Cleaver Reviews

I am a beginning cook. I have always marveled at the guys in the local shops whacking at the chicken, etc with a meat cleaver. I think I bought the thing for reasons of machismo alone. But, how easy it makes preparing meat and foul. It feels like an appropriate weight to my male hands. A couple of cuts and my chicken is dispatched. The knife looks well-made but it lacks the bolster of high-end Henckels. Unless you are cleaving whale or walrus, I doubt it matters.

A knife! A knife! A knife! AAAA KNIFE! YAAAAAAAAY! I like knives! Like Knives! LIKE KNIVES! EEEEE! OOOOO! AAAAAA! Is this a KNIFE for me? AAAAAA! Is this KNIFE for ME? Is this KNIFE for ME? For CHRISTMAS? For ME? HUH? Mine? EEEEEE EEEEE EEEEE HAAAA HAAAAAAAAAA! A KNIFE for ME! YAAAAAY!

Most cleavers I've owned tend to be top-heavy and unbalanced, but this one has a wonderful, natural heft to it which allows you to precisely butterfly a whole chicken in less than four strokes (not counting the removal of the chest bone). Fantastic!

If you can only have one knife in your kitchen, make it this one. It cuts beautifully and cleans up easily.

The cheese course is all the rage for this fall and winter, and this cheese cleaver makes an elegant and efficient way to serve semi-firm to firm cheeses at the table or on a buffet. The Henckels design and quality are apparent in the look and feel of this lovely piece. I especially like to use this tool to serve a nice cheddar or smoked provolone with apple or pear halves, allowing guests to cut pieces of fruit and cheese for their plates. This also makes a great hostess gift, especially when paired with a wedge of your personal favorite from the local fromage shoppe.

After spending 6 years as a sous chef and using a variety of knifes, I can asure you that this knife is top notch! The Santoku is the knife of choice for vegetable prep because it is so well balanced for "rocking" and "chopping." For those that grip with your pointing finger onto the blade, the shape of the handle is far better than the 5 star series. The cryogentically cured steel stays sharp for months. In the four years that I've used this knife I have never used anything but a worn steel to sharpen the blade. A "must have" for the serious home cook.

As a professional chef myself, I have found a lovely peice to a small but complete set of professional knives. This knife is very well balanced and versatile. It will work well with just about any product you are useing, and a great alternitive to a chef's knife. Weather you are chopping, diceing, sliceing, or boning this knife will give the needed response while being extreemly comfortable for that case of veggies. The legendary Henckles name is well represented here and will last the average house hold user a life time. Weather you are looking to complete a set or just want a good all around knife, look no further.

I love this knife. It's the best kitchen knife I've ever owned. I ordered the 4 star version because I like this style of handle the best. The high carbon stainless steel blade is very sharp and holds an edge a long time. It took me a few days, and a few band-aids, before I got used to how sharp it was. I plan on ordering more of the 4 star series.

I use this santoku knife every day. I cook professionally and my personal collection of knives is worth thousands of dollars. I have all the weird knives no ever uses, all the specialty tools that are supposed to make chopping fun. When it comes to cooking dinner for my spouse and I, I reach for this knife every time.

This knife gives you the edge shape and flexibility of an asian vegetable cleaver with the balance and handle of a lighter chefs knife. I like that. I don't think that softer veggies or butter or chicken breasts always need the heft of a 8 or 10 inch chefs knife. For all-purpose needs at home, this knife is the perfect size and weight. I would highly recommend it as a first knife for someone looking to build a home collection of higher-end knives. Then pairing knife, then chefs knife, in my opinion.

The Henckels Pro series, in general, is of good quality. Like any other knife in this line, however, the Santoku *will not* keep an edge without maintence. No knife, not even those horrible diamond-honed things, will. To keep your knife in good shape, hone it on a steel each time you use it and clean it promptly. Avoid those roller sharpeners: they will tear up your edge. Every few years (more often if the knife is used a lot) get the blade professionally re-ground. Oh, and just in case someone misunderstands: the above does not apply to serrated blades. Only straight ones.

I recommend the Santoku. In fact, I'm thinking of getting a second one: one for veggies, one for meat, so I don't have to keep cleaning my knife while cooking.

If you enjoy cooking Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, or any other Asian foods you will find this knife a joy to use, and a welcome friend in the kitchen.

In the past I've used my Henckel 8" or 6" Chef's knives to prep veggies and meats for stir fry dishes. They did a fine job..but this knife makes the job so much more effortless. Beautiful for thin slivers of meat or all forms of vegetable cutting...slant cut, diced, nituke, jullianne.

One thing I appreciate about this knife is the 7" length and the lighter feel in my hand. It still has the nice balance that you would expect from a Henckel knife, but with a bit less heft. A pleasure to use!

If you love cooking with great kitchen tools...you'll love this one!

L

I bought one of these knives for my wife because she wasn't comfortable with traditional chef's knives, and I didn't like to see her using a pairing knife as a primary kitchen knife. After going to a few different stores and trying out different knives, she decided on the Henckels Pro S 7-inch Santoku. Although I probably would not have picked this knife for myself, I'm now hooked. Here's what I like most: (1) It came with an excellent factory edge. In fact, it was much sharper out of the box than my Global chef's knife. I probably won't use my Global much more until I can get it professionally sharpened. (2) Excellent balance and overall quality. It just feels good in your hand. This is something that everyone needs to try and decide for himself. (3) Versatility. The wide blade is better for scooping up chopped vegetables, herbs, etc than most chef's knives. It is sharp and light enough for relatively delicate work, but long and sturdy enough to handle bigger jobs. (4) Unlike traditional European-style knives, where the blade comes up against the bolster, the entire blade is exposed. This gives you more useful blade space, and is much better for future sharpening (bolsters get in the way of sharpening and stick out once part of the blade has been removed in the sharpening process). The only things I might change are that the 7-inch blade is a bit shorter than I would like, and the handle is relatively small (this is one of the factors that were best for my wife, however). The advice that I would give to anyone purchasing this knife is to please take care of it. Do not run it through the dishwasher, cut on hard glass or marble cutting boards (pure evil), or use any gimmicky home sharpening system. Maintain the edge with a high quality honing steel (a smooth steel is gentlest on the blade), and sharpen only occasionally by someone who knows what they're doing.

Do I really need to give you reasons why you should buy J.Henckels knifes? The name says it all! Quality at an affordable price and a lifetime of joy, not to mention a great investment. This meat cleaver lives up to the J.Henckel reputation and I have found it to be extremely helpful in the kitchen. The cleaver is very well balanced and cuts with smooth and effortless precision. My mom keeps telling me to stop buying all these knifes and instead wait for my wedding day and register for a complete set. Well, at these prices I can't wait and I sure do not want to end up with anything less than J. Henckels. As for the wedding day, I told her not to hold her breath! My J. Henckels knifes are mine!

An excellent, heavy knife that cuts a whole chicken into parts in no time! The one you display now appears to have a shorter tang and different 3-hole pattern on the handle however.

Be it chicken or some other meat product, nothing chops better than this Santoku cleaver. I love it - very handy to have.