I got some money to spend on cake stuff for my birthday!!! Yahoo!! I recently saw a poster on here talking about wanting an Agbay. If you haven't seen the video yet, google it. You will be amazed! Buuuuut... the single bladed one is $175 and the double bladed one is $275. I could probably afford the first one but that would eat up all my cake cash and I'd really like to stretch it if I could. (I could also use some new pans, gumpaste tools, dusts, colours, etc) Now I know that Wilton products are not always the top notchest quality in the eyes of many a serious baker. I've found them to be hit and miss myself. That being said... anyone have some input as to whether I could get by with the Wilton cake leveler or will I be wasting my money? (Doesn't cut cleanly, or for very long, or the construction is wimpy etc) I know that some things you can go for the cheapie and other times you should just spend the money and get the good one. Any thoughts???

Thanks guys!

I had the Wilton cake leveler - after many ruined cakes I threw it in the garbage! I finally wised up and bought the Agbay- best investment EVER!!! I bought the single blade one and I LOVE IT!!!

There is NOooo comparison!! I bought the Wilton one first, used it once and returned it because I hated it. I looked like I chewed through the cake. Then I bought the single blade Agbay... LOVE IT!!! It is the best money I ever spent! Trust me, if you purchase an Agbay you won't regret it! That is one of my "can't live without and won't even attempt to" items.

I have the small wilton leveler, which works well, however, I know a lot of people don't like the large one. There was a thread a while back, that someone's husband made them a leveler similer to an Agbay, try searching in the forms, if you have someone who could make something similare for you, I would say not to spend the money right now, 175 can buy you a lot of cake pans!

(Doesn't cut cleanly, or for very long, or the construction is wimpy etc) ..

All of the above and then some!! I am more of a hobby baker - but have made well over 20 wedding cakes in the past year alone (only 4 years into my hobby) . . .

I saved my money last year when the wedding cakes were beginning to hit hard and fast and ordered the single blade and promptly threw the Wilton away. My DH is a fantastic handyman and can fix anything - except the Wilton leveler -- he tried so many different ways to make the Wilton actually work -- but each one failed on both small and large layers.

I understand the need and want to get as much for your money as possible - I've lived that way all my life -- but trust me on this one -- you will never regret buying the agbay and it will make your cake life simpler, easier and less stressful. Then when the money starts rolling in from your perfectly stacked cakes and lovely torting -- you can spend that money on the other toys.

I have just the single blade and it doesn't take me that long to make the level cut on top and then drop the agbay down to make the torte cut.

HTH

Suze

Wow, thanks for the fast response guys (insert smiley face with a superhero cape) It sounds like the verdict is unanimous. Agbay. I do, however, have a really handy hubby. I wonder if we can make one from scratch? No, he's already work overloaded. I'd be waiting forever! Thanks for all the advice! (although... making my own does sound tempting! )

I bought the double-bladed Agbay, and wouldn't give it up for anything. I threw the Wilton leveler in the trash.

Having said that, I would have been just as happy with the single-blade. I would bet it's easier to work than the double-bladed. I'm a hobby baker and don't use it every day, so I get confused on which knob to turn to set which blade, and then turning the other one moves that one instead of this one.

Just get the single blade Agbay and never look back!

I too am a hobby baker. I "want" a lot of the nicer equipment, but can't always allocate my household monies to it. I have the SMALL Wilton leveler and HATE it!!! I have the LARGE Wilton leveler and am PACIFIED with it.... but only momentarily. The more I hear about the Agbay, the more I want one.

Adding links:

YouTube search for Agbay Leveler Tutorial/Videos

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=agbay+leveler&search_type=&aq=f

CakeCentral Thread from momma28 on homemade Agbay-like leveler

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-641144-agbay.html

well the small wilton leveler i liked and used for a long time. Then i got the large wilton leveler (was so excited to get a larger leveler) and ended up throwing it away. It was useless for me. I did buy an agbay (single blade) and i'm happy i did. But if you have limited funding and need other things too, then you need to prioritize your needs.

There are many ways to level a cake, and one of the best is just plain old dental floss. So spend your money wisely, my advice is just don't waist it on the wilton large leveler.

I hate my large Wilton one. Has anyone ever noticed the one they use on Ace of Cakes? I didn't recognize it. Anyone know what company makes that one?

I have both Wilton levelers. I use the small one all the time, the large one only on big cakes, but both work fine for me. I'm on more of a Wilton budget than an Agbay budget and I'm a hobby baker, so I tend to try to work with what I have or can afford. Anyhow, the large Wilton leveler has to be moved back and forth, like a bread knife, and it works best to go in a circle around the cake instead of trying to saw straight through.

Jeff_Arnett, thanks for the link. I hoped it would be cheaper than Agbay, but nope. Darn.

I used my new abgay on my last cake, it works wonderfully. There is the sticker shock, the price is quite high. Got it for my birthday from my husband, I don't think I ever would have bought it for myself. I am a hobby baker, so I couldn't quite justify paying that much, but if I did alot of cakes, I would definitely have one, it makes alot of difference.

Just bought the Abgay jr. I have to say it is one of the BEST investments. It cuts the cakes better than anything and so easy. I LOVE IT!!!!

I use the small Wilton leveler all the time. If the cake is a little over cooked where the outside is more brown or hard, this is where it is harder to use. I had the large Wilton leveler and had grief with it until I found a way to make it work way better. The blade is flimsy so it does not work as good. The way that I solved that was to hold each end of the leveler and pull outward while cutting the cake. This makes the blade more rigid and cuts better. It helps to hold the cake while cutting and since we don't have a third hand it can be a problem. What I would do is to have hubby hold the cake while I cut or have the cake up against my stomach to help hold it. You should put a clean paper towel in between you and the cake.

That being said I did buy the Agbay, but money was not an issue. I just wished I had heard of Agbay before I had bought the large Wilton. I would definately not buy an Agbay at this time and spend the money on pans and other cake supplies. I had limited funds while in college so I would often figure out ways to stretch what I had.

I use the small Wilton leveler all the time. If the cake is a little over cooked where the outside is more brown or hard, this is where it is harder to use. I had the large Wilton leveler and had grief with it until I found a way to make it work way better. The blade is flimsy so it does not work as good. The way that I solved that was to hold each end of the leveler and pull outward while cutting the cake. This makes the blade more rigid and cuts better. It helps to hold the cake while cutting and since we don't have a third hand it can be a problem. What I would do is to have hubby hold the cake while I cut or have the cake up against my stomach to help hold it. You should put a clean paper towel in between you and the cake.

That being said I did buy the Agbay, but money was not an issue. I just wished I had heard of Agbay before I had bought the large Wilton. I would definately not buy an Agbay at this time and spend the money on pans and other cake supplies. I had limited funds while in college so I would often figure out ways to stretch what I had.

I know ya got lots of responses but I figured I'd toss in my 2 cents. I use the simple $4 Wilton one with the wire. I usually score the outside of the cake with a knife but finish the job with the leveler. I purchased Wilton's über leveler and because of the bend, it's crap. My hubby's planning on replacing the blade with some thing or finding a way to stop the bending but I'm not even sure I'll use it then. Granted the smaller one only works for like 10in and under cakes but I score the cakes with it when making 12s and up and then cut with a knife. There's soooo many cool things out now that I just couldn't see spending the money on an Agbay just to level cakes with which I'm doing just fine now.

In other new though, the newest Wilton gumpaste flower kit is pretty cool. It's sooo much nicer than the old one and contains things the other one didn't. It's my latest purchase and I can't wait for some free time to play with all the other pieces. The ejectors are a life saver and shaved off Atleast an hour of my time when I was making 100+ little blossoms for a hello kitty cake yesterday.

I know ya got lots of responses but I figured I'd toss in my 2 cents. I use the simple $4 Wilton one with the wire. I usually score the outside of the cake with a knife but finish the job with the leveler. I purchased Wilton's über leveler and because of the bend, it's crap. My hubby's planning on replacing the blade with some thing or finding a way to stop the bending but I'm not even sure I'll use it then. Granted the smaller one only works for like 10in and under cakes but I score the cakes with it when making 12s and up and then cut with a knife. There's soooo many cool things out now that I just couldn't see spending the money on an Agbay just to level cakes with which I'm doing just fine now.

In other new though, the newest Wilton gumpaste flower kit is pretty cool. It's sooo much nicer than the old one and contains things the other one didn't. It's my latest purchase and I can't wait for some free time to play with all the other pieces. The ejectors are a life saver and shaved off Atleast an hour of my time when I was making 100+ little blossoms for a hello kitty cake yesterday.