Chinese cleaver

dogboye

dogboye

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Nov 23, 1999
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What is it? And why is it any different from a standard cleaver? I have a mission from my wife to buy a blade, a Chinese cleaver. :D :cool: So I don't want to screw it up, eh? So I'm looking for the certified smart people to give me the low-down. Thanks.
 
there are 2 types of chinese cleavers.

the one your wife is probably after is thin bladed made for veggie slicing and dicing.

the other type is a a little thicker and bigger for hacking bone apart



there is also a half size cleaver called an "USUBA" this is japanese and it is a thin veggie slicer. of course with the thin ones you can cut boneless meats. a santoku is a rounded version of the usuba. same basic style.


I can e-mail you pictures of each if you want.
 
Thanks Chrisaloia, that would be great, and much appreciated. You can email them to the email address in my profile. She is wanting to take up Thai cooking, and the book she got recommended a Chinese cleaver. So I'm guessing it could be for either veggies or meat. But I'm betting not much for hacking bone apart.

I've got a feeling that all my blade budget is going to be spent on cooking type bladeware at the Chesapeake Knife Show on the 9th. I can deal with that, though. :D
 
You're in luck. The thin cleaver is more expensive than the thick cleaver!:p


I was in some store and lunchtime and virtually all the major kitchen cutlery folks make both. Rumor has around here in San Francisco that the Martin Yan Chinese Cleaver is actually a good buy, and less expensive that those from the German cutleries.
 
Thanks for all the information, guys. Definitely gives me plenty of information to go on. Big thing is it eliminates one misconception that I had by looking at one popular custom maker's line of kitchen knives. He had one he calls a Chinese cleaver, but it looks essentially like a very BROAD chef's knife, but very short, and huge belly. Oh, and definitely pointed. I thought that was pretty odd, but since I didn't know what a "Chinese cleaver" was supposed to be.....

Thanks again.
 
since she is cooking thai food, you will reap the benefits.

I love thai food!


Bob Kramer of bladesmith's, makes a serious usuba out of 52100 with a cocobola handle. it is about $200. his wait list is 14 months I think. you might starve to death before it arrives.

the joyce chen one in link above are good for the money. I have a cheap dexter usuba (in the picture I sent on the bottom) its cost is 19.99. it is my wife's favorite knive in the kitchen.




good luck

chris
 
I intend to buy the best I can find. Well, and afford, but it definitely opens up the budget more. :D
 
Would it be polite to point out I did an article in DBI's Knives 1993 on this subject? Many pro chefs feel the Russell/Dexter Chinese cleaver is the best buy for the money.
 
Thanks Steven. Not impolite at all, although I wouldn't know how to go about looking up that article. However, that name does seem to sound similar to one of the ones in a link above.
 
What you need to look for is a Dexter S5198 stainless or 5178 carbon steel cleaver. The smaller S5197 is also good but it is really more of a Japanese style kitchen knife.
 
Aloha Rockspyder.... Let me throw in my 2 baht here also. As any self respecting knife nut, I also have a liking for ktichen cutlery. Let me add another yes for the Dexter Cleaver..it is a great all around tool. I have the Martin Yan knife that I got several years ago from the folks at Knifecenter, it comes out of the box "scary sharp", but I found that it needed touch ups pretty soon. My most used cleaver I got from the folks at The Wokshop in SF. (www.wokshop.com) I was there for a meeting and stopped in the place. They were very helpful and friendly. The folks that worked there both cooked and knew their knives. For a cleaver that had lower maintantence, I bought one of their one piece stainless steel Cleavers. I think that it is on their website..... So many of the good cleavers that I looked at were a high carbon steel...they stained and rusted...not good as I live in Hawaii. The cleaver comes sharp, I have used it hacking apart chicken and duck carcasses..and touches up easily. I use the Martin Yan knife for chopping veggies. I would say the wokshop offers great prices, friendly service and would be able to help you in making a choice based on what your wife wants to do with the cleaver.The cleavers they sell are "users", and not a foo-foo knife with a status label....Enjoy the food!

wabi
 
THANKS GUYS! I'll check out that wokshop, too. I pulled her back into the decision process now that I found out there are two distint directions the Chinese cleaver can go. So, she is now going to research which one would be more useful to her. Hey, you never know, I might get to buy two! :cool: Or at least one now, one later. She also got a look at the PJ Tomes kitchen knife that PhilL posted in another thread, and really wants one of those now, too. Hmmmm.... could it be that she is getting a little of "the bug", too? ;) A unique variety of blade sickness....
 
If you have any large Asian groceries in your neck of the woods you might be able to find a decent one on the cheap, with authentic Chinese tang stamp to boot. My sister-in-law picked up one that I lust after every time I visit her - a very well executed carbon steel blade that cuts very nicely.
 
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