SHI BA ZI ZUO 8-inch Professional Cleaver - Stainless Steel Meat & Vegetable Knife with Non-stick Finish and Anti-slip Wooden Handle

I've long wanted a Chinese cleaver, ever since watching Martin Yan on the famous "Yan Can Cook!" TV show that appeared all across American public television when I was a kid. His knife skills are insane! And he almost always used a cleaver. In the back of my mind, I always knew that there would be a day when I would own a cleaver too.I'm a knife nerd, and own almost fifty different kitchen knives off all types and kinds, made in various countries: Spain, Portugal, USA, Germany, Japan, France, Switzerland and even one made in Brazil. But one knife making country was missing from my collection: CHINA. So when I decided it was time to buy a genuine Chinese cleaver, I wanted one made in China.Since there are tons of Chinese made knifes on Amazon, that seemed like the place to start my search. But I did NOT want a Chinese knife from an American based importer, so Mercer, Dalstrong, Zelite, Kessaku and Nexus were disqualified immediately, along with all similar types of brands. Not that any of the for-mentioned brands make bad knives, it's just that I wanted a Chinese cleaver, made by a Chinese company, that were proudly selling Chinese made knives. So pulling up all the listings for "chinese cleaver" on Amazon.com, I finally found a company that met my criteria: SHI BA ZI ZOU, a Chinese company happily selling their Chinese made knifes to American customers via Amazon.comI have a knife block with a 3.5" (89mm) slot for a cleaver, so that was my limiting factor in choosing a blade--no wider than that. Looking at the various offerings from SHI BA ZI ZOU, I found two cleavers right away that really appealed to me: the 9" F208-1, and the 8" F208-2, but only the 8" would fit in my knife block, so that's what I ended up buying.I've never anxiously awaited the arrival of a knife so much as this one, and it didn't disappoint. It's a very traditional cleaver, with a "beehive" wooden handle, full tang, and a very plain, BIG, rectangular blade of made of heavy gauge Chinese stainless steel. It's a cinch to use with the traditional pinch grip, and is quite the workhorse. The knife came in a very nice brown cardboard box, very suitable for gift giving, and actually much nicer than any box that my $$$ Japanese or German knives have come in. All the lettering and packaging is in Chinese characters.Right out of the box, the blade was SUPER SHARP. The craftsmanship was also extremely nice for the pricepoint. SHI BA ZI ZOU uses a san mai type blade construction, with hard 80Cr13 high-carbon steel on in the middle, sandwiched by softer 10Cr17 steel. You can actually see a Yaxell Mon-like "wavy line" where the two steels come together near the blade edge. The SHI BA ZI ZOU Chinese characters are deeply etched into the blade, and there is also a very nicely done bit of laser marking with the company's web site emblazoned right on the blade. The handle is rosewood, and the strange beehive shape is extremely comfortable to hold, and surprisingly non-slip.As soon as I started using this beast, I was in love! The knife is HEAVY, weighing in at heft 335g, which is a lot more than my favorite Japanese knife, a Shun Classic 7" Santoku that is a mere 205g. But I really like the extra heft, and it makes prep work almost too easy. The spine is just 2mm thick, but the blade is super stiff and hard, no flex at all. It can handle, with ease, any fruit or vegetable you can throw at it, as well as any protein. But it's not a meat cleaver, and it is NOT to be used to hack through thick bones, though it can go through chicken bones with great ease.But the most amazing thing about using a Chinese cleaver rather than a typical chef's knife or guyoto, is that they are surprisingly safe. The giant blade is hard to miss, and there's plenty of room to press your knuckles against the blade in the typical claw grip fashion. Lots of blade to pinch as well, and it's shocking what kind of control you can get with this thing. If you're skilled enough, no need for a mandolin anymore.The blade has an 12°-15° degree double bevel, with a very nice taper--looks like something Global would make! It just cuts with the greatest of ease and is an absolute joy to use. Though this knife will prep food for any cuisine, I find myself making more Asian dishes to find excuses to use the knife more often. This knife is a true workhorse, it's not the type of knife you are going to post photos of on Instagram, you just take it out of the box, and start putting it to work immediately. So far I've been maintaining it with just a F. Dick sharpening steel and a leather strop; haven't needed to put it on a stone yet. Might be a while...Since getting this knife, all my other knifes just sit in their block, ignored and unused. Other than my favorite pairing knife, my boning knife, my slicer and bread knife, I could probably give all my other far more expensive knives away and never miss them. Yep, this chopper is that good. I'm seriously considering buying a second one.FINAL WORD: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Buy one, you won't regret it. Absolute BEST BUY in the entire knife universe.

I’ve been using the SHI BA ZI ZUO 8″ cleaver for a few weeks now, and it’s quickly become my go-to kitchen workhorse. The blade arrived exceptionally sharp and, with a 3‑layer 80Cr13/10Cr17 steel build, holds its edge—only needed a quick 30-second sharpen after extended use.

Super sharp. Be careful, it shaved off a piece of my fingernail like it was nothing. Absolutely great for chopping vegetables. Still favor my nakiri more.

Very pleased with this purchase. It slices and dices with ease with its very narrow, delicate, and sharp blade. So much so that it has replaced the traditional knife I used to employ. It just feels safer and more stable in the hand.Please note that this knife should NOT be used on bones! You will damage the edge. Just go get a cleaver made for 'chopping' - different tasks require different tools.

I have not YET) had too many uses for it, but works well when I did.

I absolutely love this knife. I mostly cook Asian food, and saw a lot of professional Asian chefs using this type of knife. I wasn't sure if I would like it, so I bought a cheap generic Chinese vegetable cleaver from the supermarket for about $10... used it for 2 years and fell in love. It's the optimal knife for Asian food and basically any cuisine. It makes prep go by quickly and is even enjoyable. The biggest function though is its use as a bench scraper. Made my kitchen skills so much more efficient. I mostly chop vegetables and meat (no bones) and the Chinese style cleaver makes short work of it.While that cheap knife served me well and is still great today, I found that it didnt retain a sharp edge very well. Also the handle was cheap. So I did some research and came across this brand - still affordable but used in both Chinese professional and home kitchens everywhere. So I bought it and it came in a nice box. Extremely sharp. I've been using it for about a month now and it's still super sharp. I've only had to hone it once so far. We'll see how long it can go without needing to be sharpened by my whetstone. Well worth the money. I love it. The handle feels good quality and sturdy.

I've had mine for almost 5 years and it is one of my favorite and most used knives. Sharpen it regularly and it will serve you well for a long time!!

It gets the job done with comfortable handle.