The advice about a CCK or a Dexter Russell cleaver is to try out an inexpensive cleaver, before spending money on a more expensive one. If they are not easy to come by, then a local Asian store, should have some inexpensive cleavers. Try the cleaver out and see if the size and weight is workable. A cleaver can weigh two to three times, what a santuko or gyuto weighs. Some people pick them up, and can't put them down fast enough. To give the cleaver a fair shot, takes about a month, of using it on a regular basis. If you don't like it, after a month, then a cleaver probably is not for you.
Is it worth it, to spend the time, learning how to use a cleaver? A cleaver excels at chopping. No knife is better at chopping then a cleaver. I'd estimate that a cleaver is 10-15 percent better at chopping then a santuko or gyuto. The real difference though, can be seen in the amount of food to prep.
If I am making an average size dish of salsa, lets say 9 roma tomatoes, I can use whatever knife I feel like, from a santuko, to a sujihiki, to a gyuto. When the salsa gets over 20 tomatoes, then the only knife I will use is a cleaver. It sounds odd, to say a knife that weighs over 700 grams, is less fatiguing then a knife that weighs 200 grams. A cleaver by its height allows muscles to be used in the wrist and forearm, versus a lighter knife, that only uses muscles in the wrist. With a light knife, muscles have to control all parts of the cut. A cleaver gets lifted up, and only wants to go straight down.
At the very least, learning how to use a cleaver, will improve your knife skills. If you can use a 500 - 600 gram knife, everything else will seem small in comparison.
There are plenty of stainless cleavers on the market. Mizuno has a stainless, which is stocked by JCK. The blade is suppose to be excellent. I've got the carbon Mizuno. The blade is very good, but the fit and finish is rough, especially compared to the Hattori. Recently I got the Mizuno re handled, the person who did the work, cleaned up the rough areas. It was like getting a new knife back, but the cost was significantly more then $50, the difference between the Mizuno and the Hattori.
The Mizuno stainless is on my short list of knives to pick up. What is giving me pause is the Hattori, fits my needs to a tee. I don't know how much different the Mizuno would be from the Hattori, plus I would want it re handled. That doesn't stop me though from having it on my wish list.
A number of good things have been posted about Ashi Hamono. Jon at Japanese Knife Imports brings them in, under the Gesshin Ginga line. On E-Bay, Bluewayjapan, can also place an order directly with Ashi Hamono.
Andy was quite positive in his review of the Tojiro Pro. Enough people wrote to him, expressing concerns, about their cleavers, that he wondered if their was a quality control issue with them? I haven't heard of any quality control problems with the Hattori.
All high end knives need to be properly maintained, including stainless. Proper maintenance is frequently wiping down the blade. Not letting it sit in a pool of juice. Even if I am going to put the knife down for a few minutes, I'll rinse and wipe it dry. I find keeping my knife, board, and counter top clean, helps me stay organized. As long as a carbon knife is being wiped down on a regular basis, it is no more difficult to care for, then stainless.
Jay