the slice will be too thin to be useful anyway.

Good to know

Origin: Norway, invented by carpenter Thor Bjørklund of Lillehammer around 1925 (Norwegian patent filed 1926)
Norwegian name: ostehøvel — literally 'cheese plane' or 'cheese shaver'
Mechanism: A thin steel wire stretched across a yoke, paired with a small roller on the handle; the roller sets slice thickness, the wire does the cutting
Typical materials: Beech or oak handle with a stainless or carbon-steel wire; all-metal and plastic-handle versions also exist
Best for: Semi-hard and hard block cheeses such as Gouda, Edam, Jarlsberg, cheddar, comté, and Gruyère
Not suited to: Soft or fresh cheeses (brie, ricotta, chèvre) or very hard aged cheeses (well-aged Parmigiano-Reggiano)
Slice thickness: Roughly 2–4 mm, set by how firmly the roller is pressed into the cheese face
Maintenance: Hand-wash wooden models, dry immediately, and oil occasionally with food-safe mineral oil; replacement wires are sold for most makes