The grater is made of sturdy plastic and can be easily taken apart to clean the items. We had it a few times in the dishwasher - without any problems. We use the grater been rubbing exclusively to cheese. This is very easy even with hard cheese. The crank is easy to turn and the handle can be stably held in the other hand without a fall, the rubbing out of hand. One needs no oversized hands to operate them. The swing arm stops in advance of the friction drum, so you do not mitreibt him. The 3 supplied inserts are all sensible and useful (1 for thin strips, 1 for coarse strips and 1 for small disks). Overall, I have to report no negative point, so 5 stars for a truly well-functioning Us meaningful unit.