I wish I had more friends who were cooks and had some cleavers I might try. The knife shopping selections in Austin are pretty limited, mainly SLT, W-S, and big box stores. I am completely comfortable buying based on specs like thickness of the spine, pictures of the geometry, etc., but I have not, that I can recall, handled one of these, and I am wondering about length. Will a tall thin blade feel “right” at 210…200…180? Reviews I have seen have said that shorter will feel more stable. I have been using French knives so long, that stability is not even a question. My ten inch Sab chef has been my principal knife for well over half a century and has become such an extension of me that I can use it for pretty much anything. The notion of a Chinese cleaver is certainly not a real need, more of an interest, but I also notice that my cooking has been changing. I almost never follow a recipe from a book or the net. I read cookbooks and this site for inspiration, not specific recipes. A few years ago I was far more likely to look to old school cooks, chiefly French, for that inspiration. Lately, it’s been way more vegetable biased. I even actually used several printed recipes from Plenty by Ottolenghi! Since I cook for fun rather than work, I tend to be more indulgent than truly practical. However, there are always plenty of consumables that are fun, too!
As I mentioned earlier, I tried a nakiri, a Tojiro with a wa handle. It was an excellent little knife, but it didn’t really offer much more than a French chef knife does, and my brother in law needed a decent knife or two. He loves the Japanese culture, and it seemed like a good fit for him.
They’re still in the Pacific Mall? I must have walked right by them. I was looking for them in their old location but figured they just closed down when they weren’t there. Thanks for posting this!
I have not been there forever. If you saw the Canada CCK store has closed, then that is too bad.
It sounds like you are hoping to buy a Chinese knife to give it a try (not so much committing to this style). If so, borrowing a Chinese style chef’s knife for a week will be best. However, it sounds like you may not have friends who have Chinese chef’s knife? You can always try a good one from Williams Sonoma or Sur La Table (or whatever other kitchen knife stores to get a feel – understandably a 1 min test drive isn’t always as helpful.
I guess the other thing is that… if you don’t think a nakiri has anything to offer above a French chef knife, then you may feel the same for a Chinese chef’s knife too. Not 100%, but the chance is there.
I was kind of thinking the same thing as you. He sounds like he has the cutting technique that would work well with a Chinese cleaver, but may not like the style of knife.
I love using both a nakiri and a Chinese cleaver. I cant imagine me liking one and not the other since they operate so similarly.
I’ll try to hit some stores and see if they have any Chinese cleavers and will let me destroy a bunch of root vegetables! If I buy one, it is important to me to be committed. I liked the nakiri but was not blown away. It felt very much like my chef knife, only smaller and more squared off. I liked the shape and figure a Chinese cleaver would feel much the same, just more so.
Befriend your favorite Chinese restaurant owner and volunteer to be a prep cook for an afternoon?
I would love to find a good Chinese restaurant here!
If you try one, be sure to report back. I am curious about your thoughts. Based on what you are looking for, it seems like a toss up whether you’d like one or not. I was surprised by how much I liked one after using it. The ability to transfer a lot of ingredient with the blade was a big plus for me.
I can see that being a big plus. I usually have a bench scraper out.
