The TUO Cutlery (Black)The TUO Cl Vegetable Cleaver Knife 7" - Chinese Chef's Knife

The TUO Cutlery 7" Vegetable Cleaver/Chef's Knife

There is a cooking site named AlmazanKitchen where most of the cooking is done over a campfire but sometimes on the coals inside a wood-burning fireplace. You remember those, they are the one in your living room that is almost ever used but has a mantle above it to display your family photos. Damn, you mean they don't come with wood logs installed?

The AlmazanKitchen YouTube channel is amazing to watch and is food porn at its best. What I find most attractive is that no one says a single whiney word nor is there a note of irritating instrumental music played or the lyrics of some freaking anti-cop rapper.

All you hear is the preparation of the food, the fire, and nature and you hardly get a glimpse of the hoodie-dressed chef or anyone else for that matter.

But one of the stars of the show is the chef's knife which seems to have the leading role in almost every recipe. They call it a Serbian chef's knife. I guess that if a Serbian chef uses it then the name would be accurate but I suppose that the basic design could be found in other cultures as well.

They sell copies of the knife but you can only order one by sending them a FB private message. The knife is reportedly made from carbon steel and is huge and costs about $350.00 (they don't advertise the price), but hey, it also comes with a sheath don't 'ya know. I admit that the knife has a certain "cool" factor going on but for the modern home cook it's not very practical, not in any respect.

This finally brings us to the 7-inch TUO Cutlery Vegetable Cleaver/Chinese Chefs knife.

The knife arrived in a nice box (with writing that I could not understand because I don't read Chinese) encased in a foam cutout. Thank God they did not pack it in that plastic crap that requires 2 men and a strong boy to rip apart. Nothing annoys me more than having to use my scissors or razor blade to cut through blister packaging. .

The knife is very close in design to the "Serbian" but is smaller and more practical. It is made in China with Japanese Ultra Stainless Steel, whatever the hell that is.

The knife weighs 11.2 ounces and the blade measures 7 inches, imagine that. At its broadest point, the knife is almost 3 inches wide and has an overall length of about 13 inches. Cool down ladies, it's just a knife!

I opine that the handle scales are made from some sort of synthetic material and the handle is not straight like those found on most kitchen knives. Rather the full tang handle is shaped in an arc. The fit and finish is remarkable for a knife at this price point and the blade arrived sharp enough to easily slice through a peanut butter sandwich. I was impressed.

Seriously, the blade is very sharp so please be careful. As of this writing, I have only used it to chop carrots, onions, and celery. If you regularly chop veggies you will adore the wide blade to gather and take them to the pot or pan without dropping 1/2 of them on the floor like I usually do. But WTF, Darwin the Wonder Dog always seemed to enjoy those tasty morsels. After more than 40 years as a home cook, I feel comfortable in saying that this knife can be used for breaking down whole chickens and cutting through small chicken rib bones, etc.

That said, if you don't own a meat cleaver, know what one is, or even know how to use one, this would be a good choice because if you try some freestyle chopping it is less likely to cut off your hand. This doesn't mean that you are not going to end up in the ER but at least most of your digits should remain attached. Tendons and nerves, I'm not so sure.

If you think you'll get a legitimate warranty beyond the, oh heck, what is Amazon's Prime return - 30 days with this knife you really need to get a quick dose of reality so here it is, you're not gonna get one. Got it?

But for a mere $40.00 you can buy your very own on Amazon. No, not the Almazan knife which is outrageously priced. The TUO comes in both black and white so you have to choose to be either a racist or a hypocrite. Choose wisely 'cause your reputation in the internet community could be at risk. 

In closing, I'll say that this knife is a fantastic bargain and is highly recommended.