Chinese Slicing Cleavers Top Picks/ Best Chinese Chef Knives
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- Опубліковано 21 лип 2024
- ---------------------------In the video I mistakenly call the CCK Stainless Steel Small Slicer the KF1902 it should be the KF1912.--------------------------
What is the best Chinese Chefs knife? Which Slicing cleaver should you buy? While I cannot say that these are definitively the best in the world the three knives in this video are the knives I like and find myself using most.
videos for background information:
Intro to Slicing cleavers video: • Intro to Chinese Slici...
Carbon Steel vs Stainless steel video: • Carbon Steel vs Stainl...
Links to where you can buy these knives:
CCK Small Slicer (Carbon): for 1301 and 1302 check ebay
CCK 1303: www.chefknivestogo.com/cckcle...
CCK Stainless Small Slicer: Check for ebay for CCK 19XL and 1911
CCK 1912: www.chefknivestogo.com/ccksms...
Shibazizuo TP03-1 or TP03-2 (metal handle): www.aliexpress.com/i/32980664...
or (Wood handle) Shibazizuo F208-1: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
Shibazizuo F208-2: www.amazon.com/dp/B07QF7ZXQ8/...
Links are good at time of publication and I have no connection to any seller or manufacturer.
This guy knows his stuff. Info is unbiased, detailed, and educated. I was torn between two blades and he cleared things up for me. Nice thing was he saved me about $50. Much appreciated, keep up the great videos.
which one did you pick?
It’s been years, how is the cleaver now and which one did you get?
And I’d like to see a technique video of you doing some actual slicing dicing and chopping while making a real meal or dish.
I mostly cook western food, but I have a CCK 1302 - a carbon steel medium slicer I bought for around 60 bucks, and I have no reason to ever buy anything more expensive. I love its rugged and utilitarian style, and it's all I use 99% of the time. It sharpens quickly and easily and stays that way for a while with a honing rod. It's thin as hell, and has a minimal curve for a great push cut. It doubles as a bench scraper, and allows for a great finger hang over type grip given its short wooden handle. I make sure to keep it lubed up with mineral oil periodically to keep the handle feeling silky and to help the steel keep just a nice light patina. I highly recommended this knife if you're into Chinese cleavers.
Do you oil it with food grade mineral oil before using it on food or only when you will be putting it away
@@chandansimms9167 Anymore, I do it pretty infrequently, generally when the wooden handle is starting to feel a bit rough. Even if the blade picks up a bit of rust, it is removed quite easily with a bit of water and the abrasive green side of a sponge. I still love my CCK and use it every day.
@@jaedaens thanks mate I appreciate it
Finally a good video on Chinese chef knives!!
Love the side by side review! I also laughed quite a bit as the cutting board does look a comically small next to all those big knifes XD
I worked as a dim sum chef and I gotta say….. that 1301 is to die for. What would it take for me to get my hands on one?!? I’ll teach you everything I know for that knife!
I have the smallest cck carbon slicer and love it. I also have a large stainless cck slicer with a green plastic handle, which is a tad big for me and doesn't fit in my knife rack. I also have that shibazi which is a good all rounder and will go through smallish bones. The
Japanese Chef knife website also have some good cleaver options at different price points and ship worldwide. Including the much loved but expensive Sugimoto no6. Thanks.
Ive had my STainless slicer for 20 years and its still going strong
Thank you for your review. You keep mention about prefer a long slicing one, but didn't not provide the ideal length. I'll appreciate if you can include it in the description above. Best regards.
The CCKs are all well over $100 here in the states, which makes them a harder sell over the SBZs, which can easily be had for half the price. Thoughts? I’m sort of thinking about going in a totally wacko direction and getting a Seisuke Kappabashi, since they’ve got a shop local to Portland and in the middle between CCK and SBZ price-wise.
Victorinox offers two Chinese Cleavers. I have their "Victorinox 7-inch Chinese Classic Chefs Knife Stainless Steel Cleaver Butcher Knife Fibrox Handle". It has been offered by Amazon since 2011. I paid less than $45 and think it is a great purchase. It's handle is very comfortable. The width of the handle is especially comfortable; it does not pinch the inside of the middle finger. I hope to see your view on this wonderful cleaver.
Hi Cooper. I wanted a CCK KF1912 but was daunted by the current $110 price in the US. Didn't care for the spine of the SBZZ F208-2 -- too thick and too sharp in the hand. I found the Wangmazi 2# light slicer/mulberry knife on Amazon for $25. Thermal-hardened 40Cr13 stainless, came very sharp but easy to sharpen. About 2mm thick spine rounded for comfort. 200x90mm. Flat belly like a CCK. Drops through food. So far, I really like it, but it's my first Chinese slicing knife, so I don't have a reference point. If you have a chance to try one, I'd be very interested in knowing what you think!
Thanks for the info! It's interesting to see you reviewing almost a completely different subset of knives than the ones I've been looking at. I found a Serious Eats article about Chinese chef knives discussing their staff's experiences with the CCK 1303 ($85 @ CK2G), the Dexter-Russell S5198 ($38 @ Amazon), and the Dao Vua Leaf Spring cleaver ($70 @ CK2G).
I see you are a fan of the CCK lineup! The Dao Vua was the one that caught my eye at first - there's some cool videos on YT of their process (they're a family-owned Vietnamese forge). I had initially dismissed the Dexter-Russell as "first hit on Amazon trash" - but then I saw a video by Cooking With Lau where the father says he's been using basically that Dexter-Russell for 40 years. That's making me revise my opinion a little (I do really like my Dexter bread knife), but I'd bet money that their manufacturers have changed in the last 40 years and probably not for the better! I was a little surprised that you didn't mention them; they seem like they could be the "default" choice in the US, but maybe they don't exist around you.
I've seen a couple reviews of the Dao Vua that I liked, but was mainly paying attention to build quality because of them being handmade. You've made me realize that I should also check blade length and thickness, so I might go rewatch them with that in mind.
If you care for your cleaver most should last 40 years of more, you may at some point need to re-handle it but blade will always have more steel, it is very difficult to sharpen away so much steel that the knife is unusable. I live in Taiwan so there are no Dexter Russel knives here. I have also heard that Dexter Russel's have softer steel (requires more frequent sharpening), but again no first hand experience. Also no experience with Dao Vua, chefknivestogo has a description including this line "The edge profile is all belly. There is not a flat spot to be seen!" that is an immediate turn off for me as Chinese slicing cleavers are meant to have very little belly and be flatter. Their manufacturing videos are cool though. All of my Cleavers are Chinese or Taiwanese made.
@@cookingwithcleavers6842 I started with a Dexter and thought they were the best 40 years ago but no longer. NOT recommended as the steel is quite soft and rolls easily. The ferrule is simply pressed on and has a large gap that collects food. Also, only 8 inches long. Seems huge to a neophyte but 9 inches is the way to go. Unfortunately, the large CCK seems unobtainable at the moment in the US.
Worked in the Chinese restaurants over 20 years mostly all Dexter brand
Dexter still makes their carbon steel cleaver, it's a great knife for the $ and seems to be harder steel than their stainless.
Very nice video. Thank you for the information. I think you have me sold on the Shabazi over the CCK stainless. I work at a hospital and can’t have wood handled knives. I like the extra length over the CCK. My question is would it be possible to get a link for the correct Shabazi knife you show? I tried searching on Ali for a long while and there are so many
Options I do not wanna buy the wrong one.
Hey man, what do you think of the shun classic 7?
I've been trying to track down a RiteKnife Aus10 cleaver made in Taiwan - have you ever seen one over there?
1:02 - CCK 1301 carbon steel cleaver
3:40 - CCK KF19 stainless steel cleaver
6:08 - Shibazi zuo pp0-1 cleaver with stainless steel handle
Shibazi zuo tp03-1/2 are 40cr not 80cr as the video states. The F208 are 80cr core steel.
How's the difference from shibazi to the thinner CCK? I'm wondering if it's worth the 'upgrade' if it is one, given they're similarly priced in Asia...Personally without having the comparison, I find the bit heavier weight of the shibazi beneficial when cutting...
The thinner blade of the CCK makes it glide through most food items with less resistance meaning it requires less force. Being lighter and requiring less force in slicing means you can keep going longer without getting fatigued. The Shibazi feels more like a wedge when going through thicker, harder food items. If you are comparing the stainless CCK to the Shibazi I find less reason for upgrade in normal household cooking because they are fairly similar. If however you are looking into upgrading to the carbon steel CCK specifically the largest of the small slicers (1301) I could make a far more compelling argument to upgrade, the carbon steel CCK is just better and different enough (for me) to warrant purchase.
@@cookingwithcleavers6842 What do you think would be the best value if where I am (USA) I can get a CCK kf1301 for about 105 dollars in a store in chinatown vs a Shibazi f208-1 on amazon for 45 dollars with two day shipping. Assuming I'm okay with carbon steel maintenance and am just looking for the best overall deal. At the moment I thought the shibazi f208-1 on amazon was the better value since I didn't figure the cck kf1301 was twice as good.
Also would you group the s210, f208, and cck stainless sangdao as all about the same cutting performance? With the cck carbon steel 1301 being a jump from the previous three? I could get the s210-2 (can't find the s210-1) on aliexpress for 30 dollars with 2 months shipping, but if the performance is almost the same as the stainless f208, and I have to care for it since it is carbon steel, then I would probably prefer the f208.
@@TheINegotiatorI I don't have an S210 but I would estimate that it is similar to the F208 in blade thickness and cutting performance, I would bet the carbon steel they are using is nothing special. The CCK 1301 has a thinner blade which makes it more enjoyable to work with. the CCK is definitely a better knife, but the F208 is probably a better deal. I would probably save the $60 and go with the F-208 especially if it is your first cleaver, it is a good idea to make sure you actually enjoy using a cleaver style before investing more in a knife. CCK prices in America are 2-3 times what they should be.
anyway to get carbon steel shibazi in the states? cant find anywhere to order one offline.
The only option is Aliexpress that I have seen. To be honest though I don't recommend the Shibazi 210 or BW302, I bought one a couple weeks ago and am not impressed, it is rather rough (which could have been forgiven for its low price) but the blade on mine is not straight. If you are on a budget get the Shibazi F-208, if you want a carbon steel knife get a CCK at Action sales or CKTG.
Hello, thank you for this review and all the information on the chinese cleaver. Do you have any opinion on the Kai shun classic chinese chef knife/cleaver? Thanks
Shun Chinese cleavers have a more rounded profile which I do not like. They are also a bit pricy for what you get. I prefer a more traditional Chinese handle and blade profile.
First!
Can you do a video on Chinese Cleaver blade geometry? From what I understand, the good ones have a distal taper, that is to say, the spine of the knife is thicker at the handle than it is as the "tip" of the blade. Likewise, I believe they have a continuous grind from the edge up to the spine. Most of the ones I've seen have have no distal taper and are ground only on the lower 1/3 or 1/4 of the blade. Obviously this means much less grinding, and much simpler grinding, which means they are much easier to produce. I'm also looking to find one with a full compound grind (length and height) that doesn't break the bank.
many of the blades I have have very little distal taper likely due to an already thin spine ie less than 1.8mm. My CCK 1301 does have a distal taper getting down to 0.8mm on the spine at the tip, however it thickens out toward the mid point of the blade before the primary edge (grinding starting from the of the blade). Distal tapers are more apparent in dual purpose cleavers but I don't recommend dual purpose cleavers. Most Chinese made knives are not going to meet your criteria of a grind up the whole blade. Most start the primary edge grind at the midpoint or 1/3rd from the edge. I think for both manufacturing and steel quality reasons they only grind form the midpoint of the blade, if they ground from the top, the blade may end up too thin to support the edge. For a slicing cleaver it is probably more important to make sure that it has a thin spine and lite weight rather than focusing too much on distal tapers and a full grinds.
Any thoughts on dexter russels?
Their carbon cleaver is a great knife if you like carbon knives.. it holds a better edge than their stainless ones
yes that's true.
What's a good high quality cleaner made with good high end metal?
What is your budget. There are Japanese made Chinese cleavers which use amazing carbon steels but cost in the $400-$600 range, I don't have any of those. like I say in the video, CCK 1301 or 1302 are my preferred carbon steel knife, they run around $100. A cheaper good option is the F208-1 which uses 8Cr13 stainless steel, it is a little thick behind the edge, but a quality budget item at around $45.
@@cookingwithcleavers6842 let's just say I've bought 2.3 inch blades at $200 before made of 204P.
@@1992pv I don't have any high end Slicing cleavers. If you want a cleaver with a high end metal you have to go custom or Japanese made. Hitohira Togashi Chuka Bucho made from Shirogami #1 or #2 are probably a good bet, but again I don't have the means of getting one. I found one here for $360 strata-portland.myshopify.com/collections/hitohira/products/hitohira-togashi-white-2-220mm-chinese-cleaver-ho-wood-handle-6-aaa-080w26-04-ra
@@1992pv Chinese and Taiwanese made slicing cleavers will generally not tell you the steel because it is nothing impressive.
What is your opinion on the s210 from Shibazi?
I don't have one but it is likely the best budget carbon steel slicing cleaver that is readily available. Shibazi makes good knives but often has slightly thicker and heavier blades than equivalent options from CCK. I have heard that the black panted layer on the top of the blade may crack off. I will see if I can get one to review
I picked up a Shibazi BW302 which is the Carbon steel line sold in in China, it is essentially the same as S210. The blade on mine is not straight which is a definite negative. The handle is also very rough and the black coating takes a lot of scrubbing to get it to a point where it will not shed black dust/flakes. It is cheaper than a CCK for a reason
@@cookingwithcleavers6842 I got myself a s210 (and two more for friends) all of them straight, and I haven't noticed any shedding from the black stuff yet.
As always with stuff this cheap it's a lottery I guess.
The handle isn't the nicest, but with some sandpaper and oil/wax combo they're pretty decent. :)
@@martenih I guess I got a lemon. have you sharpened it and put on your own bevel or are you still using the factory edge witch is mostly sharpened on one side?
@@cookingwithcleavers6842 I put it on the Stones first thing.
the handle on these knives tend to fall off and it makes the blade useless.. always look at the handle is the length of the handle not some little extention.. you should see the blade in the handle going through the length of the handle.. the rest is just personal pref.
That's a mouthful, why don't you just call it the Chinese chef knife?
When you are going to cook? lol
how bout some chopping demos. getting real dry with all talk and no action
Thanks for the feedback, I have a video all about chopping coming out tomorrow.