Collection
Heavy enough to power through bone, sharp enough for paper-thin slices — our cleavers cover both styles: the broad-bladed Chinese cleaver (cai dao or chukabocho) for vegetable work and lighter prep, and the dedicated Japanese meat cleaver for serious butchery. The Chinese cleaver looks like a small axe but is actually thin-bladed and shockingly versatile — it's the all-purpose knife for most of China and South-East Asia. The Japanese meat cleaver, by contrast, is heavier-spined and ground specifically for breaking down full chickens, splitting joints, and working through soft bone.
Both styles are forged from Damascus and high-carbon steel in our UK workshop, and both shine for cooks who do real prep — bone-in proteins, full bunches of greens, whole roasts. If you're outgrowing your chef's knife on big jobs, this is your next blade. Choose a Chinese cleaver if you want a do-everything daily blade for slicing, dicing, mincing, and crushing garlic with the broad face. Choose a meat cleaver if you regularly butcher whole birds or split joints. Free UK delivery on all cleavers.
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Common questions
A Chinese cleaver (cai dao) is thin-bladed and used for everyday slicing, dicing, and vegetable prep — it's not for bones. A Western or Japanese meat cleaver is much heavier, with a thick spine designed to chop through bone and break down whole proteins.
For most everyday prep, yes — slicing, dicing, mincing, even crushing garlic with the side of the blade. Don't use it on hard bone or frozen food; the thin edge will chip.
Yes — it's purpose-built for it. The weight and thickness let you split joints and break down bone-in proteins that would damage a chef's knife. For boneless slicing, a Gyuto or Sujihiki is faster.
Same as any Japanese knife — use a whetstone (1000/3000 grit combo for maintenance) and follow the existing bevel angle. Heavier cleavers benefit from a slightly steeper angle (20°) to protect the edge during chopping.
