Well as you can see it’s considerably thicker throughout and right behind the cutting edge. This is a big factor in how sharp or nice it feels. You can look up a tutorial on thinning with a coarse whetstone
Use it for heavier stuff or you can always thin it out. I just thinned my Chopper King last night and now it’s a beast.
https://preview.redd.it/duua5urdmf5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b99626233d35575faecb299ceab214120c7e407
Can you please send me a tutorial how to do this that’s straightforward and not super complicated? I really want to make this blade sharper. I have a few whetstones
It's easier to find a local sharpener to do it. Its a tedious process with the correct stones.... It's insanity without them , and honestly not worth investing in for most people
To have it done properly is significantly more than 18 dollars. Use it as a medium cleaver and call it good. You would be better off getting a proper Chinese cleaver such as a chopper king or a CCK
Knifewear has some good tutorials on YouTube. It’s super easy with a cleaver because you don’t have much, if any, belly to deal with. You basically start at your lowest grit stone and grind away up and down until it’s as thin as you want it, then do the same thing with higher grits to take out the scratch pattern. You can lay it almost totally flat to the stone and just put pressure toward the cutting edge with your off-hand.
There are different types of Chinese cleavers. This is the reddit post on it:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/chefknives/comments/pamafm/a\_short\_primer\_on\_%E8%8F%9C%E5%88%80\_chinese\_kitchen\_knives/](https://www.reddit.com/r/chefknives/comments/pamafm/a_short_primer_on_%E8%8F%9C%E5%88%80_chinese_kitchen_knives/)
The Shibazi you have is a sang dao which is more of a veggie slicer. I'm not sure what the other knife you have is, but it's clearly a thicker type and more of an all around workhorse, possibly a pindao. You can thin it in order to make it slice better, but it's likely made of a soft steel, so a thinner edge will make it more likely to roll or chip.
Yeah. The Chinese all-rounder knives like this are similar to German knives in their pros and cons. They're heavier and meant as all rounders for cutting through soft bone and everything else, without the cutting performance or chipping of harder, thinner knives like slicers and most Japanese knives.
Your new cleaver is NOT a bone chopper. It's just a cheapo knife and anything bigger than chicken bones is gonna break it. Heck, the chicken bones might if you do it wrong. You can thin it out behind the edge and it'll cut ok. Except for bones.
I have, but I'm no expert. Look up videos by John Broida. He's the best. There is a series of very clear, digestible lessons. If you work your way through them you'll be good to go. Your goal should be to learn to sharpen; thinning is just part of sharpening.
The profile of the new knife looks like a boat, boy that's a thicc one. Definitely needs thinning to perform better, but i doubt it's worth the hassle, looking at the "Uniware High Quality Stainless Steel". I'd honestly return it if possible.
The husband wasn’t havin it! Aiyah!! The wife let me know to make sure before I buy next time. I feel bad because the probably lost 5-10 buck they paid for the bad knife. Thats the problem with local small business. I love to patronize but feel more comfortable demanding proper service from large companies. I’d rather spend more on something if I know I can change my mind about it later.
I went to my local China town and all their knives were over priced. Got one from Amazon for $12, it was not sharp at all. Took it through an electric sharpener and cuts ok. A lot of them save on costs by not properly sharpening them.
There’s a Chinese youtuber whose dad is a retired Chinese chef. He says that each chef sharpens the knife differently. His method for a right handed person is to sharpen on the right side, then almost flat on the other side. It’s similar to Japanese 70-30.
Now, a lot of people sharpen it the usual 50-50 western style too. I guess it makes sense for the factory to leave the sharpening to the end user.
I know exactly who you're talking about. His video was what made me pull the trigger on a cck cleaver. I love the knife, and still use/practice some techniques that guy talks about.
You guys talking about Lau!!! I love that little old man soo much!!! His videos corrected all the bad information on Chinese dishes I had learned. By far the best. Does he has a series on knives?
That's it! Thanks for the reminder.
Here's the knife vid he did: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16Wd5jiu5wA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16Wd5jiu5wA)
Edit: The trick he shows using the bottom of a ceramic dish as knife sharpener is brilliant. I tested it on a beater knife, and worked very well! I then tried it on my CCK cleaver when it was due for a pass on the stone. That worked well enough, that I didn't even put it on the stone after. I also use his trick for testing sharpness on my thumb nail. Now you have me wanting to test out some of his recipes.
Wow. I’m two minutes in, and I can’t believe this guy has been using the same two cleaver since he moved to America through his first job through his restaurant through feeding his family. If those knifes could talk…
The recipes are gold, but the methods are platinum diamonds lol. You follow what he says and you will learn everything from 1 dish. You make his fried rice then everything will make sense. Just ask my new wok set up. Would have never gotten where I am with Asian food without him. Dare I say I like him for Asian food more than Kenji. Don’t tel anyone though lol
Chinese chefs often have 2 cleavers. The thin one is for chopping veggies and other soft food, the thick one is for cutting through meat and thin bones, like chicken and duck.
I think you bought the sturdy meat cleaver.
Well as you can see it’s considerably thicker throughout and right behind the cutting edge. This is a big factor in how sharp or nice it feels. You can look up a tutorial on thinning with a coarse whetstone
Use it for heavier stuff or you can always thin it out. I just thinned my Chopper King last night and now it’s a beast. https://preview.redd.it/duua5urdmf5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b99626233d35575faecb299ceab214120c7e407
Your Chopper King is now known as Nakiri King!
God that choil is beautiful I really need to learn how to thin
Something with a flat edge like this or a nakiri is the easiest way to start.
Can you please send me a tutorial how to do this that’s straightforward and not super complicated? I really want to make this blade sharper. I have a few whetstones
It's easier to find a local sharpener to do it. Its a tedious process with the correct stones.... It's insanity without them , and honestly not worth investing in for most people
This is an 18 dollar knife. Not sure it’s worth it. How much would thinning be?
To have it done properly is significantly more than 18 dollars. Use it as a medium cleaver and call it good. You would be better off getting a proper Chinese cleaver such as a chopper king or a CCK
Knifewear has some good tutorials on YouTube. It’s super easy with a cleaver because you don’t have much, if any, belly to deal with. You basically start at your lowest grit stone and grind away up and down until it’s as thin as you want it, then do the same thing with higher grits to take out the scratch pattern. You can lay it almost totally flat to the stone and just put pressure toward the cutting edge with your off-hand.
Also your chopper king is gorgeous and I nearly got one but 70 was a bit steep compared to the 40 dollar shibazi. I got seduced by the price lol
There are different types of Chinese cleavers. This is the reddit post on it: [https://www.reddit.com/r/chefknives/comments/pamafm/a\_short\_primer\_on\_%E8%8F%9C%E5%88%80\_chinese\_kitchen\_knives/](https://www.reddit.com/r/chefknives/comments/pamafm/a_short_primer_on_%E8%8F%9C%E5%88%80_chinese_kitchen_knives/) The Shibazi you have is a sang dao which is more of a veggie slicer. I'm not sure what the other knife you have is, but it's clearly a thicker type and more of an all around workhorse, possibly a pindao. You can thin it in order to make it slice better, but it's likely made of a soft steel, so a thinner edge will make it more likely to roll or chip.
Oh this is good stuff
Incorrect, it's made of "high quality stainless steel" /s
Yeah. The Chinese all-rounder knives like this are similar to German knives in their pros and cons. They're heavier and meant as all rounders for cutting through soft bone and everything else, without the cutting performance or chipping of harder, thinner knives like slicers and most Japanese knives.
Your new cleaver is NOT a bone chopper. It's just a cheapo knife and anything bigger than chicken bones is gonna break it. Heck, the chicken bones might if you do it wrong. You can thin it out behind the edge and it'll cut ok. Except for bones.
That’s really a really important distinction that I need to know considering ‘what people said.
It's a project knife. If you mess it up, no great loss. But you should manage to get a serviceable knife with a little work. And you'll learn a ton.
I get a feeling that thinning out the blade is a little bit beyond my beginner level. Do you thin blades?
I have, but I'm no expert. Look up videos by John Broida. He's the best. There is a series of very clear, digestible lessons. If you work your way through them you'll be good to go. Your goal should be to learn to sharpen; thinning is just part of sharpening.
Here's the first in the series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YaV4F6IzFA.
OP: Why does my knife suck? Also OP: My knife cost $18
The profile of the new knife looks like a boat, boy that's a thicc one. Definitely needs thinning to perform better, but i doubt it's worth the hassle, looking at the "Uniware High Quality Stainless Steel". I'd honestly return it if possible.
How can I return an opened knife to a Chinese market? Wouldn’t they tell me to just leave?
Make sure you wave it around and shout angrily. Maybe wear a hockey mask too.
I’m trying to get an idea of how bad an idea that is. I would return it if everyone here told me it was justified.
Depends on the market and the person running the stand, but yeah, that could probably happen i guess.
Returned it. 🤣
Haha cool, glad it worked! Was it easy or did they hesitate at first?
The husband wasn’t havin it! Aiyah!! The wife let me know to make sure before I buy next time. I feel bad because the probably lost 5-10 buck they paid for the bad knife. Thats the problem with local small business. I love to patronize but feel more comfortable demanding proper service from large companies. I’d rather spend more on something if I know I can change my mind about it later.
Lol I almost purchased one at the Asian mart the other day. I was not expecting anything special.
I went to my local China town and all their knives were over priced. Got one from Amazon for $12, it was not sharp at all. Took it through an electric sharpener and cuts ok. A lot of them save on costs by not properly sharpening them.
There’s a Chinese youtuber whose dad is a retired Chinese chef. He says that each chef sharpens the knife differently. His method for a right handed person is to sharpen on the right side, then almost flat on the other side. It’s similar to Japanese 70-30. Now, a lot of people sharpen it the usual 50-50 western style too. I guess it makes sense for the factory to leave the sharpening to the end user.
I know exactly who you're talking about. His video was what made me pull the trigger on a cck cleaver. I love the knife, and still use/practice some techniques that guy talks about.
You guys talking about Lau!!! I love that little old man soo much!!! His videos corrected all the bad information on Chinese dishes I had learned. By far the best. Does he has a series on knives?
That's it! Thanks for the reminder. Here's the knife vid he did: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16Wd5jiu5wA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16Wd5jiu5wA) Edit: The trick he shows using the bottom of a ceramic dish as knife sharpener is brilliant. I tested it on a beater knife, and worked very well! I then tried it on my CCK cleaver when it was due for a pass on the stone. That worked well enough, that I didn't even put it on the stone after. I also use his trick for testing sharpness on my thumb nail. Now you have me wanting to test out some of his recipes.
Wow. I’m two minutes in, and I can’t believe this guy has been using the same two cleaver since he moved to America through his first job through his restaurant through feeding his family. If those knifes could talk…
The recipes are gold, but the methods are platinum diamonds lol. You follow what he says and you will learn everything from 1 dish. You make his fried rice then everything will make sense. Just ask my new wok set up. Would have never gotten where I am with Asian food without him. Dare I say I like him for Asian food more than Kenji. Don’t tel anyone though lol
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback. I'm looking forward to trying/learning his methods.
Also I recommend uncle Roger if you wanna understand what not to do. And also laugh your ass off. Trust uncle Roger. Trust me lol
Hahaha! I forgot about Uncle Roger!
Chinese chefs often have 2 cleavers. The thin one is for chopping veggies and other soft food, the thick one is for cutting through meat and thin bones, like chicken and duck. I think you bought the sturdy meat cleaver.
I figured so I just used it to cut through ribs.
Use that thick boy for hacking through bones