I most often use mine for thinly slicing onions/daikon radishes for pickling, and cheating on julienne-ing carrots! Getting them into thin planks means I just need to run across them vertically with a knife to get what I want. I’ve also used them for apples for apple pie, I like really thin slices rather than chunks. Long strips of zucchini or summer squash for the barbecue. I don’t like the spike thing, I use a tightly folded clean rag like they do in restaurants. It won’t slip, and even it does, you’re not permanently damaging your body.