[kokopuffs]

Mezz, it sounds as if you need to get your hands dirty for nothing compares to the actual feel of the instrument/utensil itself!

[siduri]

One good reason to get a ball-bearing pin is if you have arthritis. It can be extremely painful to roll your hands over a rolling pin if there are any sensitive spots. Otherwise i think it's much easier to put pressure directly on the pin. Also with a regular cylinder, you can decide how far out you want to put your hands - with the one with handles, you have less leeway.
I never really understood the point of a tapered pin - wouldn;t you get dough that's thinner in the middle? why would you want that?

[Dillbert]

>>wouldn;t you get dough that's thinner in the middle? why would you want that?

true, but the other half of the statement is dough that is thicker around the edges....
that's the story I've always heard - the taper prevents the edges - particularly of a flaky pastry dough - from inadvertent thinning & cracking / splitting while being rolled out to the desired size. then, once close to size, the cook can use more focused care in rolling the edges.

[boar_d_laze]

Originally Posted by siduri

I never really understood the point of a tapered pin - wouldn;t you get dough that's thinner in the middle? why would you want that?

It doesn't make dough thinner in the middle -- or at least most tapered, French pins don't have a taper that extreme. Rather, a tapered pin turns easily while still on the dough. The extra maneuveraability helps make it easy to keep small dough circles round. You simply increase the speed of one hand to get the pin to aim for an area that needs to be pushed out more. You can also put a little tilt on the pin to concentrate extra pressure to the exact point it's needed.

It's more a pastry maker's tool than the straight French pin we bread makers like. Worth having one, if you do a lot of pie and tart making.

BDL

[siduri]

thanks d and bdl

[Mezzaluna]

Thank you for the great conversation! Now that I've begun shopping, I realize they're not that expensive; I can afford to buy both styles of pins.

After all that, I may find out that the problem lies with the pastry-maker (moi!) and not with the pin at all.