April 29, 2022

The Vintage Egg Slicer I Didn’t Know I Needed

six boiled egg wedges arranged in a star shape on a glass plate

Sometimes it takes a funky, vintage egg slicer to help you reimagine how you prepare the simplest of foods.

three vintage aluminum egg slicers on a wooden surface

Antique love runs deep

I love antiques. I’ve loved antique hunting since I was a teenager. So, naturally, as an adult, it’s one of my favorite hobbies to do now and again. There’s just something about the meandering around old things that have had lives longer than yours that bring a sense of grounding for me. Plus, I love the old stuff smell. I don’t know if I’d want my whole house to smell like that, but it’s the special perfume that let’s me know I’ve come to my happy place: an antique shop.

As a busy mom, I don’t always get out to antique shops. so eBay is my next go-to place when I’m looking for something in particular and I don’t have a lot of time to relish the hunt for just the right thing.

One day, our modern plastic egg slicer broke.

I didn’t replace it for weeks. Weeks turned into months. But we relied on that thing. The problem was, I was just so stinking tired of cheap plastic junk. I like to say that my favorite type of recycling is going antiquing, so I went on eBay and looked around for the REAL deal:

a vintage, aluminum egg slicer

I didn’t have to search long before I found someone selling a set of two slicers. One was German made and the other was unmarked. They were both the typical egg slicers where you lay the egg on its side and bring the arm down to cut the egg into a bunch of vertical slices. (We’ve been known to use our egg slicer to cut olives too…) One was even being described as a mushroom slicer which piqued my interest. I’d never thought of cutting mushrooms in my slicers!

The wires looked good and tight, and there wasn’t any rust. The price was right, so I went ahead and got them! I was feeling pretty good about my purchase. Especially because I got two. Which means I can get two kids slicing at one time. (That’s Mom smarts, people. lol)

And then, I saw it…

vintage aluminum egg slicer on wood surface

This weird egg slicing contraption just called to me. I kept saying out loud, What the heck is this thing? more out of wonder than out of not being able to figure it out, because it’s pretty obvious.

It had three intersecting wires so it cut the eggs into six WEDGES.

SIX — wedges!

I’m pretty sure I bought the thing in two seconds flat. It’s kind of a blur. Haha! Once it was in my hands, I was so giddy, which my brain was telling me was stupidly unreasonable. Feeling giddy over an egg slicer?

But just wait. You’ll understand.

Luckily, I had some boiled eggs on hand, so I peeled one, unlatched the handle, stuck one in the funky egg slicer and gave it a go. The wires sliced through with ease. The eggs dropped to the kitchen towel I had laid out. And my mouth dropped open. Why was it so hard to comprehend what I was seeing?

vintage aluminum egg slicer sitting next to boiled egg slices

It was like magic!

Cutting an oval into six wedges isn’t really that big of a deal. But for some reason, it blew my mind. This was a game changer for my salads! And as soon as I saw the egg wedges laying there it jogged a memory of seeing eggs cut like this in some of my vintage cookbooks, though I can’t remember exactly where I’d seen it.

What I’ve learned about this vintage egg slicer

Can I cut an egg like this myself? Probably if I tried hard enough, but it’s not as easy as you think cutting an oval into six wedges! Plus this tool can do it in less than 5 seconds, so… I also have to say that the engineering on this is very clever! It’s easy to clean, it’s well-made, and very easy to use. I want to shake that person’s hand if I ever meet them.

I never knew I needed this tool in my life, until I cut that first egg. And now, I think it’s going to be a long love affair with boiled eggs again. Haha! I foresee a lot of boiled egg wedges on salads and egg salad sandwiches in our future.

six boiled egg wedges arranged in a star pattern on a glass plate

If you see this tool at a yard sale or an antique mall or even on eBay, don’t pass it up. It’s dumb and crazy how much joy this one vintage egg slicer brings. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. But I think I’ll just embrace it. Embrace the eggy joy!

(The other two vintage egg slicers are cool too. They get the job done. And that one can slice mushrooms!) lol

I’m planning on having a future post about caring for vintage aluminum like these egg slicers, but I found this article that answers a lot of questions about it!

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