A rotating blade slicer , comprising: a housing that rotatably supports a knife that is configured to rotate in operation of the slicer; a carriage assembly that is slidably movable along the housing between a first position where the carriage assembly is forward of the knife and a second position where the carriage assembly is disposed over the knife; a gauge plate that is adjustably mounted to the housing, a position of the gauge plate adjustable between a position where the gauge plate is aligned with a plane through the knife and a plurality of positions where the gauge plate is positioned parallel to the plane through the knife with a distance between a second plane through the gauge plate and the plane through the knife; the carriage assembly movably supports a weighted plate that is slidably mounted upon the carriage assembly and is configured to be disposed upon an upper surface of a food product intended to be sliced by the knife; the weighted plate supported by an arm that is slidably mounted to the carriage assembly, wherein the weighted plate is removably attached to the arm such that the weighted plate can be removed from and connected to the arm without any external tools; a handle that is rotatably connected to the weighted plate, characterized in that the handle supports a shaft , the shaft includes a distal end portion that extends out of the handle and a proximal end portion that is disposed within the handle, wherein the distal end portion includes a slot with a first slot portion that extends from a distal end face substantially along a longitudinal axis of the shaft, and a second slot portion that extends at an angle with respect to the first slot portion, wherein the first and second slot portions are connected. a housing that rotatably supports a knife that is configured to rotate in operation of the slicer; a carriage assembly that is slidably movable along the housing between a first position where the carriage assembly is forward of the knife and a second position where the carriage assembly is disposed over the knife; a gauge plate that is adjustably mounted to the housing, a position of the gauge plate adjustable between a position where the gauge plate is aligned with a plane through the knife and a plurality of positions where the gauge plate is positioned parallel to the plane through the knife with a distance between a second plane through the gauge plate and the plane through the knife; the carriage assembly movably supports a weighted plate that is slidably mounted upon the carriage assembly and is configured to be disposed upon an upper surface of a food product intended to be sliced by the knife; the weighted plate supported by an arm that is slidably mounted to the carriage assembly, wherein the weighted plate is removably attached to the arm such that the weighted plate can be removed from and connected to the arm without any external tools; a handle that is rotatably connected to the weighted plate, characterized in that the handle supports a shaft , the shaft includes a distal end portion that extends out of the handle and a proximal end portion that is disposed within the handle, wherein the distal end portion includes a slot with a first slot portion that extends from a distal end face substantially along a longitudinal axis of the shaft, and a second slot portion that extends at an angle with respect to the first slot portion, wherein the first and second slot portions are connected. <EOS>