Global G-12 - 6 1/2 inch, 16cm Meat Cleaver

Superb Balance - But Flawed
I use this cleaver regularly when cutting chicken up including chopping through bones when prepping for stock. It works very well, is a great weight, heavy enough to cut without becoming tiring. I have brought it with me half way around the world, which should speak for it usefulness.

It chops bones, bangs through half frozen carcasses when necessary and is worth every penny.

Above is my original review, now I must amend that. The cleaver broke in half. No, I didn't use it drive nails or cut rebar. The thickest bones it ran into would be in a pork chop. Not even a thick cut pork chop at that. But it split in half just above the handle just where the transition to the blade occurs. Quite surprising and totally unacceptable for a product of this price range. If you see one cheap at a yard sale, buy it. Otherwise, don't bang your bank balance too deep.

I have, sadly, totally revised my view of Global and their quality assurance.
High Quality, Great Cleaver
Top rated by Cooks Illustrated. Great balance. Cuts easily through bones. My first practice ended up with some nice marks in my wooden chopping board. Will last a very, very long time.

Save your chefs knife and use this to cut through bones.
Happy I bought this before the $ tanked...
I purchased this cleaver about 2 years ago, specifically to hack bones for stock (thank you, Edna Lewis! Best recipe EVER!). Perfect balance, weight, sharpness - this cleaver is truly exceptional - such a pleasure to use. The current price is kind of a "yikes!" moment, but you get what you pay for. I have no doubt that this cleaver will outlast me, and that's worth 145 bucks. Seriously, I make stock once a month. So in the first year, this cleaver adds $11 for each batch of stock (which still comes out less expensive than that supermarket crap). Over 10 years, it drops to a buck a month. And this cleaver will last much, much longer than 10 years. This is an investment, which is why it will never be available at throwaway Wal-Mart. I promise you will not be disappointed.
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Shun DM0767 Classic 6-Inch Meat Cleaver

My meat cleaver
I waited a very long time for Shun to come out with a meat cleaver outside of the Ken Onion. I love it, it's solid construction is typical.. I know that this will last me a life time..
Product fine, box was scuffed
Normally I would never care, but this was a wedding present and the box is a very nice part of the presentation. It arrived scuffed and covered with oily finger prints. No physical separation from the other items. Again, products was fine, but Amazon should pay more attention when packaging a $150 knife.

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Wusthof Gourmet 8-Inch Cleaver

You need to make a decision
As a previous reviewer noted, precut meats are readily available (and most of us use them most of the time). On the other hand, I for one am not going to pay a dollar or more a pound premium to buy a chicken that's already cut up when I can do it myself perfectly well, thank you. If you are the type that will take the extra few minutes after shopping to cut up large-quantity meat and freeze it for future use, a cleaver can save you some real money over the long run.

Having said that, this cleaver is about as good as it gets. Well-balanced, very sharp. and able to easily cut through bone, this is as good as it gets for the home kitchen. I recently upgraded from a Henckel International, and the difference is profound. While the Henckel is perfectly fine for light duty and playing "Yan Can Cook", the Wusthof is the one you want for serious business.
Important piece of cutlery set!
The Classic 6 inch cleaver belongs in any serious set of home or professional cutlery. It has numerous uses from overkill smashing of garlic cloves, use as a scraper to pick up prepared food and place in bowls, mixer or pan. It can quarter poultry, separate beef or pork ribs with ease. If you buy large cuts of meat, you can cut into smaller portions for extra savings.
The Wusthof 6 inch Cleaver is a high performance, high quality kitchen tool. The handle (as in the whole Classic line) is comfortable. The finish on all Wusthof knives and instruments is excellent and will provide long years of use and easy cleaning.
A good purchase that I'm happy with!
John Row
Wusthof is the best
Be ready for this to be a heavy tool. I bought another 6" cleaver for my 4'9", 80 pound wife because this one was too heavy for her to handle for regular use--it will cut a chicken back in two in one stroke! I use whetstones to put an edge on cutting tools and with this quality of steel, surgical sharpness is a reality. The thing about Wusthof quality is you are not just buying a knife or cleaver for one life-time. This one is going to the Philippines, where butchering at "home" is still a reality--and this cleaver will be handed down for generations to come. The only cutting blade steel products to ever buy are made in either Germany or Sheffield England. Chinese made knives make a really cool sound as they bounce off of the trash can.
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