Best Manual Shave Ice Machines (Hand-Cranked Shaved Ice Makers)

January 5, 2019

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Willing to put in a bit of elbow grease in exchange for some sweet, cold shave ice at home?

There’s something really rewarding about churning out sweet summer desserts using traditional hand-cranked shave ice machines. Grinding your own ice by hand somehow makes it taste so much better.

It’s so simple too. All you need to do is put in the ice block and turn. You get to have full control over the speed of the spinning ice cylinder and can watch as the sharp blade gently shaves off paper-thin slices of ice into the bowl below. Pour some flavored syrups or fruit purees on top and dessert is served!

These shave ice makers don’t include syrups to flavor the shave ice, but one of the great things about shave ice is how easy it is to make all kinds of flavors with just basic ingredients that you can find anywhere. You can find lots of great recipes here on our site or save some time and buy ready to use syrups.

Sure you could buy an electric shave ice machine for home, but since these manual machines don’t require electricity, you can use them anywhere and they’re very environmentally friendly. Plus, since they’re generally simpler and have less parts than an electric model, they tend to be extremely durable.

If you’re ready to watch boring blocks of ice turn into mound after mound of delicious fluffy snow, we think you should consider investing in a manual shave ice machine. After spending 20+ hours researching different models and trying several of them out, here are the ones we recommend:

Retro Style Japanese Kakigori Shaved Ice Maker

This beautifully designed retro style Japanese Kakigori (shave ice) maker will bring the style of Showa era Japan into your home. Can you imagine your friends and family shaving their own sweet summer desserts at your next summer pool party or BBQ? It would be AMAZING. Shave ice (Kakigori in Japenese always tastes even better when you make it yourself, and this hand-cranked machine is an excellent choice.

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Japanese Ice Shaver & Snow Cone Maker

This machine wins the cuteness award, hands down. At first glance I thought this cute little hand-cranked shaved ice machine from Japan might be on the flimsy side, but my initial impression was totally wrong. This is no mere kids toy – it’s actually very well made. The ice it shaves is snowy and delicate and it’s a great value for the price. The instructions for this model are in Japanese, but honestly it’s so simple you won’t need them.

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FUJIMARCA MC-711 Shaved Ice Maker

A classic hand-cranked machine for shaving sweet summer desserts, the MC-711 is a great option for small shave ice stands as well as for home users who want the very best quality shaved ice at home. Beautifully made from cast iron, this ice shaver can turn blocks of ice into sweet cloud-like goodness as fast as you can crank it.

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Hatsuyuki HA-110S Manual Ice Shaver

Another classic style cast-iron ice shaver, the HA-110S is able to shave ice extremely thin and is a good choice for smaller scale shave ice businesses. It’s also an excellent option for home users who want to have a gorgeous looking shave ice machine that makes the best possible quality shaved ice. An ice shaver like this one is fairly heavy, but why would you ever want to put this pretty thing out of sight?

Victorio Snowflake Shave Ice & Snow Cone Maker

This machine creates ice shavings that are bit more on the “chunky” side. Somewhat closer to a snow cone that what most would consider a true ‘shaved ice’. If crunchy ice is your thing, this is the one for you! Not everybody wants super soft, finely shaved ice, and that’s totally okay. Ice that’s shaved extremely thin has a tendency to melt very quickly in hot weather, which isn’t always ideal. This little guys is super simple to operate and doesn’t take up much space which is great for when you have to store it.

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Black Swan Manual Ice Shaver by Swan

This heavy weight cast iron ice shaver is one of my personal favorites. With it’s gorgeous black enameled design and hand painted swan logo, it’s just beautiful to look at. It’s the kind of object you would want to keep on display even if you don’t make shave ice all the time. The heavy weight is extremely helpful for keeping the machine steady as you shave your ice. I don’t have one of these yet but I totally want one. It ships from Japan, but can be ordered from a seller on Amazon.