# Cleavers, CCK 1303, 1103, 1923, 1302, and others



## dafox (Jan 22, 2018)

I recently got a CCK 1303 thin vegetable cleaver and am really enjoying it. I make and eat a lot of stir fry's and this knife excels at it-go figure! Performs really well, low maintenance, and I don't feel i need to baby it. Almost a bit disappointing as it works so well and fast that I miss not playing with my food a bit longer  Home cook here.
http://www.chefsmall.net/CCK-Small-Cleaver-Small-Slicer-KF1303-S

I've been looking at other cleavers, reading the old forum posts, and watching YouTube videos of people using cleavers. 

The slicers, CCK 1103, 1102 are popular but seem too tall for me, maybe I'll eventually give one a try.
http://www.chefsmall.net/CCK-Kitchen-Slicer-Kitchen-Cleaver-KF1103-S

The CCK cleaver 1922 looks like a good all purpose cleaver but I think the thin vegetable cleavers suit what I do better-no small bone chopping, and it seems like it would benefit from a stouter cutting board than I have.
http://www.chefsmall.net/Chan-Chi-Kee-Chinese-Vegetable-Knife-Vegetable-Cleaver-M

So, I decided to get a slightly larger thin vegetable cleaver, the CCK 1302. 
http://www.chefsmall.net/CCK-Small-Cleaver-Small-Slicer-KF1302-M
In shopping around for one I found one on ebay for $22 less than on Chefs Mall including shipping. Looks to be a reliable seller, I bought one and it's on it's way.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/173066522904

Are there any other sources on line for CCK cleavers?
Any ideas for other cleavers to look at?
What's your favorite cleaver?
Thanks for your replies.


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## jonnachang (Jan 23, 2018)

Japanese Chefs knife has cleavers, but are more Chukabochos which are more expensive but youll get them in a few days rather than a few months


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## jonnachang (Jan 23, 2018)

I have CCK 1102,1912, 1301 and 1302 a Suien VC and a Shibazi


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## dafox (Jan 23, 2018)

jonnachang said:


> I have CCK 1102,1912, 1301 and 1302 a Suien VC and a Shibazi



What is the stainless steel in the 1912 like?
I've heard that the 1912 doesnt have as much distal taper to it as the 130x. When do you prefer using this knife?
I think ill stay away from the chukabochos for now, they seem to be more fragile than I want. I've also heard they are pretty curvy, when do you like that?
Which Shibazi do you have?
Thanks!


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## deskjockey (Jan 23, 2018)

jonnachang said:


> ... a Suien VC ...



How do you like the Suien VC? How does it compare to a Sugimoto CM4030? Is one really a lot better than the other or the CCK's? TIA!


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## jonnachang (Jan 23, 2018)

Love the Suien! Probably the best steel of the cleavers I have. Havent tried a Sugimoto yet. Most of your Japanese cleavers have some kind of belly,while your CCKs are pretty flat


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## Bensbites (Jan 23, 2018)

Seems like Chris kimballs CCK review has them flying off the shelf. CKTG is sold out and has raised their price to $80. On their forum they said sales jumped 3x. 

The cleaver bug has hit me after borrowing a friends CCK. As luck would have it someone just offered me a Richmond Fanatic Gen 1 Cleaver. A slicer modeled after the CCK in AEB-L at 61 HRC. Could be interesting, I am sure it will need to be thinned, but I expect it to be a fun toy!


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## daveb (Jan 24, 2018)

"A slicer modeled after the CCK ....."

Mark is knocking off a Chinese knife??? Got to be some poetry in there somewhere. 

I've had a couple CCK's, don't anymore. Still have a Suien for long time.


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## deskjockey (Jan 24, 2018)

Has anyone tried the JCK Original Kagayaki Basic Series Chinese Cleaver? It looks pretty flat and has VG-1 steel for bit more than a Sugimoto CM4030.

https://japanesechefsknife.com/collections/chinese-cleaver/products/jck-original-kagayaki-basic-series-kg-17-chinese-cleaver-220mm8-6inch


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## dafox (Jan 26, 2018)

Has anyone owned or tried the CCK 1922 or 1923?


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## rjcedeno (Jan 26, 2018)

CKTG restocked the CCK 1303 today.


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## dafox (Jan 26, 2018)

rjcedeno said:


> CKTG restocked the CCK 1303 today.


They are,also available here:
http://www.restaurantmall.com/Asian-Cutlery-s/160.htm
Good prices, don't know about the company or shipping prices. I'm not able to find where they are located.


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## Dave Martell (Jan 26, 2018)

daveb said:


> "A slicer modeled after the CCK ....."
> 
> Mark is knocking off a Chinese knife??? Got to be some poetry in there somewhere.


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## chinacats (Jan 26, 2018)

Richmond knives are known to suck and that's when he's knocking off J-knives...can't see him doing much better on Chinese cleavers.

Chefsmall.net not the fastest but prices are fair and don't have to deal with mark...

Restaurantmall linked above has very good prices but a rather limited selection...appears to be west coast us.


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## chinacats (Jan 27, 2018)

For those who haven't read it...

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...course-on-why-I-love-Chinese-Cleavers-re-post


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## bennypapa (Jan 28, 2018)

In that thread they talk about storage a bit here and there. That's the only problem I've had so far with my cleavers and I'm thinking either a saya or magnetic strip are the only viable solutions at my house as my knife block is too small for my largest cleaver. :-(


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## dafox (Jan 28, 2018)

bennypapa said:


> In that thread they talk about storage a bit here and there. That's the only problem I've had so far with my cleavers and I'm thinking either a saya or magnetic strip are the only viable solutions at my house as my knife block is too small for my largest cleaver. :-(



I use a magnetic strip, works well.


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## mikaelsan (Jan 29, 2018)

bennypapa said:


> In that thread they talk about storage a bit here and there. That's the only problem I've had so far with my cleavers and I'm thinking either a saya or magnetic strip are the only viable solutions at my house as my knife block is too small for my largest cleaver. :-(


How big is your largest cleaver ? My solution was to import a cheap Chinese knife block, it's much easier to find block made for cleavers there, but then again the cleaver I ordered was only about 20.5 X 9 cm 
You can also do a DIY straw style block, or instead of filling it with"straws" you can make and insert some spacers instead


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## bennypapa (Jan 29, 2018)

I've not heard about straw style blocks. I'll look into that.

My largest cleaver is a #2 (8"x3.5").


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## dafox (Jan 31, 2018)

The CCK 1302 on ebay that I mentioned above arrived in good order from Hong Kong, no problems. Looks good, looking forward to using it and see if I like the larger size compared to the 1303.
The same ebay seller now also has 1303's for sale.
Has anyone ordered a knife from restaurantmall.com?


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## Barmoley (Jan 31, 2018)

I did, ordered on 1/26 and received it today in good order. Their shipping is a bit steep relatively speaking, but with tax and shipping 1303 was still $69, so not bad. The cleaver came in good shape, well packaged. Question related to the arrival, do these usually come sharpened?


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## fatboylim (Feb 1, 2018)

Barmoley said:


> I did, ordered on 1/26 and received it today in good order. Their shipping is a bit steep relatively speaking, but with tax and shipping 1303 was still $69, so not bad. The cleaver came in good shape, well packaged. Question related to the arrival, do these usually come sharpened?


Usually not sharpened in my experience. Even store pick up cleavers are not sharpened. But, 5 minutes on stones and it is good!


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## dafox (Feb 1, 2018)

Barmoley said:


> I did, ordered on 1/26 and received it today in good order. Their shipping is a bit steep relatively speaking, but with tax and shipping 1303 was still $69, so not bad. The cleaver came in good shape, well packaged. Question related to the arrival, do these usually come sharpened?



Thanks for the price info. My 1302 from the ebay seller in Hong Kong came to a total of $68 shipped. My 1303 came sharp, the 1302 did not.


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## dafox (Feb 1, 2018)

fatboylim said:


> Usually not sharpened in my experience. Even store pick up cleavers are not sharpened. But, 5 minutes on stones and it is good!


Thanks, o had the same question.


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## dafox (Feb 2, 2018)

Barmoley said:


> I did, ordered on 1/26 and received it today in good order. Their shipping is a bit steep relatively speaking, but with tax and shipping 1303 was still $69, so not bad. The cleaver came in good shape, well packaged. Question related to the arrival, do these usually come sharpened?



Did it ship from the west coast USA?


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## jonnachang (Feb 2, 2018)

I just received an email from Chefs mall in which they refunded my purchase because of Chinese New Year. Ill probably reorder later . Does anyone know of any other sources for Shibazi cleavers? Thanks.


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## Barmoley (Feb 2, 2018)

dafox said:


> Did it ship from the west coast USA?



I believe so.


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## mikaelsan (Feb 3, 2018)

jonnachang said:


> I just received an email from Chefs mall in which they refunded my purchase because of Chinese New Year. Ill probably reorder later . Does anyone know of any other sources for Shibazi cleavers? Thanks.


I just received my shibazi carbon cleaver, I live I Denmark in Europe, so I realized I might as well order from AliExpress. waited about a month in shipping, ended up paying about 50 USD, including import tax and handling, which cost more then the knife itself


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## dafox (Feb 3, 2018)

mikaelsan said:


> I just received my shibazi carbon cleaver, I live I Denmark in Europe, so I realized I might as well order from AliExpress. waited about a month in shipping, ended up paying about 50 USD, including import tax and handling, which cost more then the knife itself



Which Shibazi cleaver did you get, and what do you think of it?


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## gaijin (Feb 3, 2018)

A couple of days ago, I got my first cleaver, a CCK 1302 (Thanks, fatboylim!) and today I put it to the stones for the first time. It was the easiest knife yet to sharpen! I got a burr quickly and it was soon removed through Naniwa Pro 1000 and 5000. Either this is a very very easy knife to sharpen, or I'm getting good at sharpening. My quess is that the knife is the reason.  

Now: Scary sharp. It quickly sliced potatoes for tonights late lunch/early dinner. I'm in love. The weight and height helps with force, even though it feels quite nimble in handling.


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## mikaelsan (Feb 3, 2018)

dafox said:


> Which Shibazi cleaver did you get, and what do you think of it?


The s-210-1 so far I've only used it once.
Initial impressions, choil and spine needed easing add expected, asymmetrical factory edge, "user friendly" thickness behind the edge, but nothing too crazy, I thinned it quickly, it did not slurry or cut on its own on my finishing jnat, like my other carbon steels.
No tapering on the spine.
Handle feels comfortable to me, in a pinch, but is small if you don't pinch.

Overall happy with it, have only cut up a pineapple and some uncooked meat, it's not crazy reactive like iron clad but have already shown sign of patina.
Only thing I could have wished for personally was a slight bit more thinness behind the edge, but I don't mind doing that myself.


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## dafox (Feb 3, 2018)

mikaelsan said:


> The s-210-1 so far I've only used it once.
> Initial impressions, choil and spine needed easing add expected, asymmetrical factory edge, "user friendly" thickness behind the edge, but nothing too crazy, I thinned it quickly, it did not slurry or cut on its own on my finishing jnat, like my other carbon steels.
> No tapering on the spine.
> Handle feels comfortable to me, in a pinch, but is small if you don't pinch.
> ...



Great, Thanks for the initial impressions. Just what I was hoping to learn.


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## fatboylim (Feb 3, 2018)

gaijin said:


> A couple of days ago, I got my first cleaver, a CCK 1302 (Thanks, fatboylim!) and today I put it to the stones for the first time. It was the easiest knife yet to sharpen! I got a burr quickly and it was soon removed through Naniwa Pro 1000 and 5000. Either this is a very very easy knife to sharpen, or I'm getting good at sharpening. My quess is that the knife is the reason.
> 
> Now: Scary sharp. It quickly sliced potatoes for tonights late lunch/early dinner. I'm in love. The weight and height helps with force, even though it feels quite nimble in handling.


Glad you like it. It has replaced every lazer thin knife I have... Except the Denka (that is 10 fold the price!).


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## jonnachang (Feb 10, 2018)

mikaelsan said:


> I just received my shibazi carbon cleaver, I live I Denmark in Europe, so I realized I might as well order from AliExpress. waited about a month in shipping, ended up paying about 50 USD, including import tax and handling, which cost more then the knife itself



Ended up ordering the Shibazi 225x110 4cr13 from Ali Express $37.00 US . Now the waiting game!


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## dafox (Feb 10, 2018)

jonnachang said:


> Ended up ordering the Shibazi 225x110 4cr13 from Ali Express $37.00 US . Now the waiting game!



Please let us know what you think about it after you get it.


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## jonnachang (Mar 2, 2018)




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## jonnachang (Mar 2, 2018)

Definitely a Chopper!


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## jonnachang (Mar 2, 2018)

720 grams


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## dafox (Mar 3, 2018)

jonnachang said:


> 720 grams



Great, thanks, how thick is the spine above the heel?


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## jonnachang (Mar 3, 2018)

6mm all the way.


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## jonnachang (Mar 3, 2018)




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## dafox (Mar 3, 2018)

Thanks, that should be able to handle just about anything!


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## Chef Doom (Mar 3, 2018)

Suien VC is great. Only cleaver I have and use. VC carbon is something special. More pricey than CCK and not as many sizes from what I found.


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## Bensbites (Mar 19, 2018)

I am pretty sure I have a cck kf1113. Large SS slicer. 11x23 cm, 400 g. It is a beast, almost too big for me as a home cook. My artifex fanatic is at a friends belt grinder being thinned my cck 1303 arrived today and that feels just right. Off to sharpen the cck.

I am seriously considering posting the 1113 in a WTS.


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## daddy yo yo (Sep 5, 2019)

Ordered a CCK cleaver from chefsmall.net. Never arrived, never answered to any of my mails. At least I got my money back from PP. So, I cannot recommend this source and just wanted to let everyone know.

If anyone wants to get rid of his 1302, preferably but not necessarily in EU, please PM.


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## dafox (Sep 5, 2019)

daddy yo yo said:


> Ordered a CCK cleaver from chefsmall.net. Never arrived, never answered to any of my mails. At least I got my money back from PP. So, I cannot recommend this source and just wanted to let everyone know.
> 
> If anyone wants to get rid of his 1302, preferably but not necessarily in EU, please PM.


I have also had problems with chefsmall.net. they have told me they cant find a shipper and have refunded my money. I have had good luck on ebay.
You can get a new one here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/CCK-Chines...113661&hash=item284b919118:g:prkAAOSwGtRX0~6r


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## dafox (Sep 26, 2019)

A cleaver that I ordered a few months ago from Chefsmall.net never came, they did answer my emails a couple of times but then quit. I had to have PayPal recover my money and they did.


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