If you look at the link Carla in Sac gave, scroll down and there is another cherry pitter pictured in the center of the screen for about $75. That is the type I use. It is very tough and durable and works great for sour cherries. I just don't have the patience to run single cherries through. The downside to it is that it will let an occasional pit pass, but often you will see it. It also crushes the cherries so you don't get a pie full of plump cherries, but I really don't see the difference as they still look round although you have all cherry juice around the cherries instead of a mixture of sugar and cornstarch, and I keep all the juice in the pan with the pitted cherries. Never tried it on sweet cherries, if they somehow evade the canning jar, they don't evade the mouth! Just remember to tell everyone to watch for pits every time you serve cherries. Never had anyone lose a tooth, but they have crushed a pit a time or two.

Konrad: 1. The original plunger type cherry stoner is a German design, made by the Glass Company of Germany, of tough, orange-colored plastic. We have two of them, and have been using them for over 20 years. As they say in Germany, they are "Automatischer Kirschentkerner, fur frische Kirschen, konservierte und tiefgefrorene Kirschen". I don't have the two little dots for the "fur". The Italians make multiple-cherry machines that are quite expensive, but the Glass design is the best pitter for the money on the market today. 2. A little more than 15 years ago, knockoffs began to appear from Taiwan, and now they are more likely from mainland China like nearly everything else. The Taiwanese and the Chinese are very good at copying things, and I assume their pitters, which are dead ringers for the Glass design, (although they are usually white instead of orange plastic), are pretty good too, although when I can get a good German product at not too much of a premium price, I usually buy it. I feel the same way about Felco pruners, built like a Swiss watch. 3. I know you are a skilled craftsman, and have a lot of experience working with machinery, but I think you might give your plunger-type pitter another chance. We usually pit and freeze over 25 quarts of sour cherries every spring, and there are a few things we have learned about using these pitters. First, do not overload the little hopper with cherries and expect them to roll singly into the pitting chamber. They will not. Place a maximum of 8-10 cherries in the hopper, and guide them to the guillotine. This slows the operation a little, but not much. The cherries are always trying to hop over one another to get to the bowl without being pitted, and when you get a cherry jam in the pitting chamber this is what can happen. Adjust your pressure on the plunger so it is just enough to pit the cherry; not too much or too little. Keep the knob on the plunger screwed tight so you do not lose spring tension. Do not allow the pit bin to become overfilled, and rinse the entire pitter every so often when it becomes sticky. Be alert for black frass in the pitting area which indicates the presence of cherry fruit fly larvae, and stop operations when you see it for a complete rinse. Made sure the rubber insert that grabs the pit is always in the right place, kept there by the pit bin. 4. My mother-in-law used the little hand-held pitter, so I have seen those used, and they are many times slower than the plunger types, though effective. I have also seen the crank-type pitters in action, and, in addition to crushing the cherries, they pass many more pits than a plunger type carefully used. However, plunger-type pitters are designed for use on full-size cherries, such as Montmorency or Northstar, (or any of the sweet cherries), with a stone that is small relative to the size of the cherry. I saw your beautiful photos of Nanking cherries not long ago, but these thin-walled bush cherries with large stones will not work well in any pitter, except possibly the hand-held types, if that is what you are trying to pit. 5. If I have any problem with the pitter you purchased, it is the suction-cup base, which is not an improvement over the clamp base and would quickly loosen and have to be reset frequently. A clamp-type base will hold to the table much better, and I modify mine by placing a 3/4 piece of wood beneath to raise the discharge point and permit use of a more spacious receiving bowl. I checked out the Lehman's website provided by Woody, and see that they have a deluxe model, actually made in Germany, for $32.95. I am sure their cheaper model is Chinese. The German machine would be my choice, hands down. A little pricey, but a stainless steel plunger is worth a lot. I know it is not so simple for you to order merchandise from USA sources, given exchange difficulties etc., but if you have a lot of cherries to pit, the best is none too good. Finally, give your Chinese machine another chance (though not with bush type cherries), and you might begin to like it if you can figure out how to get rid of that suction cup and install a clamp. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

My dh' favorite dessert is cherry pie, and I have made dozens of pies in the 22 years we've been together--high school sweethearts. Fresh sour cherries are difficult to find and also very expensive. Even frozen sour cherries are scarce. We lived in the Detroit area for a few years and even then it was difficult to find pie cherries. We were young newlyweds, so it wasn't possible to afford to stock up on cherries for more than a couple of pies. We were fortunate enough to have a few friends who introduced us to Trader Joes and Zingermanns. Then we moved to Chicago and discovered Richard Walker's Pancake House in Crystal Lake. We fell in love with the Montmorrency cherry Belgian waffles. A friend mentioned that Trader Joe's Monchello cherries were similar and made a wonderful waffle and crepes topping. I then tried making a pie filling with them, which my dh loved. I agree with those that say tapioca makes the best thickener. My key for the best filling is cooking it on the stovetop to ensure the correct thickness and flavour. I take the filling off the stove when it's still a bit too runny because it will continue to cook in the oven. I've also made pies with sweet cherries-- fresh and frozen. I add a bit more lemon for tartness and less sugar. I'm not a fan of a lot of almond extract. A few drops of real almond extract in the lemon juice for making filling with sweet cherries gives it a little j'en n'aise pas although I prefer a little splash of Amaretto in all my pie fillings if possible.

I also have pitted tons of sour cherries using my two different kinds of pitters (not the oxo one) and I have also used a paper clip and a paring knife. I have to say, I kind of prefer using a knife to slice the cherry before removing the pit because that is the only way to see if there is a nasty worm hiding in there. I can't help it; I don't want to have worms in cherry pie or cherry jam if I can avoid it. It's frustrating because it's so slow for doing mass quantities!