Henckels CLASSIC 6-inch Meat Cleaver

It's very similar to my dad's Cleaver from Utica New York! Kutmaster love that knife! I know I'll appreciate this new one to.

Nice feel and weight - extremely sharp - cut right through a turkey joint with no effort!

Just used it for the first time the other night; it was a sheer joy to use! Can't comment on how long it holds its edge, since I just started using it, but the weight and balance of the blade and handle is perfect. I used it to crush garlic, dice tough daikon radish, and slice through fried aburage tofu. It crushed, diced, and sliced beautifully. I was concerned about the weight of this when I ordered it, since I'm not that big or strong and consequently struggle with heavy or unwieldy kitchen apparatus. But it feels PERFECT. It's just light enough so I can flourish it about on the chopping board like I would my smaller long bladed kitchen knife, but heavy enough so that the weight of it was perfect for crushing garlic for flavor when I turned it on its side. The handle has a comfortable grip, with no fear of accidentally slipping or dropping when grabbing it. All in all, extremely worth the price, highly recommended if you are serious about cooking and/or intend to do a lot of Asian (especially Chinese) cooking.

From very long past experience with many Henckels Classics, it's exactly what I expected: super sharp, well-balanced, and comfortable to hold. Super sturdy, clean, and handles well. I primarily bought it for large jobs like heads of cabbage, full-sized fish, large cuts of meat, frozen foods, and so on. Have even used it to chop pork ribs into smaller pieces for my dogs. Have to hit harder than expected, but it cut them cleanly. Love, love, love Henckels Classic! They hold an edge well and are always a joy to use. My only problem is that my knife block is already full, so had to move the carving knife and carving fork to make room for this new gem!

When you need a cleaver, this one is good. It has a comfortable weight, but isn't cumbersome. Its only flaw is that sharpening is a bit of a chore.

**EDIT**This cleaver is great I use it nearly every day If I leave it on the cutting board everyone uses it for everything. I have touched up the edge with a steel I am very picky about the edge on a knife I'm using. this is a great cleaver***END EDIT* This Cleaver is heavy and feels strong it was sharper than I expected right out of the box as I generically need to sharpen a new blade before first use This Cleaver is thick and I think it will not bend in use it worked perfectly on cutting lamb chops, and chopping a roasted chicken up If it holds the edge it will be my go Cleaver I will look and buy more J.A. HENCKELS INTERNATIONAL knifes if this one holds up as it looks to.

wow this thing is indestructible. such a nice upgrade after breaking my last cleaver

This cleaver is the perfect size & weight and well balanced. Handle fits my hand really well. Bend at the end of the handle makes for secure grip, especially when your hand is wet. Well sharpened and ready to cut. Big problem is the top and back edges are very sharp and can easily cut your hand/fingers. I rated it four stars ONLY because of this problem. Otherwise, I would have given it 5 stars. As other reviewers have noted, a fine metal file or knife sharpening rod can remove the sharp edge, with several light passes to round off the edge. I also used a 220 grit med/fine sandpaper to finish rounding the edges. Chinese/Asian cooks use only one or two knives and those are cleavers. Look into the kitchen of any Chinese/Asian resturant, and you will see only cleavers. My mom only used cleavers. I have two, as does my daughter, one large and this new small/med one. It's our Swiss Army Knive equivalent and does everything from chopping, cutting, de-boning, dicing, slicing, crushing, tenderizing and as a handy scraper tool/spatula. This new cleaver does all that and more very well. I am very happy with this cleaver and do recommend it. Update: 10-01-2025 - I've had this cleaver for over six months and have used it daily, sometimes multiple times during the day. The edge doesn't keep its sharpness for more than a couple of days. I've discovered that the cleaver is too thick for much of the fine slicing that's done in Chinese/Asian cooking. So, I have gone back to my older thinner small cleaver more often. My initial excitement about this cleaver has diminished. I am revising my rating down from 4 stars to 3 stars. BTW - I'd gotten a KYOKU Samurai Series - 7" Cleaver Knife for my daughter. I've used it often and am very pleased with it. It's much thinner than the Zwilling and holds its edge for a long time. I can't remember the last time that I sharpened it. I may get one for myself and donate the Zwilling.