Dear Karen,
We recently had a couple of demo cryostats , the Shandon and the Leica CM1900,
we liked both of them but in the end the Leica won us over with a couple of
features that appealed. Both cryostats cut well and were easy to use. The Leica
especially appealed for its ease of disinfection with the Leica cryofect spray.
My husband has also  tested the all singing all dancing Mikrom which is also
very good if you have a few more thousand to spend. We took delivery of our new
Leica yesterday so we are looking forward to some ace sectioning.
On the subject of cutting Frozens with or without gloves that has been in
discussion lately, I cannot understand anyone not using gloves for frozens,
there are always hidden hazards that one should be wary of. There are too many
of the old school who seem to  proudly say  ' I've been cutting frozens for 20
years without gloves and it's never harmed me', these are the same people who
coverslip  without gloves, etc etc.. It's an irresponsible attitude to safety .
Sorry if this makes me sound  Miss Prim and Proper but it does annoy me when
people use the old  '  we've done it this way for years ' Surely when it comes
to health and safety you have to move with the times.

Sue Hacker
IAH. COMPTON.
Berks . UK