Blade material Stainless Steel
Brand SHI BA ZI ZUO
Colour Sliver
Handle material Rosewood, Stainless Steel, Wood
Blade edge Plain
Product dimensions 33.3 x 9.5 x 2.6 cm; 397 Grams
CamelCamelCamel.
How do these compare to the cheap but good kiwi branded cleaver knives from Asian grosers?
SHI BA ZI is by far a higher-quality knife in my opinion
It'll be higher quality, but I doubt it'll have more utility. You almost don't need to sharpen those Kiwi Brand knives, because the steel is so soft; a good honing steel will keep them very sharp.
This knife, however, is high carbon steel (will possibly rust), meaning a steel will struggle to hone the blade. It'll probably need sharpening every few months if you use it regularly.
This says stainless steel, not carbon steel. It won't rust, but it won't get as sharp as a carbon steel blade. I swear by carbon steel, it is easy to keep really sharp and you just live with the patina that develops.
stainless steel can be anything
they all have different composition
not all stainless steel are equal
google 3cr13mov for a start
@dcep: The Amazon page lists it as a layering of carbon and stainless steels.
"Stainless steel - 3-layer high quality clad stainless steel. 80Cr13 high carbon core steel performs excellent hardness, durability and sharpness maintaining. Outside layers of low carbon steel does well in toughness, corrosion resistance and plasticity. The combination of two steels makes the knife perfectly work"
As others have said, it's layered high carbon/stainless, which, from my experience, can rust quite severely if not taken care of.
Not only that, high carbon steel is an absolute pain to look after. You might "swear by" carbon steel, but you're in a shrinking minority.
The cost of decent whetstones, and the time cost of sharpening it regularly (a honing rod is near useless on carbon steel), and oiling it regularly, can outweigh any perceived benefit in sharpness.
This is all without mentioning how brittle high carbon steel is. For a chef's knife carbon steel is fine (not my choice personally), but for a cleaver, you really don't want brittle steel, or your edge will chip every single cut.
I have 4 cleavers, all different, not a single one high carbon. I have two thick heavy bone cleavers, in stainless steel, and a large and small slicing cleaver (one a Kiwi). Of them all, I use the Kiwi the most. It doesn't matter if it goes blunt, literally 3 strikes on the honing rod and it's as sharp as my gyuto after 30 minutes on the whetstone.
@sortius: Each to their own.
I have a SS and CS knives and they're both great. CS gets a better edge and holds it longer. I've never had issues with chipping, only on SS knifes (and bad housemates). Simply wash and dry CS once you're finished using them, not really that hard to care for.
Kiwi are great for the price too.
kiwi are top of the range in terms of blade
these are better handle
they are like 2 bux in thailand
Yup. Not sure why you were negged. Got a relative that buys heaps each visit to Asia, and hands them out to friends/family/postman
Kiwi Knives are great, the low carbon steel ensures that it tends to deform rather than chip and can be made very cost-efficiently. It’s much easier to sharpen as a result but won’t hold an edge for as long as higher carbon steel.
You can also use it as a beater knife if it becomes dull and you don’t sharpen it.
This knife on the other hand is great for home use as it has better edge retention than the kiwi so you don’t need to sharpen it frequently. It is more difficult to put an edge on it though and may be more prone to chipping.
Alternatively you can take a look at CCK (Chan Chi Kee) cleavers which are the premium classic Chinese chefs knife. They’re sort of the godilocks of Chinese cleavers where they’re not too brittle, not too heavy, offer good edge retention and get crazy sharp. Though they are generally more expensive unless you purchase it in Hong Kong.
Mine is a CCK! They are magnificent. Cost about $50 from their shop in HK. Also got one of their cast iron woks which is awesome too.
Mine is not that usable - it is too thick and heavy; a chopper. The one advertised looks more of a slicer - much more usable.
they may look similar as cleaver style, but the thick kind is bone chopper , whilst the thin one is chef knife
Much better, those cheap ones broke on cutting hard stuff in my case.
Perfect, got 2 for next week's Triad meet up.
Only 2? Guess I'll look forward to your inactive account after next week.
I believe they do it over Zoom, they are pretty strict with Covid protocols in that industry
That escalated quickly.
JV killed a guys with a trident. She should probably lay low for a while.
I'm in the axe gang so this deal is no good for me.
I get it, buy knives from Japan, buy cleavers from China.
Precisely.
One is high quality, rare and comprises consistent materials and tech.
The other is cheap, plentiful, full of carbon (no pun intended) copies and of inconsistent and dubious quality.
And also more like to invade neighbouring foreign lands, implement oppressive human rights violations on its citizens, and attempt to silence criticism by abducting critics or downvoting them on internet forums…
It all comes down to your planned use case - you are planning on slicing sashimi or Kobe beef strips, or are you more likely to be hacking up civil rights protestors?
Forgiveness please…
OzPolitics…. go somewhere else?
Jesus Christ, did I hear someone say Chinese copied Japanese regarding knives? XD
LOL!
I have 2 of these and the quality are really good. You need to sharpen them correctly to keep the shape though
You're right, mine now looks like a spoon
That’s not a knife!
What do you use to sharpen them?
Just normal wet stones but when you sharpen them, don't focus on the middle part and just "slide" over as you sharpen then front and back.
https://youtu.be/FQIqDIgdeOg
Thank you! I will practice but this is alot harder than it look
I bought the 8" one the other week and it's nice, but if your hands are any bigger than mine (and I have pretty small hands), you're going to struggle with the size of the handle. It's pretty short
You don't hold these like a meat cleaver though. You rest your hand on the handle and the top of the blade.
Any recommendations for a meat cleaver?
Bought it last time,amazing sharp.Bettter than my $400 Japanese Kyoto Knife.
Great value. Love it!
not too light. good for big men
Women can be big, too.
Varies from knife to knife, but most traditional Chinese cook's knives have very thin blade thickness, and tend to be optimally sharp at around a 15-17 degree edge, which is best for Asian-style cooking.
The Ikea "Chinese chopper" has a similar shaped blade as a traditional Chinese cook's knife, but has a blade thickness that's basically the same as one of their western cook's knives, with an optimal edge profile of 20 degrees. Which is fine if you just want a cool-looking knife that's not just another kitchen knife, but for asian style cooking isn't ideal.
Thanks just purchased the smaller 8 inch. Costs more than 9 inch lol
As I always cut my finger I prefer something blunt rather than sharp
Until your blunt knife slips and you cut off your finger?
I guess then you can't cut your finger anymore…
Perhaps you should work on your technique?
A sharper knife allows you to make a cut with less force, cutting more slowly and with more control.
It isn't possible to be as safe with a blunt knife,
I was taught, and found it to be true: sharp knives are safer than blunt ones. Clean, easy safe cuts. Instead of sloppy hacking
How is this compared to global?
I hate the global knife handles. Thin and slippery.
My personal opinion.
Is this compareable to Shun?
I think Shun would be a lot better than Global, but the price is much more.
I can't really comment since i've not used either of these brand cleavers.
I own and use a cheap chinese shop steel cleaver.
Which is better, the 8 inch or 9 inch for general everyday usage?
I was wondering the same thing. Another user commented that the 8 inch is a bit small to use but specs wise seems like the 9 inch has a slighter longer and taller blade. 8 inch also currently $2 more expensive than this 9 inch one.
Edit: https://youtu.be/feaXHT4yuLM this video does a pretty good review of the knife and he recommends the 8 inch for home cooks where as 9 inch for the professional chefs.
Wow that's for that! Will be getting the 8 inch 👍
Could you sharpen this with a global minosharp sharpener?
It's not ideal because the Global knives have a double bevel and the sharpeners are designed to maintain that.
The Chinese cleavers/butchers knives tend to be single bevel and most intend for it to be that way due to the way it cuts. They are pretty easy to sharpen with a whetstone (and probably more forgiving!).
bought 8 inch after watching the video. wifey will ove the birthday present
I don't think this is manufactured by Uyghur labour so it's fine to buy
9 inch Chinese
Tell 'im he's dreamin'.
9-Inch SHI LIKE