I think this video was amazing! Especially that part about the broccoli, what to do with the stem that is. The most amazing part was you julienne-ing the carrot! I usually cut it into 3 parts and basically slice and julienne from there, but this way you do the whole carrot at once! I'm gonna have to try that next time. Thanks a lot! :)
Thank you.. I just subscribed... I have been a user.. of many knives.. I don't need all these .. I will master.. 1 knife.. Chinese.. I have my weapon of choice.. I truly appreciate your presentation without insulting my intelligence...
Awesome demo bro, i've just bought my 1st chinese cleaver and this will definitely give me a jumpstart on my cutting skills. I never seen julienne carrots cut like that before either
It's always good to go over the basics of using a knife, this must be the fifth time I've watched this since discovering your videos. For a treat, next time I visit my home-town I'm going to go to the Chinatown there and get myself another cleaver. That and some tasty pork buns from the Chinese bakery! Hope life is treating you well :)
Why does everyone keep calling it a sharpening steel? It's a honing steel, it doesn't sharpen. As you use a knife the edge may become bent. The honing steel straightens out the bent parts.
Funny, I just used this yesterday when my cleaver wouldn't slice through the skin of the turkey breast and after several strokes on the honer it sliced perfectly and was "sharper"....but I have had other similar comments. One thing I know for sure it is invaluable and a time saver versus hauling out the sharpening stone or shall we call that one a whetstone ?? Happy Thanksgiving !!
There are ceramic and textured steels. Both do remove small amounts of metal or burs from the blade edge which is why you'll read comments on videos about how they shouldn't steel over a prep area, and that they should wipe the blade after. I don't use a steel on my own knives because bending metal back and forth fatigues steel. I use it at work, because the people I work with abuse the house knives like in the video. If you shop for a steel where many are available; even the manufacturers will call them 'sharpening steel', and many do indeed sharpen. You just wouldn't use them for thinning. A properly sharpened (removal of fatigued steel), and treated knife will stay sharp and not need sharpening so frequently.
@VonMilash - the santoku is an interesting knife, kinda like a mini Chinese cleaver. I still prefer the size of the Chinese knife but I can see where the santoku could be a better alternative than a chefs knife. Hope your cleaver is one with a thin blade that can slice veggies and meat!! Thanks for watching
Thanks a lot for making this video! And I didn't even know about using the broccoli stems like that, I was about to chuck em in the trash tonight like I always do!
If you eat asparagus; you can peel the bottom half to make it very delicious as well. I used to just cook the stems and suck the goodness out of them. The skin might hold more nutrients in the flesh when cooking but may not be as presentable.
All the naysayers and negative comments about eating steel,,, really? I always wash my knives when using a sharpening stone as this does remove particles from the stone as well. But the honing steel or whatever name you care to give it, I never had any problems in over 20 years in the business with any health issues myself or with health dept inspections. If you want to be a "steelaphobe" help yourself, maybe it builds up the immune system, like little kids eating dirt etc. As I have survived many years in very good health and confident in my knife skills, but it seems controversy drives "views" , so it's not all bad. I am still happy with my channel as I get way more positive comments from people across the globe who say they appreciate the recipes and they tried them and their family liked them so "Happy Holidays" !!
+jui49 People nowadays do organic, raw, gluten free, vegan, and other full of fear diet-stuff...they just fear everything that goes in their mouth, that's the reason i think there's more evil coming out of people than going into their mouths, too much fear. BTW, i heard that a chinese chef would use one knife for eveything, that big chinese knife, have you heard of such thing, as in they would use it for peeling also?
Eating steel is only dangerous when it is in large pieces, or sharp at the edges. Micro-amounts of steel will do you no harm at all. Remember that it is iron that makes your blood-red. No iron, you die. Granted, if you ate a cupful of iron-filings a day you may get ill, but if you are that stupid you will probably eat a load of other things that would certainly kill you.
the back of this chinese chef is kinda thick no ? i am specifically looking for a knife that is very thin. the biggest problem i have with my wusthof chef is how thick it is.
@jui49 i read that chinese chef is not actually a cleaver and will break if used to cleave bones. i'm also pretty sure there is variation from about 2mm to 4+mm in thickness. which to me seems to suggest SOME ARE in fact cleavers. the $200 SHUN chinese chef for example i believe is supposed to be quite thin - more suitable for shaving yourself than cleaving :)
Thank You, and yes, the Chinese cleaver is probably used for 80% of the cutting, chopping and slicing in the commercial kitchen. A thin blade is used for slicing and a heavier thicker blade used for chopping through bones.
@AESamuel - always good to hear from my subscribers! Weather is finally getting warmer in Ocean City and things are goin great! A lot of people in my family like those pork buns, both steamed and baked ones, if you get a new cleaver you can still make it sharper than the factory edge with the cleaver sharpening video! Good luck and Watch those fingers!!
@g1981c - most of the stainless chinese cleavers are the same as far as thickness of the blade and the actual length and width of the knife itself. I have seen cheaper black steel cleavers with thinner blade edge but you have to be careful not to chip the blade. I always use a whetstone to make the blade a little thinner and sharper before I use a new cleaver, I'm not happy with the factory edge. Hope this helps you out !
Are there any relatively inexpensive, but durable cleavers you would recommend sir? Any response would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for the great video on chopping skills!
+Miles2Freerun - The ones that I use are from Town Foodservice and can be found on the internet through Restaurant Equipment World, they have an Asian store. An American Company Russell/Dexter makes a fine Stainless cleaver also but it is pricey @ around $28. The one from Town is less than $20. Some larger Asian markets also carry them, but I would recommend staying away from the ones that are all one piece without the wood handle which can be had for less than $10. I don't like the feel of those and you can't get a firm grip. Hope this helps you out and thanks for the positive comments, Happy Holidays !!
Check out the sharpening video also, as most factory edges can be improved on, and have a separate heavier cleaver if you chop any bones so you don't chip the edge of your slicer. Thanks for the kudos !!
I'd try getting a ceramic hone and go MUCH slower than he did in the video... the only thing you gain by going that fast is about a second of time and a lot of inaccuracies in your honing (replay the video, he's only hitting 1/2 the blade).
@g1981c - for $200. that knife should shave you, buy you dinner and find the remote for you !! They do make cleavers that can chop through bones and I always keep a separate cleaver specifically for that. Chicken bones aren't bad , but if you want to chop spareribs up you definitely don't want to use your slicing cleaver that you have honed to a razor sharp edge. Thanks for watching and the comments....
That kind of action on the steel will fatigue the blade edge, and it shouldn't be done over the food prep area because you'll get metal in your food. The angles weren't consistent and sometimes way too inclined. You can see scratches on the blade from the sloppy honing. If that wasn't bad enough; the blade is then used to scrape the board causing further lateral stress on the edge. It's also being slammed into the board (from being dull and forced through food). Using the stalk of the broccoli is a good tip. -You can waste less of it by using a peeler though.
Sebastien Lebamoff To keep it to knives, a 30$ bushcraft Mora at 12+12 degrees can cut and scrape wood, so I expect a 'standard' kitchen knife at 20+20 degrees to be perfectly capable of withstanding lateral stress, where my 8+8 degrees vegetable knife is not used for scraping.
Mora scandi grind makes it not too useful for other things. You're comparing different geometries made for different purposes. If you're already working with a dull knife, or a folded edge; it doesn't matter as much.
I thought scandi - saber - flat grinds are rather traditional in cutlery. They can still be seen on some Japanese knives, Chinese choppers., ... Is it not mostly more about sharpening technique and tools than knife purpose?
@taviyo - glad you enjoyed the video, check online for a stainless one , then follow the sharpening video to turn the factory edge into one that is razor sharp. Start slowly and watch those fingers!!
@jui49 no thank you. i am very much a crude amateur with almost no skills. so im just learning. my knives are very inexpensive but all seem to be well made and should do me just fine while im learning. my cleaver is probably better suited as a veggie cleaver, but we'll see. so far i think im more comfy with the chefs over the santoku but again, just learning. thanks again!
+Kevin Grouleff - The Chinese Cleaver is from Town Foodservice and can be ordered online from Restaurant Equipment World for around $20. and is stainless steel and will last for many years in a home environment www.rewonline.com/restaurant-equipment-new/Town-47374-Chinese-Cleaver-Slicer/TOW-47374.html
+Kevin Grouleff I wouldn't buy any knife under $80 if you work in a professional kitchen. $80 might even be a bit low, and if you want to prep vegetables, don't buy a cleaver. There's something called a Nakiri, which is a classified as a vegetable clever, which is made for chopping.
If you pick up the vegetables with the backside of your cleaver instead of the bladeside your less likely fo cut yourself when your doing it fast, plus that you dont need to sharpen as often.
When you use a steel you go from heal to tip not halfway up the damn blade. Do you think you can show off by going fast. Get good before you go fast. And why would you use your paring knife to cut the end off and onion and peel it. Good cooks survive off just a standard 8” or 10” chefs knife. Also why use a tap chop when you can barely cut an onion. Just trying to be better than you really are
If you show up at a commercial Chinese restaurant and attempt to peel a 50 lb bag of onions with an 8" or 10" chefs knife you will be laughed out of the kitchen, the paring knife cuts out the tough top of the onion and avoids waste, the ONLY knife used to peel large quantities of onions. Maybe we are from different worlds and my method with the steel kept my chinese cleaver sharp between actual sharpening on a honing stone , case closed for me
+Wan Allen most chefs don't use the heel part of the blade anyway. The most used part of the blade used is the tip and about halfway up to the heel as you can see in this demo
Dude, all the sharpened metal pieces from your knife, fell on the cutting board! Do the sharpening a bit away from the board, and wash the knife after. Otherwise, you'll be eating your knife day by day.
Not all the pieces; most steels are magnetic for this purpose, but I agree with the rest and thumbs upped. Krenotenze Many steels also do sharpen and any abrasion against something harder (like a steel) than the blade is going to remove some metal. Miniscule amounts of metal even comes off when chopping (one of the reasons people want ceramic knives). In this case you can actually see where some metal was removed on the side of the blade from the sloppy slap happy honing (scratches).
