Your Spartan peeler, shredder, and slicer are forged from Japanese surgical stainless steel, the same family of steel used in medical instruments and professional chef's knives. That's what gives you the effortless glide and the clean, precise cut. Take care of these tools and they'll outlast every other tool in your kitchen. That's the Lifetime Guarantee promise, and these few habits are how you hold up your end of it.
Hand Wash When You Can
Spartan tools are stainless, so a trip through the dishwasher won't rust them. But dishwasher detergent is abrasive and the heat cycle is aggressive, both of which will dull your blade faster over time. If you want your tool to stay as sharp as the day it arrived, hand washing is the way.
Rinse under warm water right after use, then wash with a drop of dish soap. A small dish brush works better than a sponge or cloth for getting between the teeth of your shredder or slicer, and it saves your sponge from getting shredded in the process.
Acidic produce like tomatoes, citrus, and onions especially appreciate a prompt rinse rather than sitting on the blade. If the dishwasher is your only option on a busy night, your tool will be fine. Just know that habitual dishwasher use will shorten the life of the edge.
Dry It Before You Put It Away
Use a flat, non-looped towel for drying. Looped towels can catch on the blade edge and snag. Wipe along the outer edges of the blade on both the front and back, then gently pat dry between the teeth.
If you'd rather skip the towel altogether, air drying on a dish mat works just as well. Stainless steel doesn't mind sitting out to dry, just make sure it's fully dry before the cap goes back on.
Store It Properly (and Keep Your Fingers Safe)
Every Spartan tool comes with a safety cap, and it earns its keep. The cap protects the blade from chipping against other utensils in the drawer, and it protects your fingers when you're blindly reaching in to grab something. Make a habit of capping your tool every time it goes away.
How to put the cap on safely:
Always hold the cap lengthwise, not widthwise. Holding it lengthwise keeps your fingers well away from the blade. Holding it widthwise puts them right next to the edge, which is exactly where you don't want them.
- For the peeler: Use your finger on the outer edge of the blade to gently tip the blade to one side. Holding the cap lengthwise, gently roll it over the blade until it tucks and clicks in. The cap should sit snug and not fall off.
- For the shredder and slicer: Make sure the blade is aligned straight with the handle. Holding the cap lengthwise, gently place it over the blade until it clicks into place.
If the cap ever feels loose, email us and we'll send a replacement under the Lifetime Guarantee.
What These Tools Are Built For (and What They're Not)
The Spartan Peeler handles just about every fruit and vegetable you can think of. Carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, apples, cucumbers, zucchini, butternut squash, kabocha squash, ginger, asparagus, mangoes, kiwis, the list goes on. The one exception is spaghetti squash, where the skin is too tough and irregular for clean peeling.
The Spartan Shredder is your julienne workhorse. It makes quick work of cucumber, zucchini, carrot, beet, apple, mango, hard cheese, and ginger. It's not the right tool for anything overly watery or extremely hard, so save your tomatoes for a knife and your frozen ginger for the thaw.
The Spartan Slicer is built for wide, beautiful cuts. Zucchini, apples, potatoes, hard cheese, and carrot or cucumber ribbons for salads and garnishes all come out perfectly. It struggles with citrus slices, so reach for a knife when you're prepping lemons or oranges. One bonus use: the slicer doubles as a peeler for tough-skinned produce like butternut squash and sweet potatoes, and it's easier to maneuver on longer produce than round.
What none of these tools are built for: frozen food, bones, hard cheese rinds, or anything you'd normally reach for a cleaver to handle. The Japanese steel is harder and more precise than what's in a typical Western peeler, which is what gives you that clean cut. The trade-off is that it's a little less forgiving if you force it through something it wasn't designed for.
A Note on the Shredder Blade
The shredder is intentionally made with a softer blade than the peelers. This is by design. A softer blade flexes slightly under pressure, which gives you better control and a more even shred, especially with delicate ingredients like mangoes or cucumbers. It also means the shredder is the one tool in your set that can occasionally bend if you push it diagonally through something too dense or hit it hard against the side of a bowl.
If your shredder blade ever bends, you can usually straighten it gently with the flat side of a butter knife. And if it's beyond a quick fix, that's exactly what the Lifetime Guarantee is for. Send us a note and we'll replace it. No questions, no proof of purchase needed.
Keeping the Edge Sharp
Here's the good news: you don't need to sharpen your Spartan tools. The blades are designed to hold their edge for years of regular home use. The habits above (hand washing, drying, storing carefully) are what preserves the sharpness. No sharpening rod, no whetstone, no maintenance ritual required.
If after years of heavy use you notice the edge isn't gliding the way it used to, get in touch. We'd rather hear from you than have you struggle with a tired tool.
The Lifetime Guarantee
Every Spartan tool is covered by our Lifetime Guarantee. If something goes wrong, whether it's a manufacturing defect, a bent blade, or wear that shouldn't be there, we'll replace it. No questions asked. No receipt hunting. Just email us at info@spartankitchen.ca and we'll take care of you.
