What is a Cleaver? Your Essential Guide to This Versatile Kitchen Knife

Introduction: A cleaver is a type of kitchen knife characterized by its large, rectangular blade. It’s called a cleaver because it’s good at cleaving, or making a cut that splits an ingredient in half. In this article we’ll discuss the different types of cleavers available and why it’s such a crucial tool in kitchens around the world. The more you learn about the versatility of a cleaver, you’ll understand why they are loved by both professional chefs and home cooks.

Understanding the Cleaver

The main thing that sets a cleaver apart from other knives like a gyuto or chef’s knife is the blade shape. A cleaver’s blade is completely rectangular with a flat and sharp edge. The shape of the cutting surface can depend on the type of cleaver, whether a traditional western style butcher knife or an Asian style cleaver.

Types of Cleavers

Overview of the different types of cleavers available explaining each cleaver's unique purpose and design, emphasizing the specific features that distinguish a Japanese cleaver from others including:

• Traditional Meat Cleaver This cleaver is the traditional butcher’s knife designed for heavy-duty tasks, particularly involving bones and tough meat. It has a heavy duty blade made from either carbon steel or stainless steel with an ergonomic handle that excels at cutting meat.

• Chinese Cleaver A Chinese cleaver is a unique piece of cutlery that may resemble the meat cleaver in shape, is distinguished by a lighter and thinner blade. It is made to be a multipurpose knife for slicing, dicing and chopping vegetables, fish and meat. Despite the shape, it’s not for bone chopping.

• Japanese cleaver : There are two distinct knife shapes that can be called a Japanese Cleaver. In the first case, we have a knife that is functionally the same as a Chinese Cleaver, but made in Japanese style of craftsmanship using Japanese steel. The other Japanese type of cleaver is a nakiri, or vegetable cleaver. This knife also features a rectangular blade, but smaller and narrower that a traditional Japanese made Chinese cleaver knife.

The Functionality of a Cleaver

You can probably envision a meat cleaver hacking through various cuts of meat, but the versatility of a Chinese (or Japanese) really shows the skill of the user. It’s super thin blade sails through vegetables, especially when executing all the fine vegetables shapes required by Chinese cuisine. It also excels at portioning thin slices of meat and fish. Furthermore, the large blade surface is great for crushing and mincing garlic and scooping up ingredients as they move from the cutting board to the flame.

Why Choose a Japanese Cleaver?

Japanese cleavers, like other Japanese knives are crafted with a high level of skill and attention to detail. Renowned knife makers like Sakai Takayuki make more than one style of cleaver. With superior fit and finish and steep blade angles crafted from harder steels that are prized for durability and hold an edge significantly longer, Japanese knives are the first choice for professional chefs worldwide.

Using a Cleaver Properly

One thing to keep in mind when using a Japanese cleaver, is that the blade is quite thin, so cutting through bones and using the knife like a hatchet will result in chips and damage. Reserve this type of cleaver for cutting with finesse.

Basic Techniques and Safety Tips

We recommend using a stable cutting board and keeping your fingers on the handle and out of the way of the blade’s sharp edge.

Maintaining and Sharpening Your Cleaver

With proper care and maintenance, a knife can last a lifetime. No matter what knife you buy and how hard the steel is, at some point a dull knife needs to be sharpened. We recommend using waterstones to return a knife’s edge to its full potential. Avoid honing steels and never use a pull through sharpener. Check out our entire guide to knife sharpening here.

Cleaning and Care Tips

Knives should be washed with soap and dried immediately after use. For carbon steel blades, especially if they are no used very frequently, we recommend adding a thin layer of knife oil on the blade to prevent oxidation.

Conclusion

A well made cleaver is a unique knife that when mastered adds an unparalleled level of finesse to cutting vegetables meat and fish. Explore our range of of high-quality Japanese cleavers and other knives to find the perfect match for their kitchen.