SHI BA ZI ZUO 9-inch Kitchen Knife Professional Chef Knife Stainless Steel Vegetable Knife Safe Non-stick Coating Blade with Anti-slip Wooden Handle

Awesome Chinese chefs knife! Have had it for 5+ years and bought more for others. Amazing stainless steel that is extremely easy to sharpen yet high hardness holds the edge for a long time. The sharpening effort to edge durability is the best among my knives. It's easy to get it hair popping sharp, but best part is it also stays in the effective sharpness far longer than others that drastically taper off. Compared to my $400 (back then) Takeda Chinese cleaver, I use this way more often and like it better. It has proper weight and balance for a Chinese knife that helps in cutting, unlike the Takeda which is just a gyuto/western-knife balance in a rectangular shape. The handle is also properly shaped vs the cool-but-in-your-way Japanese octagon handle. The blue-paper (not stainless) and AEB-L knives I own do perform well, but they're a pain to sharpen vs this, and they don't really hold the 90%+ sharpness edge any longer. Get this Shibazi 9-inch or 8-inch professional version if you're looking for a Chinese chefs knife. This is better steel than all the usual models.

I became interested in learning how to cook authentic Chinese cuisine. I soon learned that my very expensive German made knives were not a part of Chinese culinary practices. In addition to adding about 20 new food items to my kitchen, I also added a traditional Chinese cleaver. This functions as a traditional chef's knife in a European kitchen, and not as you would use a cleaver in the Western tradition, which would be used primary for processing bone-in meat. The rule of thumb in the kitchen is to use as big of a knife as your skills allow. The larger the knife, the faster and easier it is to do the work. As I lacked an understanding of traditional Chinese cutlery, I contacted Shi Ba Zi to ask about their cleavers. I received an immediate response and an excellent recommendation for this 9" clever. This is a beautiful, well-balanced knife that is very sharp. Due to its size and weight, you can perform functions with the cleaver that you cannot with a chef's knife. For example, you can effortlessly slice a ripe tomato with this cleaver, which is something that you would not be able to do with a chef's knife. This cleaver is also very good for julienne cuts, as well as chopping. I was delighted to learn that you could do these things easily with a Chinese cleaver. The Shi Ba Zi cleaver is not just sharp, it is also very well balanced, with a full tang and good, solid handle. I would offer one word of caution. This is a very large knife. If you cannot adroitly handle a good 10" or 12" chef's knife, you may want to consider starting with a smaller cleaver. Shi Ba Zi makes a very nice 7.5" cleaver which I also purchased, thinking that I may need it for finer cuts or smaller things. I was wrong. The big cleaver will do it all. If you are not familiar with high end German cutlery, I can tell you that you can't buy a small paring knife for what this knife costs. It is a bargain and I would highly recommend this particular knife and this particular company. It is a great knife for the money. If you enjoy fine cutlery, you will definitely appreciate the quality and functionality of this knife. I am very pleased to have it, as anyone who enjoys cooking would, too.

First of all, I tend to give more criticism than compliments because I want the things I own to be perfect for the job, no necessarily need to be expensive. I own a Shun vegetable cleaver and found some drawbacks that really annoy me. First of all Shun is too brittle for everyday use due to the steel hardness it has. Also the polished surface makes vegetable like potatoes very hard to be separated from the knife. Thirdly, the aggressive curve on Shun is designed so that you need to rock it back and forth to cut vegetable but in Chinese style knife technique, vertical strokes is the dominant style since it has superior speed and control, but it requires the knife has a very flat edge so an array of vegetable can be cut evenly and cleanly. With all that experience I had from my $200 Shun, I decided that I should give this knife try. Guess what? The drawbacks that Shun has are completely absent on this Shi Ba Zi Zuo knife. Before I bought this knife I was concerned about the sharpness of this knife comparing to Shun given that most people tend to believe that Shun and other top brands have the sharpest knifes. It turned out that I’m totally wrong. This knife is very sharp right out of the box and it can slice printing paper that I hold in the air into thin and delicate stripes. I feel the sharpness of this knife is very comparable to my Shun out of the box. Another thing I want to share with you guys is that, HRC hardness can elevate the price of a knife quickly, but it is not what you really need. I was convinced that the harder steel will retain sharpness longer. But my Shun had a nick in the blade within a week of normal and careful use. The harder the steel the more brittle it is. You are buying a knife to cut vegetable not carving your name on the glass. The steel on this knife is perfect for daily use and the most importantly it’s much much easier to sharpen. I don’t need to worry about breaking the edge any more and I feel comfortable smashing garlic like a pro Chinese chef without worrying if I can accidentally break the edge. Several strokes on the whetstone it’s sharp like new again. The size of this knife is on the larger side comparing to western and Japanese made Chinese vegetable cleavers. But this is what professional chefs prefer and it starts to grow on me. It’s so easy to process a lot of vegetable in a efficient and precise manner and it can transfer a lot of processed vegetable to the plate in a single move. The balance is great. The handle is solid and feels nice. Can’t ask for more. The brand is also well known in China and it has a good reputation to produce quality knives. You won’t regret buying this knife. Oh, most of the review complains about the sticker. Use alcohol prep pads or paper towel with cleaning grade alcohol to wipe it off with some pressure. All the residue will be completely gone. The GooGone liquid does not work. You are welcome.

The good: It's a workhorse and a joy to chop with! It was very sharp out of the box, and the price is right. The less good: The wooden handle looked dry/needed conditioning, but this was easily fixed with some butcher's block oil. The not so good: Over the past 10 months it t has developed some slight rust marks on the back side of the blade. It should be easy to remove, but I take good care of this knife and always dry it after use, so I was surprised to see it rust starting to appear.

This is my favorite purchase in years, and my most used and most cherished tool in my kitchen. The craftsmanship is a work of art! After getting this knife, I haven't touched my Western chef's knife once. It's hefty, so you do not need to press down much or at all to chop; just let gravity do the work! It has a flat edge, so it cuts cleanly down a halved onion without having annoying scraps at the bottom you need to recut because the curvature of a Western chef's knife. The broad, rectangular blade makes it perfect for smashing fresh garlic out of its peel and for scooping up minced veggies and meat from the cutting board. The precision also makes it easy and safe to get incredibly thin slices of cucumber or tomato. The edge came straight out of its packaging being able to slice paper like butter, and I haven't had to sharpen it once in the half year I've had mine. Lastly, it's just so fun and satisfying to use! I feel like a chef when I'm chopping up the thinnest scallion slivers for garnish or cutting up perfect cubes of carrot for mirepoix.

My rule of thumb for purchasing kitchenware and utensils is, if chefs and cooks I follow use and recommend a product, it's a product worth having. But when Kenji Lopez-Alt mentioned this blade on Amazon at a ~$45 price point, I immediately logged in and ordered one. Having received it, I can definitely say it was worth the price. Pros: -Outrageous performance for value ratio. It's a very well put-together tool and you'd be hard-pressed to find something of comparable quality at the price. -Hidden wire tang improves the overall balance of the knife -Surprisingly light, even compared to a French chef's knife. A little heavier, but not as unwieldly as a western cleaver. -A strip of nonstick cowling on either side of the edge of the blade makes dealing with starchy/sticky veggies like potatoes and garlic far less troublesome -Nice wide blade surface doubles as a bench scraper -Sturdy, straight spine -Slight curve to the edge which makes rocking the blade feel comfortable and natural -Grooved handle for better grip Cons: -Out of the box sharpness could be improved, but that's a minor complaint -Packaging could use a foam pad to protect the edge in transit Overall it's a really fantastic tool that demonstrates a clear dedication to craft from its creators. At its price it's a steal and if it turns out to be my best bargain for the entirety of 2021 I will not be disappointed.

I ordered this one by mistake thinking that it's the bigger version of the same one that I already have. I contacted the vendor about the confusion and they gave me a discount. There was an issue with the knife that was sent; so I contacted the seller again; and they were very professional about customer service. It's natural that there will be some form of defective product in the manufacturing industry and some will slip and get through to the customers. It's what the company does when that happens that will determine what kind of company they are. I sent some pictures and the seller took care of the issue immediately. SHI BA ZI ZUO is a good company and they make really good knifes. I have several of their knives but now I'm extremely happy to see that not only are they a good knife maker but also practice good business model where they value their customers. This is almost a perfect Chinese chef knife. I wish that it's an inch wider and an inch longer but no one else is offering in the size that I wanted. This is as big as it gets. The thickness is perfect for the traditional veggie knife. There is a gradient of the knife metal that you can see going in the vertical direction; and this feels like it helps catch any slippery textured veggies. The knife is extremely sharp and holds on to the edge very well. This is my second one and I still haven't sharpen my first one yet since I got it over a year ago. It lost some sharpness from daily contact against the cutting board. The sharpness of the first knife comparing to the newer one is surprisingly still very sharp; but I only cut veggies. It says that it's full tang but it's a rat tail type of full tang. This is not my favorite style but you usually see this type for veggie Chinese chef knife. It's not like the bone knife where it have what I'd consider a real full tang.

I have owned all sorts of knives, from cheap Faberware ones to Wusthof classics to Shun. This knife is WAYYYY larger than those knives, it does take some getting used to since the balance is very blade heavy. However, once you do get used to it the weight comes in handy when mincing meat for example. The blade itself is quite sharp out of the box. I didn't have to hone it or anything before using, it seemed to slice just fine. Do note that this will not fit in many knife blocks, so be careful about just throwing it into a drawer. I use an edge guard on mine and put it into a drawer. Cleaning is fairly straight forward, however since it is somewhat of a brushed texture that does trap a little bit of water, so I dry it off immediately and make sure that no more water is sticking in the texture. Overall for the price, this is a very well made blade, however do consider the size of the blade since it may be too large for smaller hands. In those cases opt for a smaller 7-8" blade.

Ist erst mal gewohnheitsbedürftig wegen des Gewichtes, aber schneidet einfach nur wie durch Butter

Excellent quality, and very useful

I've recently converted to Chinese cleavers, replacing many of my traditional (including very expensive) Western and Japanese chef’s knives. At first glance, they may seem cumbersome and intimidating, but with proper technique (YouTube is your friend!), they become incredibly versatile, efficient, and perfect for delicate, fine slicing tasks. This affordable cleaver is an excellent entry point for anyone curious about this style of knife. Simply put, I’m thrilled with it and highly recommend it to avid cooks. It arrived well-sharpened, needing only a few strokes on a leather strop to achieve a razor-sharp edge. Given its hardness, I expect it to hold an edge well—though, like any knife, it should always be kept very sharp. I own both the 8-inch and 9-inch versions but recommend the 9-inch. Its taller profile and front-heavy balance are key to the appeal of a cleaver. The handle is comfortable, offering a solid grip, and as with all cleavers, let the knife’s weight do the work (keep your wrist loose!). This brand is well-regarded, based on my research. Food prep, especially vegetables, is a delight—it’s like a Nakiri on steroids. Another bonus: its tall blade makes scooping and transferring ingredients effortless. If you love cooking, this knife is absolutely worth trying.

Come very sharp and well balance, 9 inches is a good size, handle is slightly small for man but well made.

El cuchillo viene con una caja muy elegante y bien protegido. El filo es espectacular. Creía que tendría que pasarlo por piedra pero no es necesario. Muy satisfecho.