Hands down the Kamenstein Perfect Tear. Just under $20 at Home Depot, Bed Bath annd Beyond and the like. Works great! The only downside is that it only comes in stainless so if that is not your look...

I have the simplehuman one, from bedbathandbeyond.com

It's $25. It'sheavy and stays put. I get a nice balance between being able to get a few sheets ofvf (unrolls easily) and being able to actually tear them off without it all unraveling.

Here's the Perfect Tear

Remember that if you buy it at BB&B and you don' tlike how it works, BB&B will cheerfully take it back.

Mine is a vintage one which sits on the counter. It was made to go with Fiestaware and has a small yellow teapot on the top and a little vase to hold the sheets in place.

Not the easiest to work with, but I enjoy looking at it so that it's worth the hassle of more than one sheet coming off. Definately a two hander.

One thing I've found a total suprise. It is sitting next to my microwave and the microwave top is constantly covered in a linty dust from tearing off the sheets.

In my other house, I had one of those plastic kind which hung under a cabinet. I never noticed any lint because it was just a counter top underneath, with nothing stored there.

Gloria

I am at the paper towel holder stage as well. Need to have mine ready for install by mid-day on Wednesday. Why install? Because I want them attached under the cabinets (in two places which is why plural). What do I not know that you power towel portable people know? I don't want them migrating so I can't figure out where I left them but is there something I am missing about the convenience of non-installed holders?

Elizabeth, I took out the upper cabinets in this kitchen. The magnetized kind would be too far away and stuck on the fridge. That's the only reason I went with the sit on the counter model. So it would be handy to the sink.

I really preferred the under the cabinet one, even though it was just one of those cheap plastic kind.

Gloria

Elizabeth10029, The ONLY reason my paper-towel holder sits on the counter is that I have undercabinet lighting, plus undercabinet Plugmold (bcs I was going to get a plate-glass backsplash), and there's no room to hang it.

I'd actually prefer it hanging. And I always thought the inexpensive 1950s-looking metal version worked best, actually. Offered enough resistance to let you tear off a single sheet one-handed, and yet would let you pull off several if you really wanted to.

I too get white dust from the paper towels; I find that I have to wipe off the black rim of the holder every day or two. Since I'm usually washing the counters, it doesn't bother me.

I bought the cheap plastic kind that are going under cabinets. KD says there is enough room even with lights and plug mold. I hope it isn't a fire hazard. (See my post on fire extinguishers in the kitchen forum.)

I like the holder that hangs and is open on one end. It requires zero brains and effort to pull ROLL on and off. Reminds me of the old white Heller style. I hung it on my pantry door. Old house and doesn't fit under the sink and try to keep the counter area as sparse as possible.

My requirement is that I can vigorously rip off a towel with one hand and not have to worry about the holder moving or falling over. I've never see a freestanding one that can pass this test. I also don't like to give up counterspace. So, I got a simple chrome wire one that screws to the underside of the cabinet.

I have a cheap screw-to-the-wall type only we attached it to the inside of the cabinet door under the sink. It's readily accessible, doesn't take up counter space and its sturdy. My mom had one when I was a kid that I wished she hadn't got rid of--a stainless steel contraption that held foil, wax paper and paper towels all covered by doors that rolled up. Very 60s-ish but practical and convenient too!

I'll bet it looked like this one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/LINCOLN-BEAUTYWARE-VINTAGE-CHROME-FOIL-TOWEL-HOLDER_W0QQitemZ6265699931QQcategoryZ38136QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I was originally hunting for a vintage hanging kind on ebay when I found the one I currently use. I do think it will eventually end up in the laundry room, due to the needing two hands issue.

Here's one in the jadite green. I may just have to bid on this. The last time I tried to get this color, it went way out of my price range.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Metal-Kitchen-Paper-towel-holder-ScotTowels_W0QQitemZ4451177548QQcategoryZ20643QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Gloria

Gloria,
That's it! Except the one my mom had had the chrome/metal doors instead of see-through doors. I'd love to have one like that except that I'm afraid our new large size rolls of everything won't fit in the holders.

Thanks for posting the links,
Theresa

I own the perfect tear, which I started looking at in anticipation of my new house, but couldn't wait to try out. It works great, but as some people have noted in their reviews of it- sometimes it seems stiff and difficult to turn. I still like it better than having them all come off the roll when I only wanted one. I will have two paper towel locations in my kitchen, one permanent so no one can walk off with them, one mobile (stand up counter model) so that I can move it around if I need to. Both will be perfect tear models. The counter model is in my kitchen now, and the permanently mounted model is in a box waiting for the new kitchen.

I have a wooden rack mounted to the wall near the refrigerator door. It has room for four rolls- wax paper,plastic wrap, foil, and a big space on the bottom for paper towels. I remodeled my kitchen 15 years ago and it to me a long time to find a holder like this. I found it in a catalog (don't remember which one) but it came with several "free gifts" I found useless, like a plastic grater for nuts and a set of funnels.

I have a nice clear plastic one that mounts on the wall. I got it at The Container Store.

Pretty sure it was under $10.

mh