A Chinese thin slicer (桑刀) is a thin Chinese kitchen knife.
Here are three slicers which are often talked about.
- Chan Chi Kee 陳枝記 KF1912 stainless steel slicer
- Chan Chi Kee 陳枝記 KF1303 carbon steel slicer
- Shi Ba Zi 十八子 carbon steel slicer
First, CCK stainless steel knife is to be compared to CCK carbon steel knife.
The two knives are of similar size and similar weight (stainless steel 273 gram and carbon steel 287 grams). Both knives can be sharpener to a fine cutting edge and they cut well. Both knives taper to a finer tip, and the carbon steel knife taper to thinner tip. Excellent Chinese style slicers for both.
Next, SBZ carbon steel knife compares to CCK carbon steel knife.
The SBZ slicer is thicker and significantly heavier than the CCK knife. SBZ slicer does not taper much from the heel to the tip and the edge behind the edge is thick and the blade is slightly bent
As a slicer, the SBZ is thick. The SBZ is 410 grams, and the CCK is 273 grams.
The SBZ steel is subpar. It can be sharpened, but the edge is not refined. The cut is a little rougher. Here is a direct comparison of push-cutting into a printer paper. On the right, the CCK slicer able to push-cut into the paper and the cut is relatively smooth. SBZ first and second attempts failed as the SBZ knife compressed and crushed the paper instead of slicing in. The third attempt was able to push-cut into the paper, but the cut was rougher and started to rib the paper after a couple of centimeters.
The SBZ slicer is functional and absolutely ok for many home cooks. However, I also do not consider it to be any better than other lesser known Chinese made knives. It is pretty rough in its finish. I am not sure the reason for its no-so-good edge. Maybe it is the steel or the heat treat process. I am taking a wide guess that it is probably the steel.
