thumb|An egg slicer
thumb|Use of an egg slicer
An egg slicer is a food preparation utensil used to slice peeled, hard-boiled eggs quickly and evenly. An egg slicer consists of a slotted dish for holding the egg and a hinged plate of wires or blades that can be closed to slice.
thumb|Sliced egg
The wire egg slicer was invented and patented by Willy Abel, a German inventor (1875–1951), in 1912, who also invented the bread cutter. The first egg slicers were produced in Berlin-Lichtenberg.
Dutch comedic duo Van Kooten en De Bie created a mock documentary about a Dutch egg slicer factory in 1983.
Aside from egg slicer, there is also egg wedger. Egg wedger uses criss-cross wires instead of parallel wires for slicing.
As a musical instrument
Some egg slicers that have thin wires can be played as string instruments. A recorded example is English experimental music group Coil's 'The Gimp (Sometimes)', where primary group member John Balance played an egg slicer solo, dubbing it a 'mini-harp', on both the studio version and later live performances.
See also
- Mandoline