I’ve been getting more comfortable with #6 cleavers, less choppy-choppy and more “let the weight do the work” while also adjusting technique to use the belly instead of wishing for a flatter profile and/or getting a ton of accordion cuts, so I thought I’d post my thoughts on my main big 3 carbon cleavers. All have been thinned, tweaked and tested at work doing bulk prep and they all hold up very well.
Sugimoto #6: I’ve seen the Sugimoto pop up in a lot of videos of Chinese restaurants in Japan, and for good reason. It’s got the best construction of all the cleavers I’ve tried with the distal taper, rat tail tang and unique handle it has excellent balance and a strong right biased convex grind. Of the three in the video, it’s the lightest (weighs in between 420-430 grams) and feels even lighter than it’s weight in hand, the easiest one to use for an extended period without hand/wrist fatigue. Steel is “pure Japanese ore”, reported to be white 2 by many retailers, although Sugimoto doesn’t officially disclose this. Edge retention is good, comes back to life super easily. I see many restaurants where the Sugimoto is used on circular wooden chopping blocks which are basically like really soft end grain boards which likely prolongs edge life. Although pretty thin BTE, the convexity fattens it up quickly above the very edge for food release. After a touch of thinning, the balance between food release and cutting feel is probably the best of the three. If you look at the front end, it doesn’t look the thinnest, but it does horizontal cuts on an onion smoothly and vertical cuts surprisingly fast.
Cons are the F&F is pretty rough, there’s a good sized low spot in the middle of on the right side that seems pretty common with Sugimoto and the grind has some facets in it OOTB that doesn’t affect performance, but it’s annoying considering how much these are retailing for nowadays. Still, it’s the one I would choose for extended use and a must try cleaver in my book.
Togashi #6: The Togashi was purchased as a mystery cleaver off eBay for a great price due to a bunch of chips and rust spots. Original owner got it from a store in Tsukiji a few years ago. I fixed the chips and cleaned up the surface rust and got an ID on the maker. It has the same specs as this cleaver here, but about 10 grams lighter:
Hitohira Togashi White #2 Chinese Cleaver 220mm Gumi Wood Handle (#7)
Of the three, it’s the thinnest BTE, even before I fixed the chips. You can see the geometry from the cleaver in the link, it’s got nice right handed convexity and a slight S-grind above the convex that helps with food release, especially after you get a patina on the whole thing. A little heavy due to the full tang compared to the Sugimoto, but the steel is the star here. White 2 that takes a downright nasty edge and holds its bite well, similar to Munetoshi in that regard. Feels very “sandy”on the stones I’ve tried it on and you can take the refinement pretty high. Overall retention is nice, especially considering the Togashi weighs in at about 470 grams. Makes me want to try a Togashi honyaki or one of his white #1 cleavers. Could use a little more thinning higher up because I lost a little height doing the chip repairs. And the front end is prone to some microchipping due to thinness+hardness+weight, but the chips are tiny and don’t affect performance. The handle does tend to get dirty easily though, even with mineral oil application. Need to give it a deep clean and maybe a layer of lacquer or varnish or something.
Suien VC: Value wise, this thing is undefeated. $160, $170 with shipping, it hasn’t gone up in price for years and punches way above its price point quality wise, a long time forum favorite. The two big knocks against the Suien are the belly in the profile and the thickness OOTB. I think the belly looks a little worse in pictures and it can be tweaked on the stones while you’re thinning and with adjusting your technique a little. OOTB, the Suien has a horrible, obtuse chisel grind that crushes food instead of cutting it. But if you put in the work thinning, you can really get the steel to sing. The “VC” steel is reportedly Takefu V2 (unconfirmed I think, but that’s the consensus) and it takes the “stickiest” edge out of the three. Better retention than the Sugimoto and not as hard as the Togashi, although not chippy, plus it’s monosteel which feels nice hitting the board. After thinning, geometry wise, it’s close to the Togashi but slightly less convex. It’s the smoothest cutter out of the three, but I prefer the cutting feel of the Sugimoto just a bit, but I’m also a weirdo so take that how you will. More nimble than the Togashi, but not quite as maneuverable as the Sugimoto. Handle is on the slim side and has a protective glossy coating, very comfortable. Still can’t believe Suien makes a profit selling this cleaver for less than half the retail price of either of the other two, but I’m not complaining.
Now someone send me a Mazaki cleaver to try, please and thank you.
I’m currently on the market for ba Suien. But Koki said they are discontinuin cleavers because their craftsman got retired.
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