This kitchen tool has 3,000 5-star reviews on Amazon—and ended my fear of cutting avocados

I am no stranger to kitchen injuries—I one time sliced my finger down to the bone on a cheese grater while trying to make cauliflower rice, and I have a few other scars on my hands from various kitchen mishaps. Which is why cutting avocados strikes particular fear into my heart.

Yes, I know avocado hand was a Thing we all laughed at in 2017. But the reality is that it’s horrifyingly easy to slice into your hand while trying to make avo toast or guacamole. According to an analysis of ER data from Insider, avocado-related injuries sent an average of 24 people to the hospital per day in 2018. 24! Per! Day! (Even a Well+Good staffer cut herself so deeply while preparing avocado that she recently had to have hand surgery. )

Since I only like being a statistic for things like “percentage of the population that is attracted to Adam Driver,” I decided to take a look on the internet to see if there was a safer way to cut an avocado. And I found the extremely highly-rated OXO Good Grips 3-in-1 Avocado Slicer.

Shop now: OXO Good Grips 3-in-1 Avocado Slicer

At first, it seemed a little gimmicky and self-indulgent. Like, I’m going to spend money on a tool that serves only one purpose, and that purpose is to prepare avocados? The tool sounds like something my dad would make up to tease me about living in LA.

But the nearly 3,000 five-star reviews (and relatively low price) convinced me that I should at least give it a shot for the sake of my hand.  And Reader, it didn’t disappoint. It’s got everything: A blade that easily cuts through the fruit’s skin but isn’t sharp, a fan blade to cut the meat of the avocado, and, perhaps the most important part, a pitter.

Removing the pit, in my experience, is the most dangerous part of avocado preparations. Someone once told me to take a big knife and just kind of chop the pit with it so the blade sticks and then you can easily wiggle the pit out. This is great if you want to add an extra element of adrenaline to your cooking and increase your chances of cutting yourself. The pitter tool makes the job way easier thanks to the rounded blades, which grip onto the avocado pit so you can twist and remove it without cutting through your hand.

The OXO avocado slicer is also really easy to wash, and I say that as a person who constantly complains about doing dishes. (To myself; again, I live alone.) I also don’t have a dishwasher, so all of them have to be done by hand.

The only downside of this tool is that is the blade for slicing and scooping out the avocado meat can be a little finicky at first. Once you get the pressure right, it does a good job of getting everything out. I prefer to scoop out my avocado meat with a spoon, but I usually don’t care about presentation because I’m just cooking for myself at home. If you care about presentation, the slicer is the way to go.

If you’d rather stick with a basic knife, watch the video below to learn how to cut an avocado easily and safely:

If loving avocados is part of your personality, you’d benefit from having this handy tool in your life. Now if only there were a tool to prevent avocados from going bad the second you turn your back on them.

Here’s a genius way to use avocado that will make your desserts so much healthier. (But, you know, still delicious.) And here’s some pro advice on how to pick the best avocado, based on the shape.