Best cleavers according to redditors
We found 52 Reddit comments discussing the best cleavers. We ranked the 29 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 52 Reddit comments discussing the best cleavers. We ranked the 29 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Well
This certainly does not make things better
edit:
for my Aggie friend this one is on sale and has free prime shipping
Thanks! Link for the lazy. They are ~$7 but Honey found one for less, without prime shipping. I'd rather get the $7 one earlier.
You're new to the industry, and new to cooking. Quite frankly, your skills are at the point where you won't really have a huge preference one way or the other, and you won't perform any differently with a 50 dollars knife versus a 5000 dollar knife. Similarly, fancy whetstones, glass stones, sharpening systems, etc won't make a difference either.
Right now, get the basics. Good solid stuff that's relatively cheap so that you can figure out what you like, and don't like. You have 1300-1500 to spend-- Good. Save it for now. Industry doesn't pay much. Here's the basics to start you out that has the best bang for buck, and gives you some different styles and feels to try out, so that you can figure out what you'll eventually enjoy the most. If you want more information on any of the knives, let me know.
https://www.amazon.com/Tojiro-DP-Gyutou-8-2-21cm/dp/B000UAPQGS
This is a knife that's full tang, VG-10 steel(same as Shun), and has decent heat treat. Western style handle, with a westernized santoku Japanese style blade. At 60 bucks, it's a steal.
https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Fibrox-45520-Frustration-Packaging/dp/B008M5U1C2
Ubiquitous western style knife. Steel is the same as the more expensive Wustofs, Mercers, and anything that claims to use "German Stainless Steel". It's all x50crmov15, with slightly different heat treats. Victorinox does it right.
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/kohawagy21.html
HAP40 high speed tool steel. This is the high tech stuff used in blade competitions. Japanese style handle, maintains a really sharp edge for a really long time. A little more expensive, but that kind of steel for that price is really, really worth it.
https://www.amazon.com/Winco-Chinese-Cleaver-Wooden-Handle/dp/B001CDVXUK/ref=sr_1_7?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1485154695&sr=1-7&keywords=cleaver
Look, a cleaver's a cleaver. You don't need fancy steels or anything-- You just need a whole lotta force behind a whole lotta steel. Hone and sharpen often, and this'll do great for you.
Speaking of cleavers, though...
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/cckcleaver2.html
Chinese cleavers are awesome. They're not actually cleavers though, don't use them on bones and the like-- They're the Chinese version of the all purpose chef knife or gyuto knife. Chinese chefs are expected to be able to do everything with this knife, from fileting to tourne to peeling to chopping to brunoise, so they're actually quite versatile. Speaking of which-- This also fills in for the Japanese Nakiri role. Tons of fun to use.
https://www.amazon.com/King-Sided-Sharpening-Stone-Base/dp/B001DT1X9O/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1485154779&sr=1-1&keywords=king+1000+6000
This is a fantastic stone, one that Master Bladesmith Murray Carter uses. I ran a knife sharpening service, and this is the one I used for most knives as well. Since you won't have to deal with weird recurves and tantos and nightmare grinds and the like that can show up on folding knives, this will serve you very well.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004WFU8/ref=twister_B010SQ9IXK?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
This is in case you get some gnarly chips on any knives. This'll get it out quick and easy. Bonus-- Use it to flatten and maintain your King stone. This and the King stone is all you really need for sharpening. You can easily get a shaving edge with it.
Besides those, stick with what you got in the Mercer kit for the specialty knives. You really don't need fancy versions of those. You also really don't need a serrated utility knife at all. In the professional kitchen, the three knives that saw the most work were the overall chef knife(even for fileting and some light butchering), the 4 dollar Victorinox paring knife(quick and easy to sharpen), and the Mercer tourne knife.
Buying all this will amount to 431.31, giving you a combination sharpening stone, a flattening/reprofiling stone, and 5 fun knives of all different kinds to play with, at a fraction of the cost. You'll notice I didn't put any Super Blue or White #1 steels in there-- That's because A) They're more difficult to take care of, and B) They're really overpriced for what they are, simply because their "japanese" moniker makes people think they're super laser swords from a land of secret steels(they're not). The HAP40 steel beats these steels in pretty much every category.
Hope you found it helpful! Have fun with whatever you decide to choose.
One does not stab with a cleaver. One hacks or chops with it. This makes for a rather poor stabbing weapon.
Brand new for $17
http://www.amazon.com/Old-Hickory-76-7-Cleaver-Chopper/dp/B000MF7LFU
Plus the guarantee of good steel and warranty
Full Tang Butcher Knife Handmade Forged Kitchen Chef Knife High Carbon Clad Steel Butcher Cleaver with Leather Knife Sheath https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SZSGVXM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_XumvDb7Y4X5Y3
Haha! It's by far my cheapest knife so it's embarrassing how frequently I use it. I got it because I missed the preorder for fell knives' big boy.
The Wustoff cleavers are quite nice.
I don't think you need to spend that much on a cleaver to get a nice one though. So my other two recommendations...
The Dexter Russell cleaver
http://www.amazon.com/Dexter-Russell-S5288-Heavy-Duty-Cleaver-Series/dp/B0019KATWY/
Or the Victorinox
http://www.cutleryandmore.com/victorinox-forschner/walnut-handle-meat-cleaver-p14099
My father had a Cuisinart meat slicer. Cabelas are nice too.
And if you want a more old school approach... Try a manual one
Zhen makes a similar knife:
https://www.amazon.com/ZHEN-Japanese-Stainless-Vegetable-Chopping/dp/B00E0EF7VY
I have no personal experience with Zhen though. My understanding is that they have decent quality but don't really do any kind of innovation. Knockoff designs, etc.
Looks pretty trivial to make for ~$10 if you have a few common tools. I am lost as to how this could be worth $190.
http://www.amazon.com/Kiwi-504-3-Mini-Cleaver/dp/B004EI47HQ
Some sense of scale or size would be helpful. But generally speaking, it's a cleaver. Maybe like this mini cleaver?
Are you looking for a Chinese cleaver like a CCK? Aside from the Bone Chopper, most of these are essentially chef knives and not bone-friendly.
For bones, you probably want something cheapish like a Dexter Russell.
When I was a saucier, I needed a cleaver to chop up the bones from lamb, pork, veal, duck, so on and so forth. I ended up buying a Dexter cleaver, and absolutely loved it. It's nice and heavy (around 4-5 lbs), meaning you don't have to do a lot of work to get through the thickest bones. I haven't done as good a job with maintenance as I should have, but even now it still holds up after three years of daily use. Out of the box, this thing was almost as sharp as any chef knife you could buy.
I honestly couldn't recommend this one enough.
(Side story; when I first got this cleaver, i took a picture of it and that replaced the picture of my cat on my phone for a while.)
This is twice the cleaver.
Try one of these instead. They're inexpensive, sharp, and very useful. I love them so much I tried to commission one from a local knife-maker. I think asking him to duplicate a $7 (at my asian market) knife was a blow to his ego, maybe? So the knife I got is not really what I asked for. /endrant
Maybe try a "cheap" one and see if it's useful - if you find yourself using it a lot, upgrade. Also note that some are made for cutting meat/bone and some are more for vegetables.
No use. Recommend gender change operation. I'll link some useful resources here, here and here. Good luck!
From Season 5: Appetizers
TESTING NOTES
**
WINNER
Rated as HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
> The best of the lot featured a razor-sharp blade and perfectly balanced design that easily finished hacking jobs none of the other cleavers could tackle.
Amazon Link
**
RECOMMENDED:
> For a more reasonable price, this model offered a comfortable handle, a sharp blade, and a comparatively light weight, which made it popular among testers with less arm strength
Amazon Link
**
RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS:
**
NOT RECOMMENDED:
Looks like this
If not, here's a good quality, cheap option.
You can find them here.
This knife is called
>"Full Tang Butcher Knife Handmade Forged Kitchen Chef Knife High Carbon Clad Steel Butcher Cleaver with Leather Knife Sheath
by XYJ"
It's one of those Aliexpress knives that are being sold for a markup on Amazon.
I see you, and raise you.
Very cleaver
This,
http://www.amazon.com/Condor-Bushlore-4-375-Inch-Walnut-Leather/dp/B002CC6BPM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I5SMOC4CF93VY&colid=2RWIYGI2LVXDJ
and
http://www.amazon.com/Old-Hickory-76-7-Cleaver-Chopper/dp/B000MF7LFU/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_T1?ie=UTF8&coliid=IT1OWSPNBG088&colid=2RWIYGI2LVXDJ
I've always heard great things about Henckels.
I've never had a problem with global knoves.
http://www.amazon.com/Global-G-12-2-Inch-Meat-Cleaver/dp/B0000A33KP/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1324580969&sr=1-1
My favourite:
I like the weight. Hard steel, so good edge retention - I sharpen it every 4 months, with daily use.
Cheaper, and should be quite acceptable:
About 2oz heavier, and longer. Not as hard, but still good.
Otherwise, the kind of Dexter that's already been recommended:
should be OK. But I'd get either of the other two over it.
Yeah, I've been looking at the Global cleaver. I think that will be the next knife I purchase...
Yep! Masamoto VG10 (although I hear they don't make the Western style handles with the same steel so maybe not??)
https://www.amazon.com/Masamoto-VG-10-Chefs-Knife-240mm/dp/B002YZA53Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501089715&sr=8-1&keywords=masamoto+vg10
Mercer Culinary Renaissance 10-Inch Carving Knife:
https://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Renaissance-10-Inch-Carving/dp/B002R1CGTS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1501089860&sr=8-3&keywords=mercer+carving+knife
and the LedgeON 7" Professional Cleaver - Pro Series - High Carbon Stainless Steel Blade - Wood Handle
https://www.amazon.com/LedgeON-Professional-Cleaver-Carbon-Stainless/dp/B01L1AC4O2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501089922&sr=8-1&keywords=meat+cleaver+ledgeon
This'll suit your needs a lot better
I would not get a forged knife that size. Maybe if you're doing a lot, a lot, of veg prep and have a thing for forged knives. A stamped knife will be cheaper, lighter, and easier to sharpen. If you decide you don't like it or dent it or whatever you'll be out less money. https://www.amazon.com/Arcos-14-Inch-Range-Cleaver-Black/dp/B007TS6FUA/ref=mp_s_a_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1539071739&sr=8-12&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=14+inch+chef+knife
Ontario Knives Old Hickory Cleaver is a great budget tool.
1095 steel, wooden handle - really tough to beat for the price.
I wouldn't get a sharpener like that. I use a stone that has two different grits on it. It was like $3 at a kitchen store and keeps my knives sharp. There's a lot of tutorials on youtube showing you how to use one.
As for what knives to get, the recommendation for Victorinox Fibrox line is solid. You need a chef's knife and a paring knife. Next I would pick up a serrated bread knife, preferably one with an offset handle like this. Note, I'm not recommending that specific one, I just linked to a sample of one so you'd know what I was talking about. You can cheap out on this one. One serrated knife cuts just about as well as another. After you have a chef's knife, a paring knife and a bread knife you should be good for just about any job in your kitchen. If you then want more knives I would recommend a santoku and some sort of cleaver.
Other important points, hand wash your knives, don't throw them in the dishwasher. Use a wood or plastic cutting board. Please don't use a glass one, it's a bad idea. Sharpen your knives & hone your knives frequently.
Would a coconut tool or meat cleaver work better for your purposes than a machete?
I remember watching him do that on his show on PBS when I was a kid.
So are you suggesting I should use my chefs knife to chop chicken legs thighs and breasts into chunks? Seems like it would be really working out my knife.
I was thinking this would do the trick
That is a skinner / cleaver knife. The closest thing I could find on Amazon was : https://www.amazon.com/DALSTRONG-Cleaver-Butcher-Knife-Gladiator/dp/B0728MM1MJ
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FYC188F/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_9mcQCbKRW472D
Serious eats recommend this: https://www.amazon.com/Dexter-Russell-5387-7-cleaver/dp/B008RBTGOK
But you should be sure you want a Chinese cleaver and not a Chinese knife. Both have similar shapes but the cleaver is thicker and used more for chopping meat that have bones