Recommendation? Best/Better Chinese vegetable cleaver for $100

S

Sid Post

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Oct 14, 1998
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What would you get if you had around $100 give or take ~$20 and wanted a large Chinese cleaver?

I'm not feeling the love for CCK because they seem to be way too price gouged on-line so, considering I have never seen one in person at an Oriental market, I'll avoid the on-line price gouging with that brand.

The Japanese versions most commonly seem to be in the $300 and up range but, a few are in the low $100 range. I'm sure Aliexpress or Alibaba have some good ones but, it's a bit like looking for a kernel of wheat in a huge bale of hay (or needle in a haystack ;)).

I prefer something with a full tang and 'slab' handles instead of the wooden dowel handle with a metal ferrule to trap bad things. I prefer stainless steel too.

I have a Lamson 'sharp' which even in light home kitchen use can't keep an edge so, I don't want to go down that road again and waste another $30~$50. Mercer, Victorinox and, Dexter Russel have some favorable reviews but, I'm a bit skeptical.

The Masahiro TX-204 looks like it might be a good option. Has anyone used it? What other similar options in this price range should I consider?

TIA,
Sid
 
I have a Shi Ba Zi from years back and it works fine but I don't use that tall thin blade for anything excessive. That is what my German blades are for.

Masahiro makes great stuff.
 
The Takayuki Inox cleaver might be worth looking into.

I don't have that cleaver, but do have a Takayuki honosuki and it works well; gets sharp and is easy to keep sharp. Not a super sexy PM steel or any of the common and revered Japanese cutlery steels, but it has served me well for de-boning chickens, beef and lamb.

Chef knives to go has 2 sizes of the Inox cleaver available right now.
 
As for CCK being price gougers on the web, I can tell you they aren't much less expensive in Hong Kong at their shop. There has to be some cost to shipping to the US. Shi Ba Zi cleavers work well for me too but they are around the same price as the CCK models. Leung Tim Choppers also make good basic Chinese kitchen knives in many patterns and weights.
 
The markups over time have been way more than inflation. For a time, online prices were way more than in-store prices. Today, supply and demand may have equalized the retail storefront price with the inflated web price.

For my money, I think the carbon steel clad Masahiro cleavers are a better value though, YMMV. FWIW, I picked up a Masahiro laminate (stainless clad carbon steel) Chinese Cleaver for ~$77 and can't wait to give it a spin in my kitchen against some veggies!
 
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Not the handle you prefer, Sid, but my Shibazi F208-2 is an incredible value, with craftsmanship and F&F you'd expect from a much more costly cleaver.
 
Dr. Rayeye said:
Not the handle you prefer, Sid, but my Shibazi F208-2 is an incredible value, with craftsmanship and F&F you'd expect from a much more costly cleaver.
Click to expand...

The Chinese stainless steels are certainly capable of making a great Chinese / Vegetable Cleaver. The real problem for me and I suspect a lot of other people is finding that hidden gem! Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, etc. all offer a myriad of options with the same pictures and questionable 'auto-translation" text. Like Asian grocery store and market finds, you can get really lucky sometimes when you find a cleaver in stock but, online purchases in a foreign language is a bit of a gamble but, sometimes the search for that hidden gem is part of the fun.

Other times, it is better to spend a bit more and get a reliable product from a known source with a more Western-world oriented web sales model. That being said though, I still occasionally buy stuff on AliExpress that gets shipped out of China, and generally, I am very pleased with what EVENTUALLY arrives at my mailbox. I have had stuff arrive in about a week and other things take almost three months to make the same trip with similar weights and shipping methods.
 
Thanks, Sid,

I think I've lucked out with my first AliExpress purchase in every way.

You might find Chef Panko's review interesting:


Chef Panko is trying to find another Shibazi cleaver being currently used by Chinese Chefs in Holland that is still only available in China. He's also trying to get his hands on a Hong Kong CCK for comparison. It may be that Shibazi has always been the OEM supplier to CCK, and the series with the Shibazi name beginning to appear on Aliexpress is the latest update. Wouldn't surprise me. I live in one of the few places in the USA (SOCAL) where one can actually see and hold a CCK cleaver at a brick and mortar store to compare--and anyone can notice how geographically close Guangdong is to Hong Kong.
 
I've heard that CCK uses a OEM supplier these days. I can tell you from first hand experience the CCK business on Shanghai St in Hong Kong is a factory outlet rather than manufacturing shop. Shibazi is supposed to be a very large manufacturer (never been there) and turns out everything from cheap big box store items (yes, they have those in China too) to high end professional tools. I noticed Chef Panko didn't understand the arrow at the base of the blade. These normally say "chop bone" (as in chicken and duck) behind this line, slice in front" in Chinese. I've never had a problem with one as long as I followed that rule.
 
Chances are that the knives are made in Yangjiang, sent to Guangzhou, and delivered to Hong Kong with Shibazi as the direct or indirect OEM supplier. I believe Shibazi began a special relationship with that shop when Hong Kong became part of China again. Where I live in SOCAL, the CCK cleaver is sold at a restaurant supply down the street:

*non-supporting dealer link removed*

I'll let Chef Panko know about the markings.
 
I have had a Henckels Preimo Chinese Chef Knife for years that I like. I think it was around $40.
 
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