I really love a Chinese Chef's Knife (Vegetable Cleaver)

My parents gifted me a Zhen Chinese cleaver quite some time ago. It's one of my absolute favorite kitchen knives because the geometry is so good it will out cut most chef's knives even when it's halfway dull.
 
I've wanted a Chinese vegtable cleaver for many years.

Never have ordered one, though.
 
Have you sharpened the CCK on an oil stone? I'm curious how hard the metal is, if a black arkansas can handle polishing the edge.
Basically I'm looking for an excuse to buy a larger piece of novaculite.

I do enjoy Chinese vegetable cleavers and nakiris. The new cousin is the tall nakiri, basically a thinner, lighter, and slightly shorter cleaver.
 
Spideyjg said:
A good Chinese cleaver is a must have. You have to use one to fully appreciate it.
Click to expand...

I completely agree with this statement. I truly feel the conversation should be German, Japanese, or Chinese when looking at a Chef's Knife.

Insipid Moniker said:
My parents gifted me a Zhen Chinese cleaver quite some time ago. It's one of my absolute favorite kitchen knives because the geometry is so good it will out cut most chef's knives even when it's halfway dull.
Click to expand...

The other day it felt pretty dull and would still slice a tomato efficiently. I've never had anything in hand that sliced everything from a tomato to a sweet potato this well.

Bigfattyt said:
I've wanted a Chinese vegtable cleaver for many years.

Never have ordered one, though.
Click to expand...

You should try one.
Ourorboros said:
Have you sharpened the CCK on an oil stone? I'm curious how hard the metal is, if a black arkansas can handle polishing the edge.
Basically I'm looking for an excuse to buy a larger piece of novaculite.

I do enjoy Chinese vegetable cleavers and nakiris. The new cousin is the tall nakiri, basically a thinner, lighter, and slightly shorter cleaver.
Click to expand...

I've actually only touched it up via strops, ceramic, and once I ran it over a very fine diamond stone. All have done a great job on it.
 
I have got a bunch of Chinese cleavers that see frequent use, but my favorites are Japanese-made, by Sugimoto. One smaller stainless, one larger carbon steel. Thin enough to cut really well, but hefty enough to chop against the cutting board. Both take a good edge. Also they have only minimal curvature on the edge, which I strongly prefer. I have a Shun that is so curved that you can't line up two pieces of celery and chop them both at once -- annoying.
 
My large CCK and Victorinox paring knives get 95% of the work in my home kitchen. I hardly ever reach for a chefs knife anymore.
 
That carbon steel cleaver has been the winner among kitchen knife enthusiasts for some years for pure performance, but is now facing some real challenges. I recently purchased a Shibazi zou F208 that is one of a new (to the West) product line that seems like a CCK update:


So far, I've been very impressed by both the craftsmanship and performance
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top