Old school? Lemme tell you. Or, rather, let my brother, who has recently gotten into reenacting, tell you as he mentioned to me last night: "I'm considered a big shot in my group, because not everyone has a brother who was actually on the Lewis & Clark expedition." But I digress.
I wasn't knocking hand cutting, Mama. If I had a penny for every bean I've Frenched with a knife we could spend six months in the Med on the proceeds (I'm thinking Malta or Morroco, actually
.)
But I am not against labor saving devices that actually do their job (so many don't it's pitiful). And the bean slicer is one of those. Does nearly as good a job faster and with less mess.
Plus consider that most people who read these posts do not have your knife skills---or even mine. I've been in many a kitchen, and the average American household is filled with dangerous knives.
Why dangerous? First, because the most dangerous beast in the jungle is a dull knife, and most American kitchen knives are barely sharp enough to cut butter on an August day. And second, because the people using them have not learned knife skills for one reason or another.
One thing we always have to be wary of is projecting. Never make the mistake of believing that because something is easy for you that everybody can do it. This is a natural tendency for everybody. The reality is, though, that the opposite is more likely.