I purchased Chef’n’s cob corn stripper on a whim, not expecting it to do the job any better than a knife. I was wrong.

To make the testing process interesting, I initiated a race: the gadget and me against my Uncle Tootsie, a former restaurant owner who cooked for many downtown Honolulu office workers during the late 1970s and ’80s, and a knife. He won, of course, and was done stripping his cob before I got halfway through mine. But he was surprised to see how nice my kernels were compared with his.

Does it work?: Yes. The instructions say to “insert and press corn cob downward on serrated blade,” but that was hard (I had flashbacks of trying to use a pineapple slicer I wrote about in an earlier column). Then another uncle told me to turn the device back and forth while pushing down. That was much easier, but kernels flew everywhere. So I stood the cob in a bowl with the tip facing up and placed the gadget, serrated blade down, around the tip and began to twist. The kernels fell directly into the bowl.

Pros: Compact and easy to store and clean; removes kernels whole, making for pretty pieces; say goodbye to frozen and canned corn and hello to local, fresh corn. Some kids might be able to use this gadget with assistance (the adult can hold the cob, and the child can use two hands to turn and push down), but washing it should be left to adults.

Cons: I had hoped to test this on cobs of various sizes but ended up with cobs all of a standard size. I don’t know whether this device will work on really big cobs. Also, the tips of the cobs were too narrow for the device, so it missed the kernels in the top inch. Those pieces could be taken off with a knife.

Cost: $7.95 at Williams-Sonoma at Ala Moana, $7.99 at chefn.com and amazon.com

Worth it?: Yes, but think twice if you’re planning on stripping more than a half-dozen cobs at one time. That would be pretty tiring and hard on the hands. That said, a co-worker — whose son hasn’t been able to enjoy corn on the cob since he lost a few front teeth — happily took this gadget home. She’d been using a knife to remove kernels for him but liked the pieces this device produced.

Got a gadget that you love? Or are you curious about one you’d like us to test? Email crave@staradvertiser.com or write Crave, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza Suite 210, Honolulu HI 96813.