Ok, so theres a lot of talk either way, mostly in favor of the swan. I need to purchase a machine and am looking at a hatsuyuki 500 block shaver that has only been used twice or for the same price a swan machine that is several years old but not used much in the last 2 years. Any thoughts?

Hi,

While I can't vouch for the Hatsuyuki 500 shaver, I love my Swan SI-100E. I bought mine used and had to perform some maintenance, but it is working as advertised. I believe both are made in Japan and are NSF approved. The Hatsuyuki might be quieter since it is belt driven where the Swan uses gears. I don't think you can go wrong with either one, but I might lean towards the Hatsuyuki since it has only been used twice. With regular maintenance, both should last a long time. Good luck with your purchase.

I agree with what pster says, both are good machines. Swans tend to be a bit pricier in terms of maintenance since not much vendors carry Swan items, and they do also tend to be a bit noisier. Normally we would recommend the Swan due to a minor defect in the HF 500 a couple years back, but if you can get a 500 for a very good deal, I would say go for it!

ShaveIceSupply wrote:I agree with what pster says, both are good machines. Swans tend to be a bit pricier in terms of maintenance since not much vendors carry Swan items, and they do also tend to be a bit noisier. Normally we would recommend the Swan due to a minor defect in the HF 500 a couple years back, but if you can get a 500 for a very good deal, I would say go for it!

what defect? Do tell.