Chinese Cleaver

Still another all-purpose tool, it cuts and dices; its flat blade and its handle can mash; it can be used as a pastry scraper; it will cut dough. Usually of carbon steel with a wood handle, it is also available in stainless steel, either with a wood handle or as a one-piece tool with blade and handle of one piece of steel. The carbon steel is preferred because of its keener edge and because it is capable of such heavy-duty jobs as cleaving through bone. The preferred size is one with a blade 8 inches long and between 3½ and 3¾ inches wide. You may prefer to have a second cleaver, of stainless steel and of much lighter weight, with a blade 8 inches long by 3¼ inches wide. Chinese chefs call such a cleaver a chef’s knife and reserve it only for slicing and cutting.