Dexter-Russell 8 Inch X 3 1/4 Inch Chinese Chefs Knife

Made in the USA from REAL, HIGH CARBON STEEL (not stainless. THIS IS NOT STAINLESS STEEL - WHICH IS A GOOD THING.) impressive fit and finish for the price, acceptably sharp (not razor sharp but you can definitely take it out of the box and start chopping onions) and very comfortable/well balanced for a chinese cleaver.*edit* After about one year of use, and having put a proper edge on it after ~2 months of use, this knife is, hand on heart, maybe the best chinese cleaver money can buy. It's psychotically sharp. UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLY psychotically sharp. I put a really, REALLY optimistic (meaning, I really expected it to wear down quickly) 34 degree inclusive edge on it with a wicked edge sharpener, stropped down to 0.5 micron, and this thing has gone over about one year from "I can probably peel the individual atoms off of this tomato" to "well, I can definitely still shave my face with it comfortably" with nothing other than honing every 3-5 uses. The patina is gorgeous, and the fact that this thing was made in the USA for the price it asks is just breaking my brain. I have knives well north of $500, but this thing is, swear to god, the knife I reach for most. More than my Asai Hayabusa gyuto or my Misai nakiri.Even if you don't really NEED a chinese cleaver, just buy this monster. It's so cheap, and you may just discover that this thing really is the best knife you never knew you needed.The glorious part about real high carbon steel is that it's so much easier to sharpen and hone than stainless, which adds more chromium, which is a much harder metal and makes sharpening/stropping more tedious. This knife WILL STAIN. But in a really awesome way. The more you use it, it will develop a patina that is utterly unique to you. It'll look weird for a few months, but the patina will also eventually act as a solid rust inhibitor.NEVER PUT ANY KNIFE IN A DISHWASHER OR LEAVE WET - EVEN STAINLESS WILL RUST - THIS EVEN MORESOBe careful to DRY this knife after you wash it. I'd recommend also adding a drop of vegetable or other oil (camilla is best if you don't use the knife often, since food oils will go rancid after several months if not worn off by cutting regularly, camilla doesn't go rancid anytime soon) to a paper towel and wiping the blade down before putting it away for the first few months. Once it has a nice patina, you don't really need that step anymore, since the oxides on the blade will protect it against moisture in the air (but not moisture on the knife, so again, DRY IT BEFORE PUTTING AWAY)As a knife, the balance is different to what most people expect. It's not a super precise nakiri, and it's not meant to chop through anything heavier than poultry bones. But what it is, is an "all in one" knife. You chop vegetables and then use the knife as a scoop to just throw them into a bowl or pot. The height of the blade keeps it from getting "stuck" on foods that like to stick to blades like cucumbers. Some people will call it heavy, and by comparison to normal chef knives, it is a bit. But it's correct for a chinese cleaver.You won't cut "fast" with the knife, if you're a speed chopper, get a nice nakiri or santoku or guyto or normal chef knife. But as a "I just need to cut a lot of vegetables and tofu and transfer it into a bowl and then cut up a chicken" do everything knife, it's hard to beat. There's a reason the chinese use ONE knife. This knife. It does everything pretty darn well, and this is a superb example of a chinese cleaver.Overall, if you're after an authentic carbon steel chinese cleaver and want a good quality one that will take and hold a wonderful edge (I've sharpened it since buying, and it has been wonderful) here you go. Buy this.

You are getting a dexter russell, asian style chefs knife. DR has been making these for ages (watch the Made with Lau youtube channel and that guy has had one for decades). Had a stainless asian style chefs knife in the past but gave it away to a friend and decided to get another one.First thing first, these knives come with pretty chonky edge geometry, i.e. it feels like it struggles to cut through things and instead splits things. I would thoroughly recommend either taking it to a knife sharpener or if you're a weirdo like me get into sharpening your own knives with Japanese whetstones. Once I gave it a better secondary edge it cuts very well.On that note, this is a high carbon steel blade. It discolors if you look at it wrong, in the way pears will go from rock hard to mush when you look away. It's fine. Give it time and that eventually becomes a patina that looks cool and will protect the blade. If the discoloring bothers you definitely get the stainless model.In regards to the high carbon steel, at least in the few weeks I've had it, it definitely feels like it maintains it's edge much better than the stainless version I've used in the past. Will take more time to see how it changes with use over the next couple months.I was using a ShiBaiZi cleaver because of it's size (makes a great bench scraper) but I am glad to move back to this smaller knife that feels more nimble and easier to use long term.Great knife for 40$ but with caveats that it's not great out of the box and needs some work to turn into an amazing knife.

The media could not be loaded. If you could only have one chef knife this would not be a bad candidate.This is a real workhorse of a knife. For anyone wanting to dabble in the realm of chinese chef knifes, often called chinese cleaver knives this is a great starting point. The knife is large, but not as imposing as some which have 4" tall blades. The knife has heft but is not ungainly in hand. The blade tapers down nicely to the edge but is not as thin as some examples. This makes the knife more forgiving of harder usage such as processing woody herbs or breaking down proteins such as whole chickens. Also incorporated into the design of this knife is a gentle belly in the blade making this knife proficient for both rocking chop cuts that you may already be comfortable with, as well as efficient slicing cuts through proteins.The edge comes usable from the box but really comes to life with simple sharpening stones. No fancy waterstones are required for this steel. The carbon steel used has a good balance between high sharpness potential, edge retention and stain resistance (for a carbon steel.) This knife will benefit from being wiped down before taking a break from prepping acidic veggies. It will develop a patina through usage and its corrosion resistance will improve as a result.Of course with the wide blade you can crush garlic with ease and transfer lots of produce from board to pan with ease.All in all this knife has been around for a long time, ask anyone who has worked in an asian kitchen on the east coast of the US and they will probably have a story to tell about this knife and it's remarkable utility.

A very sharp knife, very good to cut meat(boneless) and chop vegetables. BUT: I chopped my first onion and the blade stained, and I do not think that even a blow torch will not remove stain. Handle way too small for large hands making it a bit unstable.

The people writing reviews complaining about staining (really it's a patina forming) and rusting clearly did not read that this knife has a carbon steel blade. That's the trade-off for it being easy to sharpen. Basic care (not letting it soak in water like several reviewers did) is all it takes to keep this knife working well.