I'm looking for a cheese slicer recommendation

Had several of those string slicers break on me over the years, especially when using a hard cheese like swiss.  For a while I was using one from Rosle that had replaceable strings (http://www.amazon.com/Rösle-12723-Wire-Cheese-Slicer/dp/B000063Y8H) but I still had to buy and stock replacement strings from a local cooking supply store.  Finally, I switched to a metal slicer designed for slicing medium-hard cheeses.  There is a local cheese and beer shop that I frequent that was using them, and I figured that if these slicers were able to keep up with slicing (for customer samples) all day, one would probably last a while in my kitchen! (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002U78YBI/) The all metal slicer doesn’t do a great job cutting very soft cheeses like cream brie, but I don’t usually eat those– if I did I could still use the Rosle since it’s still sitting around in a drawer, hopefully with a working string…

Get a cheese cutting board instead.  Any cheese cutting device that uses a wire will eventually need a replacement wire, but a cheese cutting board will do a much neater job, erm, cutting the cheese.

(I got mine as a gift.  I think it came from a chain store like Bed, Bath and Beyond but I’m not sure.  It came with a couple replacement wires taped to the bottom- I would have lost them if they weren’t!)  We semi-regular use the first wire lasted a few years.  I’m on the second string now.  It gives you much better control than one of the hand slicers.

You can get anything from the basic models (mine is pretty basic) to models built onto trays to display the cheese.  That’s actually more practical than you think, since you don’t have to cut all the cheese at once, which makes it easier to save some for later and it won’t dry out.  You can have a party where you all stand around cutting the cheese.

A quick Google search for ’Cheese Cutting Boards’ and/or ’Cheese Serving Boards’ should give you all sorts of results.

Just don’t search for ’the best way to cut the cheese’ without safe search on.  

The Westmark cheese slicer is as simple and as sturdy as they come:

(http://www.amazon.com/Westmark-Cheese-Slicer-Aluminum-Stainless/dp/B000VJ81QK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1456684427&sr=8-2&keywords=westmark+cheese+slicer)

 The string is quite a bit thicker than on other slicers and is not replaceable. instead you get a five year no-questions asked guarantee (not that I’ve ever needed it…).  It’s fine for both  soft and hard cheeses, but it takes a bit of skill to get very thin slices… 

http://www.amazon.com/Cheese-Knife-OKP2-Unique-Patented/dp/B004XRH0FY/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456697841&sr=8-1-fkmr1

I’ve had one of these for a couple of years.  It works awesome!  The story (half of the reason I bought it was the story from the clerk) goes that a girl was packing up her fathers house after he passed away, and she found the patent for this knife in his things.  She tried one, and found some manufacturing help, and started making the best cheese knife ever.  Slices thick or thin with ease and the cheese doesn’t stick to it.

I like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Chefn-Slicester-Cheese-Slicer-Apricot/dp/B002PEX60A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457007202&sr=8-1&keywords=chef%27n+cheese+slicer

Very durable, safe. Use on a non-slip surface because you exert a lot of pressure when slicing.

We have one of these, or something very similar:
http://www.amazon.com/WMF-Adjustable-9-Inch-Cheese-Plane/dp/B001C0BB0K/ref=sr_1_18?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1457015180&sr=1-18&keywords=adjustable+cheese+plane 
Sort of a standard cheese plane, but there’s a little set screw that lets you angle the blade and vary the width of the slices.  It’s not quite as easy to use as the string slicers, but it’s bombproof.

The answer is that there is NO ANSWER.  My personal rule is that any tool of which there are dozens of variations –  be it cork screws, cheese slicers, soda bottle and champagne savers – simply proves that entropy rules and that some jobs are without a perfect solution.  If you can get to ”pretty good – most of the time” you have a winner but just for that occaision. 

I’ve used a simple steak knife for literally years.  Walk into a bed bath and beyond and look at the really cheap serrated steak knives.  The serrations on the bevel reduce drag significantly.   If you want your cheese perfectly plane flat and an even thickness, it won’t really do that without a lot of practice.  It’s good enough for the crackers I eat, anyway.

Update, in case I wasn\'t clear, you don\'t saw your way through - just push it through the same as  you would with the wire versions.