Cleaver kit to become a cleaver guy

[GorillaGrunt]

So I started messing around with my CCK 1303 a while ago, which had never really been more than a novelty to me, then got a Ginga #6, then a Tanaka that turned out to be way bigger than expected, now a Daovua, and I think I’m falling in wuv. I’ve been using these quite a bit and not really using gyuto much lately, which has me thinking: what Chinese cleavers/chuka does The local That Cleaver Guy need to constitute a full range? A smaller one, larger one, short and thick, long and laser? That is to say the equivalent of e.g. a 210, 240, 270, line knife, petty, suji, laser, workhorse...

 

[gcsquared]

Having been obsessed with cleavers for a while now, I am still nowhere near having a full range of cleavers. There are probably just as many Chinese cleaver styles as there are traditional Japanese knives styles. Similar to Japan, Chinese can get pretty specific with what cleaver to use for different purpose.

That said, most Chinese chefs can go by with 3 styles:
1. A “leaf” cleaver, meaning a slicing cleaver
2. A “multi-purpose” cleaver, meaning a mid-weight cleaver
3. A “bone-chopping” cleaver, which is the thickest and heaviest obviously

For me personally, my home cutting boards won’t be able to withstand a bone-chopping cleaver so I don’t have one of those. The ones I keep in my rotation are:

- Small mid-weight slicing cleavers (~200mm): As a home cook, this is actually my preferred size, so I have a few: 2 Dalmans in this range (one carbon, one stainless) and a Bulat

- Full size slicing cleavers (220mm-ish): I have 2 in this range, both are on the lighter end of the spectrum: a DT ITK and a TF Nashiji

- A super lightweight slicing cleaver, similar to a CCK 1303. I have a Laseur and a Takeda

 

[Viggetorr]

Having recently acquired a CCK 1303 and using little else since then, I'll be following this thread.

gcsquared, what is the weight of your cleavers? It would be interesting to get a little perspective on what you consider mid-weight, light weight etc.

 

[Qapla']

What do you think of this one?
https://www.**************.com/cckbukn.html

 

[gcsquared]

This is a great question! I deliberately left it a bit vague because the overall size obviously makes a difference — i.e. a lightweight full sized cleaver light will probably weigh the same as a small-sized mid-weight cleaver. But more importantly, whether a cleaver “feels” lightweight, mid-weight or heavy depends a lot on its balance and whether it is a stick tang or full tang construction.

So with the risk of being overly simplistic, I’d say anywhere between 250g to 350g is considered lightweight, 350g-500g is considered mid-weight, and anything above 500g is considered heavy for me. These are just my benchmark for slicing cleavers. YMMV.

I kept the ranges a bit broad to accommodate for tang construction and varying sizes (both length and height).

Having recently acquired a CCK 1303 and using little else since then, I'll be following this thread.

gcsquared, what is the weight of your cleavers? It would be interesting to get a little perspective on what you consider mid-weight, light weight etc.

 

[Noodle Soup]

If you are in China and all you can afford just one cleaver, its going to be a medium weight one that handle chicken, small pork and fish bones. For those that make the next step up, it will be a thin blade like the 1303 for vegetables and a medium weight one for all the harder chores. The really heavy bone choppers are for the market butcher you buy your meat off of. Few need one of those at home. I never used a thin vegetable cleaver over there, it was always something medium weight that would chop up any chicken and duck bones required. Though it would be hard to sell in the west, small pieces with the bone in are normal in most of Asia.

 

[GorillaGrunt]

Briefly off topic - I ordered from a local Chinese restaurant recently and they warned me that the dish I ordered from the traditional side of the menu had the bones in; it was so much better than any of the familiar gringo Chinese restaurant dishes!

 

[thebradleycrew]

If you are in China and all you can afford just one cleaver, its going to be a medium weight one that handle chicken, small pork and fish bones. For those that make the next step up, it will be a thin blade like the 1303 for vegetables and a medium weight one for all the harder chores. The really heavy bone choppers are for the market butcher you buy your meat off of. Few need one of those at home. I never used a thin vegetable cleaver over there, it was always something medium weight that would chop up any chicken and duck bones required. Though it would be hard to sell in the west, small pieces with the bone in are normal in most of Asia.

This is a great point but I am hoping you can clarify something for me. Are you saying that leaving bones in is intentional (adding flavor) or that leaving small bones in is unintentional and a byproduct of moving fast and not being too picky with what goes in the meal? I wonder then also if it has a read through to how fast and and how much chewing is done. Maybe I'm overthinking.

 

[Blerghle]

Very much intentional.

 

[gcsquared]

This is a great point but I am hoping you can clarify something for me. Are you saying that leaving bones in is intentional (adding flavor) or that leaving small bones in is unintentional and a byproduct of moving fast and not being too picky with what goes in the meal? I wonder then also if it has a read through to how fast and and how much chewing is done. Maybe I'm overthinking.

This is a very interesting topic and I am no food historian, so all just based on my knowledge / experience. Meat used to be a luxury item in China until recent decades, so it is inconceivable for people to just eat the meat (say chicken breast and legs) and throw away the bones (e.g. chicken back or neck or feet). You mentioned about flavor and that is true as well — many people in China pride themselves for being “good with bones” as a sort of badge that they are foodies who know how to get to the best parts of an animal (e.g. meat around the bones and the marrow).

I have never heard of leaving the bones in to slow down the eating process, but it does sound a bit Confucius so I guess I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some truth in that too.

 

[Keith Sinclair]

Cutting through bones exposes very nutritious marrow. Only cleaver kept after retired was my CCK heavy Kau Kong Chopper. Still use it some. Chopping bone in chix. thigh for curry stew. Frozen fillet of wild salmon
Also great for cutting grass plugs.

I do have a light stainless veg cleaver.

A step up from a 1303 lite cleaver would be a medium CCK good for lobster & small bones. Tip is often thinner than heel making it good for all kinds of cutting.