Review of Shun DM0712 Classic 7-Inch Chinese Vegetable Cleaver

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List Price: $288.00
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I've been cooking for over 15 years (I'm not that old), and I grew up in a Chinese family. A Chinese Chef knife is exactly that, it is not a cleaver, despite the resemblance. This is the one knife a Chinese chef will use in the kitchen for just about everything.

Trust me, I've tried cleavers, they are not a replacement for a real Chinese Chef knife. I've also used many of the Chinese Chef knives that you can pick up in many Chinatown shops and Asian specialty shops. (BTW, I'm from the largest Chinese community outside of Asia, so we are not lacking the "goods").

The Shun classic....is amazing. It is perfectly weighted, and the grip is fantastic. I can grip the knife with confidence even when wet or dealing with meats.

The blade is the sharpest I've used of _any_ Chinese Chef knife. The first time I used it, I was mystified why it took so much effort to cut (it was supposed to be sharp, wasn't it?). The reason was, I had already sliced through everything without noticing and was already pressing on the cutting board!

One problem is that it also cuts into my cutting board with relative ease. If I don't remove the blade straight up, I hear a sound which makes me think the thin edge is being knicked. However, so far, no real problem, the edge is still perfect.

I have still been a bit wary to use it to hack at bones, but I think that fear will go away. (When I say Chinese chef's use it for everything, I mean everything).

I don't care about a Damascus steel look, but I can attest that the surface has no problems with releasing food. Slides off easily.

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I've used many different Chinese cleavers over the years. From the cheap no-name $4 cleavers to the higher end Dexters. While shopping I stumbled across the Shun Chinese cleaver and my jaw dropped at the inherent beauty of it. Once I picked it up and looked at it I knew I must have it. Everything about it screams quality. It's balanced beautifully, is thin, made from V10, has an resin fused pakka wood handle and of course had the gorgeous grain in the steel from the 16 layers they use to forge the blade (these are not stamped knives).

I ended up buying both the Chinese cleaver and the 8" chefs knife to replace my old work horse Dexter chinese cleaver and my 9" Henckels. Out of the box these knives are sharp. You could do eye surgery with them. They hold an incredible edge. These are hands down the best knives I've used or owned.

Do not be intimidated by the price. Yes, they are on the expensive side but these are, as I have stated, simply the best knives out there today. They will last a lifetime. You will not be dissappointed. The kick butt over the Wusthof Culinars (which I think are fantastic knives).

Shun has created a knife that stands heads and shoulders above the rest.

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I bought this knife a year ago. It rapidly became my favorite cutting implement. I postponed reviewing it to make sure initial infatuation was not coloring my opinion.

The balance is near perfect, the blade shape works well for cutting, slicing, mincing, and chopping. The steel readily takes a sharp edge and holds it well. This cleaver excels at both moderate cutting and delicate work. The wood handle is warm and easy to grip even with wet hands. The strong blade allows using the side for mashing and as a spatula, the back as a scraper and tenderizer, and the end of the handle to pulverize.

Whether this knife is worth the price of admission depends on the depth your pocketbook and your intended use. For those wanting a fancy knife to display, the Damascus edge makes for a striking appearance. That did not rate high on my list, but I presume it does for some. I use this knife on a daily basis; it is a pleasure to work with and does the job with a minimum of drama. The build quality is such that I see this knife lasting for many a year to come. After having used, abused, and worn out a number of lesser cleavers, my only regret is not purchasing this one sooner.

Addressing several comments made by previous reviewers:

D. Symanski's cleaver came with a sharp spine. Mine did not, nor did ones I have handled in several stores. I do agree with the mention of the asymmetric handle. This knife comes in left or right hand versions. Using the Shun with your off hand is uncomfortable at best. If, like me, you are used to wielding two cleavers at once for mincing meats and veggies, you will need to pay attention to which hand holds the Shun. My cleaver came sharp for a factory edge. A few minutes with stone and strop brought out a wickedly sharp edge, but the out-of-the-box blade was serviceable. That's a rarity for most cutlery.

DAL notes that the edge notches when cleaving a chicken. This is a medium cleaver, weighing the shy side of 12 ounces. Heavy cleavers start at a pound and a half and go up from there. The VG-10 steel used for the cutting edge is not the best choice for whomping on thick bones. The Vanadium content makes for a fine-grained metal (i.e. easy to sharpen and takes a razor edge) but it can bend or nick, particularly with the thin working edge this knife has.

rl123 compares the Shun to a Dexter cleaver. Owning one of each, my preference is strongly for the Shun. If you are not going to use this knife often, a cheaper one should suffice. As a daily workhorse, I know of none better than this baby.

As Bobo mentions, this knife slices into soft cutting boards. A good end-grain wood block solves that problem.

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I agree with the previous reviewer: this is the sharpest, most well made Chinese chef's knife out there. However, I guarantee you won't find this knife in any authentic Chinese kitchen because this knife is just too expensive.

If you want to get a good Chinese chef's knife, you should buy the high-carbon stainless Dexter-Russell cleaver (costs around $40). It is only slighly less sharp but the difference is not noticeable, especially if you are chopping rather than slicing.

There is nothing wrong with the Shun knife; it's just way too overpriced. It's just a knife, and no mass-produced kitchen knife is worth $170, no matter how sharp it is.

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Many of the other reviews critique this tool as either too expensive or that it is inadequate somehow for cleaving bones and parting out. This is a misinterpretation of what the knife is designed for. The Chinese use two different blade designs in the cleaver pattern. One is a cleaver in the western sense, in that it is an impact cutter, this pattern has a blade about 2x as thick as a vegetable pattern (like this one.)

This knife is meant to be used more like a thin chef's knife, santoku or large nakiri. Once you get used to using it this way the method is very practical and flexible. Instead of the full block of various knives, you can reduce yourself to one of these, a 6" utility, a 3" paring and a meat pattern cleaver if you do a lot of parting out. I find that I use the cleaver for virtually everything, slipping back to regular pattern knives only when I need a sharper point for something. For those who critique it as too expensive, I would encourage them to take a look at what pro-quality forged tools go for on other sites, I've seen comparable tools going for over 2x what Shun is marketing these for.

The biggest drawback is that stainless steel tends to hold a rounder edge. By that I mean that the edge is very durable but slightly less sharp, and harder to sharpen than high carbon steel. However, that is the price one trades for easy maintenance. A sushi chef, for instance, will sharpen and wipe down his blades at the end of every day. For those of us who are less conscientious, this is perhaps a rational trade off.