Winco Chinese Cleaver With Steel Handle - 8-1/4" X 3-15/16"

Contra an earlier one star review, I give five stars. The earlier one-star reviewer was apparently unaware of the differences in the various kinds of Chinese "cleavers" and was expecting this knife to be suitable for a job for which it was never intended.

Chinese cleavers come in at least two varieties* which include one for slicing, dicing and general kitchen work (sometimes called a vegetable cleaver) and one for heavier work up to and including hacking through dense pork and beef bones (which would be the meat cleaver.) The principles differences are in thickness and taper of the blade as well as weight. The vegetable cleavers will have a thinner blade and a much more gradual taper to a fine edge. The meat cleavers which are designed to hack through bone will be thicker and have less taper and a much less fine edge that can stand up to heavy work.

These generic metal handled Chinese cleavers are more properly thought of as a Chinese knife. Properly sharpened, they will shave the hair off your arm. They are still quite heavy duty when compared to the typical kitchen knife, but in practiced hands are capable of the most amazing and delicate work. I've had mine for years, and if I had to be limited to one knife to use for everything from slicing and dicing to smashing garlic to boning chicken to scraping pastry dough, this (style of) knife would be it.

*I say "at least two" because there are in fact more when you get into specialized uses. For example, there's the duck cleaver (with a less tall blade that is longer and thinner and used for delicate slicing of crispy duck and other fowl) and more besides. Having married into a Chinese family (natives of Hong Kong) who ran a Chinese restaurant, I know more about authentic Chinese cooking (which is not what you get in the typical Chinese restaurant with a menu that has been "Americanized" to suit American tastes) and kitchen utensils/cutlery than I ever thought possible.

The one that was sent to me is solid stainless steel and has a good balance and good weight. So far the only thing I have "cleaved" has been acorn squash but if you get a good enough swing built up it will go clean thru one in one swipe...I just use my everyday carbon steel manual knife sharpener to keep a blade on it. The blade is curved slightly like a chefs knife so it chops vegetables efficiently

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Perfectly usable, although I agree with other reviewers that this knife is a bit heavy. Also, it seems to have a difficult time holding a sharp edge.

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I used this to chop all garden vegetables/weeds to feed my chickens. Great tool to have it around your garden. Of course you can use it to help you cook, too.

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The blade is too wide and not handy for female with small hands. Would not recommend for female users. However it is strong for chopping bones such as pork ribs and other large items.