Damascus Vegetable Cleaver, Hand Forged Kitchen Cleaver with Rosewood Handle

A vegetable cleaver is the Chinese style flat cleaver, the knife cooks reach for once they get used to the wide face. It is bigger and taller than a nakiri, still thin and light rather than a bone chopper, so it slices vegetables and scoops the pile off the board. This one is a 7 inch Damascus blade standing 3 inches tall, with a rosewood handle and a stamped leather sheath.

Specification

The blade

Damascus is pattern welded steel forged around a high carbon core and etched so the bands show. The pattern comes out of the forging, so no two blades match. Under the etch it is carbon steel, which takes a keen edge and comes back on a stone. The face is 3 inches tall over a 7 inch edge, ground thin so it parts a squash rather than splitting it, and that height lets you carry a load of chopped onion to the pan. Carbon steel wants drying after every wash.

The handle

Rosewood is dense and close grained, dark brown with darker streaks running through it, and it stays comfortable through long prep. The tang runs unbroken from tip to butt with brass pins through the scales, which matters more here than on a small knife, since the blade is heavy and the steel behind it carries the load. The handle sits above the board so your knuckles clear the work, and the weight lets the blade fall rather than being pushed.

The leather sheath

Every knife here ships with a slim sheath cut for that exact blade, and on a face this wide it earns its keep. It is vegetable tanned leather with a welted edge and hand stitching, and this one is hand stamped with a carved western floral inside a beaded border. It covers the blade only and leaves the handle out, so it is a cover for storage and for carrying rather than a belt sheath. Use it in a drawer, a knife roll, or on the way to a job.

Who it suits

Cooks who chop a lot of vegetables end up here, because the tall face cuts and carries in one motion. It rewards a big board and a bit of room.

• Home cooks who prep vegetables in quantity
• Anyone cooking Chinese food at home
• Cooks who crush garlic with the flat of a blade
• Buyers looking for a gift with some presence

What comes in the box

• The Damascus vegetable cleaver
• The stamped leather blade sheath
• A care card
• A free laser engraving quote on request

Every piece is different

Each cleaver is forged, ground and finished by hand, so runs stay small and no two come out alike. The layer pattern, the grain of the rosewood and the stamping vary from the photographs. Yours will be its own piece.

Looking after it

Hand wash and dry it straight away. Never the dishwasher, never left soaking in a sink, and dishwasher damage voids the warranty. Damascus darkens with use, and that gray patina is normal and protects the steel. Cut on wood or plastic, never glass or stone. Sharpen on a whetstone at roughly 20 degrees per side, then strop. Oil the blade lightly before long storage. More in our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per blade, added on this page. Around 30 characters fits on a blade and longer messages sit better on the sheath. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. Clean line art engraves well, photographs do not. Free on orders of 10 pieces or more. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

Can I chop bone with it? No. It is a thin cleaver and bone will chip the edge.

How is it different from a nakiri? Same idea, more blade. A cleaver is taller and longer.

Why is the blade so tall? It keeps your knuckles off the board and gives you a face to scoop with.

Is it full tang? Yes, steel runs unbroken from tip to butt with brass pins through the rosewood.

How sharp is it out of the box? Sharpened by hand and ready to cut.

Will my knife look exactly like the photo? No. Shape and size match, the pattern and wood do not.

If that is more knife than you need, the Damascus nakiri with a rosewood handle does the same work, and the hand forged nakiri in burl wood is the plain carbon version. More is in cleaver and butcher knives, rosewood handle knives and kitchen knives.