I think I have heard that it was junk, but is it better than eye-balling freehand?

I can't afford an Agbay leveler, though I would LOVE to have one, and I am afraid to torte my levels because I never get them even. I can't even level the top of the cake evenly while it is still in the pan!

I've been wanting to do 3 or 4 layer torted cakes, so should I get one?
Thanks for your input.

Ya know, I have had one for years, yet I always use my trusty 12" long serrated bread knife and do it freehand because I'm really good at it for cakes 14" and under, for layers up to an inch thick (I prefer four 1" layers per cake with three layers of filling).

Well, last week I did some bigger cakes and got out my Wilton tree saw, and once again was disappointed that the crappy, thick blade pointed upwards as it made its way through the cakes, so it exited at a slightly higher level than where it entered the cake.

I will be buying a double-bladed Agbay. No more wondering if I should or not. It's worth it to me.

So, long story short, I personally don't like the Wilton tree saw, but if I couldn't torte layers freehand, I think I would appreciate having it, and it is very inexpensive.

I always put my cooled cake back into the pan and level it off with a serrated knife. I have the small Wilton leveler and only use it to cut the cake into layers.

Good Luck!

it sucks!!!!!!!!

dont get it.

I have the "tree saw" and have never had a problem. Cutting anything over 12" with a knife-I cannot do. So I guess, to each her own!

I have one but really don't like it. I am old school and still do it with toothpicks and a serrated knife. Mine is just collecting dust.

Yeah, LKING12, every time this subject comes up, the reviews are fairly mixed.

I have one and the only action it's seen recently was when I accidentally cut myself on it reaching into the cupboard for something.

I prefer the long bread knife, and toothpicks to mark the height and give me something to follow or my cake will not be leveled level!

I dream of having an Agbay someday. Sigh.

The big leveler is horrible. I tend to use the smaller one, but dislike it also. The Agbay is on my list of future purchases.

Well, at the beginning it worked fine for me. And did not agree with the CC members when they made their remarks.
But now it is just a mess. I am afraid to even use it again before it spoils another cake.
I am using a serrated knife until I can do better.

Ok, I've got the smaller leveler and I don't like it. I usually use my bread knife to do it. Sometimes i still don't get it straight. So can anyone explain the toothpick method to a newbie? Please?!

topaz176, maybe that's why reviews are always mixed. Maybe the blade starts out good and over time weakens and warps and does it's horrible things to cakes

I think I liked mine ok at the start too.

I use it all the time with no problems. I show students in my cake classes how to use it, holding the cake, keeping both "feet" of the leveler on the table, and using a slow sawing motion. If you can purchase it at Hobby Lobby and use their 40% off coupon, it is worth the price.

The blade on my large Wilton leveler has weakened and the same thing happens to me - the cake ends up leveling upward, not even...I've had to use my forefinger and middle finger to manipulate the blade by applying pressure and pushing down on the blade as I slowly work it through the cake...kinda sucks. Which leaves me to wonder...is there a happy medium between the Wilton large leveler and the Agbay? By happy medium I mean affordability as well as being able to perform...

ya, for 40% off you could try it and MAYBE get it to work for you like Cindy...

I kept"both "feet" of the leveler on the table, and using a slow sawing motion" and still had no luck!

While I am not perfect with a long serrated knife but I torte better with my eyes closed than I do with the Wilton POS

I've tried it on pound cakes and it worked great. In my experience, the heavier the cake, the better the Wilton leveler performs. I've tried it on a lighter cake and all it did was damage the edges of the cake.

Now, I just use a bread knife. I don't even use toothpicks and still get perfectly level cakes.

I wish I could level without the toothpicks. I can't keep the knife going through straight for nothin'.

I've heard about people who elevate the cake in the pan then use the top of the pan as a 'guide' to run the knife across. I think they said they use cake boards to elevate it.

Thing is, you'd always have to have a stack of cake boards the size of your pan. I'm almost never using regular boards any more, so I have nothing the size of my pans, let alone a hole stack.

I pretty much did away with needing to level by using the flower nail and the Wilton's Bake Even strips. Just wish I could figure out the solution for torting.

Like PP said, what's the happy medium? What's a little more affordable for us hobbiers than the Agbay?

I read a post a week ago or so where someone mentioned the thread trick to get nice even levels. Well I tried it today on a 14 incher and it worked awesome. Sorry, I don't remember who posted this but thanks so much for the tip!

I read the thread one a while back too. I guess what I don't get is what you use to guide the thread through so that your cake comes out level.

On your turntable, hold the knife level of the layer while spinning. Cut a notch. Then just line the thread up with your notch all the way around till they meet. Cross them and pull. Tip: double your thread. I only had some thin cotton stuff laying around and it broke. Doubled it up, went at it and it worked!

From what I remember from the other post they said this method won't work on cakes with nuts, chips, etc.

I'm going to trash my "tree saw"

That's what I didn't remember. Thank you.

[quote="January202"]

Quote:

Originally Posted by reece430



You know I think he thinks his mom walks on water too.

Too funny

I have also heard a lot of people say that they hate the deluxe Wilton leveler. I own one (as well as the small one) and use it for my larger cakes without any problems now that I know the trick to using it. You can't beat the price and nothing I've tried works as well on large cakes.

The blade does tend to want to bend and can cause problems if you don't use it a certain way. My trick is to constantly keep the blade moving in a slow sawing back and forth motion with the feet on a level surface. Also, you have to move through the cake slowly as you saw. If you go too quickly the blade will bend. I've had mine for at least 6 years and I don't think the blade has loosened over time; I just think it is thin and bends easily if you try to go too fast.