I do not need a cleaver all that often, so I did not want to pay a lot of $$$$.
The Norpro is nicely balanced, plenty sharp, and has the feel of a quality product.
The handle is fitted very well. I am 100% satisfied with this cleaver.
If you are ordering a cleaver, know what you are after. This is for heavy duty
cutting through racks of ribs for example. If you want one for vegetables and fine
work like you see Asian chefs using, you want a much lighter and much sharper
vegetable type cleaver.
***quick chopping review***
The Norpro Kleve 7" cleaver is a very good quality cleaver that is sharp enough to chop ribs, chop steaks, chop chicken through bones, and chop chops(but not chopsticks, LOL).
its ergonomic handle makes the hand less fatigued and it's heavy enough to let the gravity do its work vs using too much of one's energy.
it's not ideal for chopping and slicing delicate and stringy vegetables such as scallions(spring onions)or trying to fine chop(and slice) or mince vegetables for it will not chop all the way through EASILY especially for those less trained in the art of chopping, slicing, and dicing
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****DEEP SLICING REVIEW**** (more details)
1) Sharpness:
The Norpro cleaver is sharp enough to do heavy duty chopping. It does a fine job chopping through bones and ribs and chickens.
Sometimes, I like to make a pre-cut before I start chopping and the Norpro is not sharp enough to make an incision through the meat by itself without applying some force. But it does a good job chopping thick meats and veggies (such as taters).
The blade is not sharp enough to cut through vegetables such as spring onions or celeries without using more effort than an Asian Cleaver or a sharper cleaver or knife.
In other words, if one was to look for an all around sharp cleaver, this is not the one that is designed to cut through a steel can, then ribs, then parsley.(Joking about the steel can, of course, of course)
2) the handle:
The handle is VERY comfortable and ergonomic. That makes a difference if you have a big family or like to throw parties. The fatigue factor can set in when one is chopping for a lot of people, trust me.
3) The blade:
it is heavy enough to let one use more gravity than one's own force/energy to chop. Making it less work for one. However, it CAN get heavy (but the ergonomic handle DOES help).
The blunt edge is thicker; making it ideal to tenderize meat (if one doesn't want to switch between a tenderizer and a cleaver) when using the straight down motion. The radius at the corner doesn't make it ideal to tenderize meat if one is used to 90 degree corners. But that goes back to each user's preference.
The FLAT of the blade isn't "wide" enough to do some of those tricks COMFORTABLY that one sees on TV(such as when Yan Can Cook uses the flat of the blade to smash through garlic). It CAN do it, but not as good as the cleaver with wider blades.
My mom is Chinese and she loves her Chinese Cleaver, those are wider and she uses it to smash them garlic with ease.
I can smash garlic with the Norpro, but the garlic tends to fly out from under the blade thus making me having to look for it half the time.
The sharp edge of the blade has a slight curve toward the handle. Making it close to a "rock" and "chop"
This is different from other cleavers that are STRAIGHT at the sharp edge.
The difference here is the straight chopping down motion. Some chefs and folks like to chop straight down without using the slicing motion.
When the sharp edges are straight, they can cut all the way through with the straight down motion. With the Norpro, a straight down motion will NOT chop anything all the way through. One would have to "rock and chop" it.
this blade's sharpness as well as it's curved blade do not make it ideal for those that like to chop straight down or slice fine, delicate veggies as well as making more precise cuts on more delicate incisions that is sometimes required. It CAN be done, don't get me wrong, but more effort would have to be used than a sharper knife/cleaver.
But if one likes to "rock and chop" using a swinging motion, they will enjoy this blade.
4) Quality and misc.:
The quality of this blade really surprised me. For the price, it really is designed VERY well. It arrived in a handsome box (if one was to give this as a present, it doesn't come in those cheesy plastic bags with a plain cardboard box.
I recommend this cleaver for those that are just starting to want to use a cleaver but don't want to pay a high price.
If one is looking for one of those all-around cleavers, this may not be what they would be looking for.
So start shopping and start chopping! LOL
Buy Norpro KLEVE 7 Inch Cleaver Now
Got this product in March 2011, I thought that it was sturdy and well made. By June 2011 this items handle broke chopping a chicken bone. The handle which feels like it is one piece with the blade, turned out to be hard plastic incased in rubber which split in half. Could have been quite dangerous also. If you're looking for a reliable cleaver this is not it.
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u see that metal part at the bottom of the handle? u think that's connected to the knife? WRONG !!!!!!!! cant believe they decided to cut back just for that small piece of metal. its plastic in the middle !!! u use the knife for making blows to a piece of meat w/ bones ! maybe its planned so it will break . i dont know. well mine is broken.
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Great performance for primary use, which was cutting poultry. Today, a huge weakness made itself very apparent after the "Handles are made of ABS plastic, the highest grade of plastic" decided to snap in the middle of a cutting session. No warranty of any kind I could find here or on the Norpro website. I would choose another cleaver for these two reasons, plastic handle and no warranty!
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I really like these pasta bowls. They are heavy weight and I use them for everything, including pasta. I would have rated them with five stars but they chip rather easily and I'm going to have to replace two of them shortly. I still recommend them, but handle with care.
