Mercer Innovations 8-Inch Chinese Chef's Knife, Santoprene Handle

This cutting tool belongs to the category of what is termed "Chinese cleaver" in the US regardless of its weight and this is a misnomer (not the fault of this manufacturer). On the other hand, a Chinese kitchen knife is such that it can be the most versatile of all kitchen knives, and that is the reason that Chinese cooks never need a set of knives. With a Chinese kitchen knife, you can cut and slice, and chop but no heavy duty cleaving. After cutting up the food you can use the wide blade to scoop up the food. This can be compared to a western style chef's knife that is basically only for cutting and slicing. From the description of the other poster that has given it a 3-star rating because it is not heavy enough for cleaving, this knife seems to be an ideal Chinese kitchen knife and I am going to buy one.

Update: I have bought and used this Mercer Chinese knife. It is razor sharp and can cut through meat and vegetable like butter! I'd not try to use it as a cleaver as it is too light for that purpose but otherwise just a perfect kitchen knife for me.

While there are much higher quality knives out there (F.Dick, Shun,etc.) This is an excellent knife for the low price. Retains a sharp edge, sturdy, nicely balanced. She isn't pretty but very very practical.

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I was in the market for a Chinese style clever for the purpose of cutting up poultry. The quality of the steel was important, and especially the weight of the tool so that the piece would feel balances when cutting. I had researched the market quite thoroughly before purchasing by talking to my local Chinese butcher who uses such a tool all day long. The most important feature according to them was the weight of the tool, to heavy and your wrist gets tired, to light and the tool does not perform properly. So when I ordered this cleaver, seeing the steel was from Germany, the size looked about right, the price was mid range I expected a good tool. The write up lead me to believe the tool was made in Germany and since my other kitchen knives were from there I was expecting a quality item.

To my surprise when the cleaver arrived it was made in Taiwan although the item was stamped "steel made in Germany". The quality of construction however is good and the tool will last for many years if given reasonable care. The weight of the tool was not what I had expected from the picture, no weight on the item as given in the write up. The clever was made from very lightweight steel. The blade is however extremely sharp and does hold a good edge, a few strokes with a steel brings back the edge just fine. It should have been advertised as a knife, not a clever. It does cut up vegetables quite well, you can smash garlic with it and it will cut the back out of a chicken perfectly and disjoint a chicken just fine. However as a cleaver it is not, so if you are planning on using the tool for that purpose I would not recommend it.

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