A good cleaver is the chef's instrument for cutting into a hefty chunk of food. It would be best to use delicate equipment while slicing through animal meat and bone since they can destroy or hurt the cook.
Of course, there are a variety of meat cleavers on the market, each with its own set of advantages. What can be the best cleaver knife for your cooking time? You've landed on the right site! This article will review some worthwhile investment options for your kitchen toolkit.
Table of Contents
- The Best Cleaver Knife List
- #1. DALSTRONG 'The Crixus' - Phantom Series 8" Chef & Cleaver Knife -Best For Slice Accuracy
- #2. Dexter-Russell 8" Cleaver - Best For Heavy-Duty Tasks
- #3. Utopia 7’’ Kitchen Cleaver - Best For Grip
- #4. HENCKELS 6” 31134-161 Meat Cleaver Knife - Best For Amateur Cooks
- #5. DALSTRONG - Gladiator Series - 7" Cleaver Knife- Best For Durability
- #6. Juvale Meat Butcher Bone Cleaver Knife - Best For Daily Use
- Benefits Of Using A Cleaver Knife: What To Consider While Buying One?
- FAQ's
- The Bottom Line
The Best Cleaver Knife List
#1. DALSTRONG 'The Crixus' - Phantom Series 8" Chef & Cleaver Knife -Best For Slice Accuracy
Our rating:
- Dimension: 8 x 0.08 x 2 inches
- Weight: 1 pound
- Blade material: Stainless steel
- Blade height: 2 inches
- Blade length: 8 inches
- Edge angle: 13-15 degrees
- Handle: Pakkawood
If power and versatility are what you look for in a cleaver knife, this Dalstrong model will surely meet your demands.
As its name suggests, its blade enables amateur and professional chefs to maneuver with accuracy and finesse. The thin blade design (0.08 inches) enables unprecedented flexibility and quick movement. This slim profile also promises to effortlessly slice through lean meat and leave no trace of tearing - beautifully smooth cuts.
Its edge is meticulously honed to 13 to 15 degrees by professional craftsmen and nitrogen cooled for increased hardness, corrosion resistance, and flexibility. This angle also offers a razor-sharp edge with stability that outperforms other blades. These factors make it the best slicing knife available.
The exceptional quality of the velvety pakkawood handle contributes to the knife's ergonomic features for improved power, attractiveness, and elegance. It gives users a solid feel and perfect control to cut the desired thin slices.
Thanks to its high-quality blade and handle materials, it brings a significant stainless and rust-resistant ability. So, this knife requires minimal cleaning and upkeep.
Therefore, when using it, you will have a chance to experience a sense of agility, elegance, steadfast balance, and merciless sharpness.
Advantages
Disadvantages
#2. Dexter-Russell 8" Cleaver - Best For Heavy-Duty Tasks
Our rating:
- Dimension: 14 x 5 x 1.5 inches
- Weight: 2.5 pounds
- Blade material: stain-free, high-carbon steel
- Blade height: 2.5 inches
- Blade Length: 8 inches
- Edge angle: 13-15 degrees
- Handle: Rosewood
The Dexter Russell 8" conventional cleaver has a large size of 14 x 5 x 1.5 inches. Its blade is also meticulously designed with high-quality material. Thus, it is the best meat cleaver for heavy-duty tasks like butchering various sorts of bones, flesh, vegetables, and cartilage.
Dexter uses their proprietary steel to produce the blade, which is stainless, high carbon, and is ranked 54-56 HRC (Hardness Rockwell Scale) for durable performance. The blade is also carefully ground and hand-honed with a 15-degree roll grind on each side.
Thus, it is hard enough to withstand repeated chopping through harsh food ingredients without breaking or bending, yet still effortless to re-sharpen.
It helps users resist repeated smash through thick meat, large bones, and solid cartilage.
A little curvature along the blade tip maintains the blade's mass below the cutting edge and assures a forceful chop and extended blade shelf life.
When it comes to weight, you might think that it is too hefty for the handle to hold. Yet, three brass pressure rivets secure it to the whole tang. This polished rosewood handle is also contoured to provide a pleasant and stable grip.
Advantages
Disadvantages
#3. Utopia 7’’ Kitchen Cleaver - Best For Grip
Our rating:
- Dimension: 11.6 x 0.9 x 3.15 inches
- Weight: 0.85 pounds
- Blade material: Stainless steel
- Blade height: 3.15 inches
- Blade Length: 7 inches
- Edge angle: 13-15 degrees
- Handle: Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene
For professional kitchens, the Utopia Kitchen Cleaver is an economical option. Even though it is a fraction of the cost of much more luxurious ones, it still brings many fantastic features and uses, especially its unique handle.
It boasts a curved, ergonomic ABS+430 grip that reduces wrist stress for better hassle-free maneuvering. Hence, it brings a comfortable and full-control feeling to cut with precision and confidence.
Moreover, the handle material offers rigidity, good impact strength, and resistance to cracking.
Even after extended usage, the handle remains pleasant. Bear in mind to keep your hands and this handle dry so that you can optimize its performance and avoid slipping.
Cleavers from Utopia Kitchen are not made of high-carbon steel. These strong stainless steel knives, on the other hand, also chop through flesh, bones, and hard vegetables with ease. At the same time, this material makes the blade excellent edge retention, keeping its sharpness longer.
The blade has a heft, which helps cut through flesh and tiny bones. This feature makes the Utopia cleaver stand out from the competition at this price range.
Moreover, it is one of the few knives that are dishwasher safe. If you require convenient cleaning, this model is best suited for you. That's because the whole knife resists corrosion and tarnish.
Advantages
Disadvantages
#4. HENCKELS 6” 31134-161 Meat Cleaver Knife - Best For Amateur Cooks
Our rating:
- Dimension: 8.8 x 5.2 x 15.2 inches
- Weight: 0.83 pounds
- Blade material: German stainless steel
- Blade height: 5.2 inches
- Blade Length: 6 inches
- Edge angle: 13-15 degrees
- Handle: Plastic
It's a compact, agile knife made with Henckels materials and expertise. Its modest weight (0.83 pounds) makes it simple to handle and control without unnecessary effort or weariness. Thus, you feel its balance when using it even if you aren’t a professional.
Moreover, it's made of a single forged hot blade of high-quality German stainless steel for extra strength. Its surface is polished with a satin layer to decrease drag and resistance, so it requires little maintenance.
This blade comes with a Henckel's accuracy cutting edge, which is honed to 15 degrees per side for durable sharpness and a hygienic, efficient cut.
Also, thanks to its durable and extra sharpness, it’s ideal for cutting vegetables. As a result, it will be the best vegetable cleaver as it won’t crack crunchy veggies such as potatoes or squash.
The blade's belly features a beautiful bend for rocking if necessary, and the clever transitions to a complete tang for further stability, heaviness, and balance for precision and fatigue-free usage. There is additionally a hole for hanging on a hook or peg.
The POM handle is thermoplastic and ergonomically created to provide a non-slip and comfortable grip. It is securely fastened to the cleaver tang with triple stainless steel rivets for longer durability and safety.
Thus, this model is an excellent option for those searching for a tiny clever that can be used daily.
Advantages
Disadvantages
#5. DALSTRONG - Gladiator Series - 7" Cleaver Knife- Best For Durability
Our rating:
- Dimension: 13.46 x 0.1 x 3.27 inches
- Weight: 2.25 pounds
- Blade material: High Carbon Steel
- Blade height: 3.27 inches
- Blade Length: 9 inches
- Edge angle: 16 - 18 degrees
- Handle: Pakkawood
The industry-standard Rockwell Hardness Scale gives this Dalstrong the maximum rating of 62, which is a good indicator of the blade's toughness. The old hand-finished 3-step Honbazuke process is applied to achieve an exquisite cutting edge.
This cleaver blade has by far the most layers, 67, indicating that it is extremely robust. It also enhances the steel's longevity by shielding the cutting edge by nitrogen-cooling throughout production.
Conversely, due to the intricate manner, you need to understand the complex sharpening processes to keep the blade protected when it eventually dulls. Although a knife sharpener can be used, conventional techniques are still ideal if you appreciate the cutting edge.
In addition, the handle is made of G-10, a military-grade fiberglass compound that is coated in layers to provide a sensitive, high-grip finish.
Overall, it features practically everything of a good Japanese knife: complete tang for greater control and balance, which means the entire knife is made of one bit of metal with the handle grip connected to it on both sides. This is the most powerful of the tang kinds.
However, investing in this high-end knife is well worth it as it provides the finest sharpness, strength, control, and balance.
Advantages
Disadvantages
#6. Juvale Meat Butcher Bone Cleaver Knife - Best For Daily Use
Our rating:
- Dimension: 14 x 4.5 x 1 inches
- Weight: 2.1 pounds
- Blade material: Stainless steel
- Blade height: 1 inch
- Blade Length: 4.5 inches
- Edge angle: 13-15 degrees
- Handle: Triple-riveted wood
This meat cleaver's general design is rather uncomplicated, perfect for daily use. At first inspection, it appears to be a classic butcher knife commonly seen in kitchens.
This meat cleaver weighs 2.1 pounds, relatively heavier than others. It has a full-tang construction, like all fine knives. This design decision increases the knife's longevity when slicing bones by preventing the blade from splitting in half.
When chopping through bones and flesh, you’ll prefer its hefty, strength, and large size of 14 x 4.5 x 1 inches. Still, thanks to its razor-sharp blade, this Juvale cleaver is more than simply a butcher's knife.
When purchasing a meat cleaver, you should pay attention to durability and sharpness. Juvale supplies a high-carbon stainless-steel blade that has been hand-honed to attain exceptional sharpness for this purpose.
Furthermore, the high carbon concentration of the material ensures that the edge keeps its sharpness for longer than other meat cleavers. It's also resistant to corrosion and discoloration, making it a long-lasting meat cleaver. That's why it's an ideal item for daily cooking.
Although you may use it for ordinary chopping activities because the contents will not be smashed, it is pretty heavy to hold for a long time.
This knife has a three-riveted ergonomic hardwood handle designed for your safety and comfort. So, you won't need to worry about the blade detaching from the handle.
When not in use, hanging it is the best approach to keep it off the road. You can easily hang the knife on a hook or peg with the hole at the upper corner.
This meat cleaver knife doesn't require excessive maintenance. It's simple to keep it nice because all you have to do is chuck it in the dishwasher. It’s better to dry this cleaver before storing it on the counter to help it maintain its sharpness.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Benefits Of Using A Cleaver Knife: What To Consider While Buying One?
Are you looking for a cleaver knife to chop and cut meat? There is no doubt that some of the knives can grab your attention instantly. One such knife is the noble cleaver for meat. If you too are like me and keep on staring at the knife that the butchers use while standing on the queue, then you too need to know a lot about this knife. Don't get me wrong but this knife looks quite cool too. Besides being, the cleaver knives can actually serve a lot of important purposes that are often ignored or overlooked by people.
Whether it is a Chinese cleaver knife or a heavy-duty cleaver for the meats, these chopping and cutting tools can be quite valuable for your kitchen. You must add these knives your kitchen, especially when you love working with meats. These knives are highly versatile in nature with many purposes and benefits. To know more about these cleaver knives, their benefits and how you can buy one, read on.
Why will you need cleaver knife?
No matter how much efficient you are with your normal kitchen knives, there are certain tasks that you cannot do without the cleaver knives. If you try to cut the meats with the normal knives, you will not get the right precision in your cut as well as it can damage the blade of the knives too. The cleaver knives are the handiest tool when it comes to cutting and chopping the meats. It can also make your tasks much easier and more convenient.
But, you need to make sure that you are investing on a good-quality cleaver knife. Why?
If you are someone who likes to cut, chop and slice meats as well as bones quite often, then you will need to add a good-quality cleaver knife in your kitchen. The emphasis is on the good-quality'.
You might be wondering why to invest on a good cleaver. The answer is quite straight and simple. When you buy any knife for the kitchen, you need to make sure that the knife is efficient enough to cut through the veggies and fruits smoothly and easily. This gives precision. Same goes with the meat cleavers. You need to find the best one in order to make your cutting, slicing and chopping easier and better. Cheaper ones come with low quality blades that can get damaged very easily. You need to find an efficient one to be able to use for a longer time.
Cooking is a passion for some. Even if it is not a passion for you, it should be fun. You need to make sure that cooking is an experience with pleasure. In order to ensure that, you must have the best tools present in your kitchen to make cooking an easier and better experience for you. Also, a good cleaver knife will make cutting and chopping of the meat faster.
To put in the simplest language, you have to invest on a good-quality Chinese cleaver knife for meat cutting. Let us now talk about how a good-quality knife can be proved to be beneficial for you.
Benefits of cleaver knife
There are some amazing benefits of using a cleaver knife. These are:
- Being powerful in size as well as heft, it can be a perfect tool for slicing or chopping the meats and bones easily and conveniently
- These knives comes with stainless steel blade with high carbon content offering sharp edge to cut through the meat
- The high carbon content also ensures that the blade is durable and remains sharp for a longer time
- It helps to quickly work with the pork, poultry, fish, beef etc. as well as with the vegetables and fruits
- A good quality cleaver knife comes with ergonomic and sturdy handle for better versatility and durability
- These knives come in different weight and size options making it easier to pick the most suitable one for your work
Side-effects of choosing a bad cleaver knife
If you choose a bad cleaver knife, here are some of the consequences you have to face:
- Improper balance leads to discomfort and ineffectiveness while cutting and chopping
- Made up of unreliable and inexpensive materials making it less durable
- Inexpensive blades easily get blunt and can cause safety hazards too
- Lightweight and flimsy materials lack the heft and power for working with meats and bones
Things to look for while buying a cleaver knife
You must have already known by now that all the cleaver knives are not same. So, when you are picking up a Chinese cleaver knife for cutting, chopping or slicing meats and bones, there are many things that you need to consider. You have to carefully consider each and every specification of these knives. Things to look for are:
Construction of blade
First thing is that you have to look for a knife that can do your job that you intend to. The heavy duty cleavers must have sturdy construction when it comes to blade. The best blade that you can opt for is the stainless steel blade with high carbon. This can offer you best durability, versatility and complete resistance against corrosion. Hence, the blade will remain sharp throughout.
Length of the blade
The next thing that you need to consider is the length of the cleaver knife blade. The mini cleavers comes with 4.5 inches blade while the ideal length of the Chinese cleaver knife is about 7 inches to 9 inches. This range can offer you better maneuverability as well as versatility. For a more heavy duty work, you need to consider a blade length of 12 inches or so to get the best efficiency and efficacy.
Design and material of the handle
The next thing that you need to consider when looking for a good-quality cleaver knife is the design and material of the knife handle. You must ensure that using the knife offers comfortable operation. To reduce the strain from your hand when you are cutting, chopping or slicing, it is better to opt for a knife handle with ergonomic design. Also, make sure to choose a cleaver knife with high-grade material for your knife handle.
These are some of the important things that you need to keep in mind when you are looking for the best cleaver knife to cut and slice meats and bones.
FAQ's
How to distinguish a meat cleaver from a Chinese cleaver?
Meat cleavers have thicker blades and are way better for cutting and chopping through the hardest bone part, whereas a Chinese cleaver is thinner compared to the traditional meat cleaver. It is best for cutting softer food and parts like cartilages, etc. Cleavers you will see in butcher and meat shops in the grocery store are meat cleavers as they are intended for commercial cutting. In restaurants, you will find the Chinese cleaver as it is best for cutting already chopped meats brought from suppliers and commercial centers. However, the good thing about Chinese cleavers is that they are incredibly adaptable and useful for a wide range of jobs. An excellent Chinese cleaver will serve the needs of the majority of home cooks in the kitchen.
On distinguishing a butcher knife from a cleaver?
Given that butcher knives and cleavers are frequently employed for very similar purposes, this resemblance is only natural. There are also cleavers that are categorized as a butcher knives. The fundamental distinction is in its size. Cleavers have typically enormous and taller blades which are designed for strength and power. On the other hand, butcher knives are more akin to common knives used by chefs with regard to its weight and size.
How thick should a cleaver knife's blade be?
Cleavers are meant to deal with the hardness of bones and gristles. This requires a strength similar to an ax then. Therefore, it must be useful for heavy-duty operations such as thickness range of 3/16" to 1/4" on its thicker side.
Why does the top corner of the blade occasionally have a hole stamped through it?
It must be highlighted that not all cleavers have this perforation. It serves as a place to hang the cleaver while not in use. The knife is supposed to be hung either on the butcher's belt or a wall mount. Leverage is also applied when cutting through bone. Check out our helpful guide for more information.
How to sharpen a cleaver knife?
Keeping a knife sharp is essential. Not only will it improve the performance of your knife when cutting meats, but it will also make use safer and simpler. There is probably not enough discussion of this very crucial component of knife ownership. Always adhere to the right handling, storing, and sharpening procedures. Check out our in-depth explanation for information on how to sharpen a knife.
The Bottom Line
All in all, the above options are fantastic if you are shopping for the best cleaver knife to support food preparation and cutting. Yet, each model has its distinctive characteristics and some drawbacks as well.
Which is the best of all? It is quite hard to answer this question as the winner depends on your purposes and preferences. For instance, if you need a cleaver for cutting thick meat or hard bones, a Juvale Meat Butcher is surely perfect for your tasks.
Hopefully, this article will help you make the most informed buying decision. Thanks for reading, and see you in the next post!
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