I hated this knife when I first acquired it. It felt heavy and unbalanced. Other Chinese style cleavers I have handled were much lighter in hand. Due to Wusthof's forging process, this knife is heavier and more substantial than traditional Chinese cleavers. Plus, the wide blade makes for a lot of metal, so be aware that this is not a lightweight knife. This knife just didn't feel right to me, so I put it away for a year or more. I decided to give it another shot and used it instead of a Western chef's knife for a few weeks. Once I got used to the heft and feel I started to like this knife more and more. Despite it's size, this knife excels at slicing vegetables. It is not a chopper--using it like a regular cleaver will damage the fine edge. Due to the relatively flat blade geometry this knife does not do rocking motions well. If I have a small amount of fine mincing to do I'll rock this knife and it works, but I don't like it and I don't think the knife likes it too much either. This may be the best knife in my house for thinly slicing onions. Counterintuitively, the large blade really helps here. Using a claw grip to hold the vegetables, this knife will glide against your knuckles, allowing you precise control over the thickness of your cuts. I feel that it beats a chef's knife in this regard since your knuckles never reach the top of the blade. It also excels at chopping romaine lettuce cut across the head in strips. The large blade keeps the ribbons of cut lettuce where they belong rather than flopping back to the uncut side. And as a bonus, when slicing items like cucumbers, all of the cut cukes will often stick to the blade so that when you finish you just wipe them from the blade into the appropriate bowl in one swoop, saving you from lifting them off the cutting board (and cukes do like to stick to the cutting board). At this point I use this knife almost every night to prep our veggies. I still love my Western chef's knives, but this cleaver is in heavy rotation and is usually what I reach for when slicing vegetables. If you are used to the lighter, more traditional Chinese style cleavers that you see in Asian grocery stores this knife might feel strange to you. But if you take the time to bond with it, this knife might just become one of your favorites.

Love it cutting veges is easier then it ever was great quality great knife

I bought my first knife from this company in 2013. It was the 8inch chef knife. I have used it almost daily for 13 years now. It’s still looks and cuts like new. I’ve wanted to add this chefs knife to my collection for years and I’m so glad I bought. That being said 2013 prices hurt a lot less but worth it if I get 13+ out of this one. I don’t buy any other brand knives.

Seriously, this knife works great, and the looks I get when I pull it out of the knife block are amazing. But it cuts and handles exceptionally well.

Great knife, very high quality, great balance in the hand. Very sharp as well.