Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Four Star II Meat Cleaver

A meat cleaver ought to be a big slab of steel (for mass and durability) with a wide angle of edge grind for toughness. The Henckels Four Star II 6" cleaver delivers in spades at a size that is perfect for kitchen tasks like dismembering poultry in seconds and whacking apart beef and pork ribs lickety split. It does so elegantly, with its handsome bolster and etched heel cap. It does it functionally with high carbon ice tempered stainless steel that holds an edge well but is easy to sharpen and takes an edge well (just remember to grind by hand or at a slow wheel speed to avoid heat build up and use a wide angle of grind). This unit is the Mercedes of kitchen meat cleavers.

Some years back I had another Henckels 6" meat cleaver that had been purchased back in the late 1940's by my parents. It was a good cleaver that somehow turned up missing. It was good enough in fact, I always missed it in the drawer when it came up missing. Somehow, I just kept forgetting to buy a new one.

With the purchase of a new Henckels 20-Slot Super Knife Storage Block, looking at the empty top slot for a cleaver nagged me into getting a new one to fill it. Of course, it had to be a Henckels again. An empty shear slot also pushed me into buying the Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Select Kitchen Shears.

I still remembered my old Henckels meat cleaver as a good one, but the first thing I noticed was the new 6" Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Four Star II Meat Cleaver was much heavier while still having good balance. On my kitchen scale, it weighed a full pound. I also liked the new look and the fact there is no place for food or germs to accumulate on it in the handle area. The wide angle cutting edge looked like it might be wider than the old cleaver, but I did see it was sharp and wondered how it would perform. I didn't wait long.

I had just been to the grocery store and had bought some whole chickens, so the stage was set for a first trial. I pulled out the butcher block and gave the center of the breasts a slice with my older Henckels chef's knife and used the new cleaver. I didn't have to raise the new cleaver more than a couple of inches as its own weight and sharpness was enough to cleanly cut through and a short easily controlled chop is always much safer. Mind you, it had been a while since I had even used a meat cleaver, but I sheared away the skin with the new shears and quickly started using the cleaver. I easily made every cut in the chicken cleanly chopping through the joints and cutting the meat with extremely little effort and now using only the cleaver. Instantly, I remembered why I liked using a meat cleaver and had missed the old one so much but this one requires much less effort than I remembered having to use with the old one. I knew then I hadn't wasted a dime of my money. This is a meat cleaver you can't truly appreciate unless you know how to use one and have tried this one. Then you'll know how it truly shines in use.

I make a point of buying the better things, most any time, because they tend to save money in the long run. Buy cheap, and you'll most often find you'll be laying out even more cash again, and again, with replacements. My Henckels knives are known to hold their edge, and they've given me very good service over the past 40 years. I expect they'll still be providing good service long after I'm gone. After my first use of this cleaver, it was still sharp and didn't need so much as a touch up from my honing rod. I hand washed it and stored it in the knife block with a happy gleam in my eye as I looked at it.

Don't be fooled, this is a four star and not a five star Henckels but it is a "Twin Four Star II". That makes the difference, and this is a true 6" meat cleaver with the German maker's top steel blade and handle. It's dishwasher safe, but I don't dull my knives in the dishwhasher wouldn't dream of that.

Made in Solingen Germany a place known for the best cutting blades in the world

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I was given a Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin cutlery set a few years ago by my youngest son, who owns a set. It is a pleasure to work with excellent cooking utensils. I love my knives and purchased a cleaver for my middle son, an aspiring cook, for his birthday. He knows and appreciates quality.

Read Best Reviews of Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Four Star II Meat Cleaver Here

I bought this Germany made cleaver years ago, and I can say it is not that great.

1. Excellent steel that you can pass down to your son, maybe grandson.

2. Very poor balance, and I have to hold forward to chop whenever I need some extra chopping force. (half of my hand on the handle, and half on the back of the blade). It hurts after a while!

3. The steel is probably the best I have ever used, but impossible to hone it on a regular sharpening stone due to its steel quality. I need to find professionals to sharpen it.

It is a nice quality knife, but far away from perfect.

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Quality product, fast shipping, well worth the price! This is the best kind i've ever used, no wonder it was highly recommended by my chef daughter :)

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