Hi Alarash,
Fantastic!
Great choices.
Ray
Hi Alarash,
That Joyce Chen is a real find. How heavy? How does it feel? Have you sharpened it yet?
Ray
I’ve been unconvinced that well respected CCK knives were manufactured or even marketed out of Hong Kong.It’s been like a detective story.
The appearance of CCK knives coincided with the return of the Hong Kong colony to China–and the cleavers were sold to purchasers in Hong Kong wrapped in newspapers with no product information on the blades–except an engraved strip in Chinese that identified the address of the retailer they supplied–often a Chinese grocery store in Europe or the United States.
Even though the CCK cleavers were not especially expensive in Hong Kong compared to other cleavers, they could be sold at a premium abroad–especially certain enthusiast variants.
The current versions have a lasered alternative to the engraving, and come packaged in a box. CCK even has a website.
There is a poster at Kitchen Knives Forum, who reads Chinese and is familiar with manufacturing in China who has traced CCK manufacture to Yangjiang, and distribution to Guangzhou. More broadly, he claims that most known Chinese cleavers–sold in China–are now all manufactured in Yangjiang.
I can see, more and more clearly, why my Shibazi f208 2 is so similar to certain CCK models, and why those who’ve compared them, side by side, find it a tossup.
Posts from Kitchen Knife Forums:
" Most of industrial knife manufacturing in China have moved to Yangjiang due to pollution regulations, Wang Ma Zi, Zhang Xiao Quan and many other traditional brand have all moved their manufacturing there or simply just buy OEM blades and put their brand on them. Zhang Xiao Quan is involved in a major controversy recently due to their cleaver broken in half while crushing garlic. If you are interested in buying some nice cleavers I can recommand you some on TaoBao, you can look for someone to buy them for you, shipping usually just take couple days. If you are more interested in local stuff I’d just go to the market, there are usually someone selling no brand carbon steel cleavers there."
“The main store in Hong Kong is the main distrubutor, their name is literally 陳枝記, there is only one store in HongKong and one in Canada, every CCK sourced otherwise comes from there, include the ones on TaoBao. I have been to the store, they used to manufactured the knives in HongKong before demand exploded, now they manufacture their stuff in Guang Dong (without mention specific cities). The old markings on CCK knives is literally their store address in Hong Kong, indicting they are the only seller.
It is well known in Chinese knife circle that they use SK5/T8 grade of steel, and recently they have gone softer with their heat treatment.”
I have one cleaver, a heavy Sabatier, my only stainless steel kitchen knife. I use a Fiskars hatchet in the yard. The Sab is heavier and tougher. Its chief use is cutting chine bones and hacking through large bone-in cuts without endangering a chef’s knife. I have used Chinese cleavers for both vegetables and proteins. I find my regular knife far more versatile, being light weight and endowed with a terrific point, just enough belly to handle push, pull, or rock, and ten inches of cutting edge. I even use it to cut things up for stir fry, carne guisada, bun cha, or tagine, the ultimate cultural fusion knife with the added turbo charging of over a half century of personal history.
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Your regular knife is the Sabatier chef’s knife, right? I think your experience with the Chinese thin cleaver is partly because of style, but partly also the quality of the specific knife. Not all French chef’s knives are the same, and not all Chinese thin blade knives are the same. For example, Shi Ba Zi (十八字) makes subpar knives. If you use a subpar knife, then you probably will have a different experience.
Shi Ba Zi has a chef’s knife. If you have tired it, then you may not like it as much as your Sabatier for a good margin.
Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely do not mean you will like a good quality Chinese thin knife. I am simply stating that there are two variables in play.
Hi Vecchiouomo,
I’d guess that there are at least 1,000 ,000 (made in China) Chinese cleavers sold every year in China and throughout the world, in every imaginable shape, weight, and form. AMAZON regularly carries over 100 different brands for sale, priced from under $10 to over $400. They’re not hard to find.
The one I bought and have used for more than a year was overwhelmingly recommended by puchasers online, and evaluated independently and favorably on Youtube. I have no idea how it would compare in my kitchen, side by side, with a CCK–or your French gem–or any other cleaver.
Does it really matter?
I’ve been able to learn a great deal with my Shibazi f208-2–and am having lots of fun chopping. No chicken bones yet, but one of these days . . .
I’m glad I bought my CCK cleavers with the original stamped logo. Right now I don’t think I could easily source new, unused CCK knives with the old logo anymore.
My impression is that the Shibazi has been generally deemed by people a bit sturdier ground knife, and I can see that I like my CCK slicers better than my Sugimoto CM4030, which is also a bit thicker ground than my CCKs. Still I see absolutely no issue using the CCK slicers for anything, except for bones or so. But I can see how someone might enjoy the Shibazi more also.
I wonder what similarities do you see between your Shibazi and (which?) CCK models though, other than that both are rectangles and made in China? Your Shibazi is cladded and all CCKs are monosteel, if my memory serves me right. They look totally different, for Chinese cleavers, IMO.
I see a lot more similarity between CCK and Fook Kee for example though:
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To continue about the Fook Kee, I was interested about those when I was looking for cleavers, but didn’t find them very available at the time for me in EU, or anywhere really where I would have thought I could get one at all. Let alone for reasonable shipping price.
I still didn’t quickly find them from EU area but apparently CKTG has at some point started selling a model from them also, with a wa handle. I don’t think this has been selling for very long yet, as you can see, there is references to CCK with the old stamped logo 
:
" Item Description
We’ve gotten hundreds of requests for the old CCK small slicer with the old Chinese stamped characters. The other request is for a nice handle since the stock CCK handle leaves much to be desired. So we asked another blacksmith shop in China named Fook Kee to make them and they produced this fetching knife for us. Please note these weigh a little more than the 1303 CCK (8.8 ounces vs 10.8 ounces). Part of this is the heavier handle and most of the difference is a slightly thicker blade geometry.
- Maker: Foo Kee
- Location: Guangdong China
- Edge Length: 200mm
- Height: 88mm
- Weight: 10.8 ounces / 310g
- Handle: Bubinga Octagonal
- Steel: Carbon Steel (Same as CCK 1303)
- Engraving: Stamped Chinese Characters (See Photos)"
Also Tokushu is selling one, larger model in States, with the traditional handle:
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Hi Pertti,
I’ve been able to get more information on CCK cleavers from a Chinese reading/Cantonese speaking guy from Kitchen Knife Forums. I’ve posted two quotes from him above.
From his comments, it’s clear that CCK, Shibazi, and most other Chinese cleavers are all manufactured at the same place: Yangjiang. That’s consistent with my “detective story,” also posted above, that suggests that Shibazi and CCK are the same company. At the very least, they are manufactured side by side.
There are many models of Shibazi, some monosteel, like yours. Not all models are listed on AMAZON or AliExpress
I just used my Shibazi to chop some ginger into fine bits and add to my tomato soup: chop chop chop. Great feel.
There is an apparent upgrade of my Shibazi, the Hezhen:
I can hardly keep up with the model changes.
No, I’m not buying any more cleavers–upgrade or not. I’m still far from mastering my Shibazi.
Are you enjoying the CCK’s you’ve bought?
Chinese cities are pretty big. Just because they are made in the same city does not mean they’re made by the same company or even side by side.
Are all knives from Solingen made by the same company?
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Hi Alexander,
Have you looked up Yangjiang?
I’ve been doing “detective work” for quite awhile–but I haven’t been there. Maybe you could visit and find out for yourself?
Yes. If by “side by side” you just meant in the same city with a population of 1.3m then fine, but I think it’s a stretch to conclude any closer relationship than that. Hence my comparison to Solingen.
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Yes, I am happy with my CCK knives, they have the look and function I was after. I like the carbon BBQ chopper to chop chicken, mostly legs for easier to eat bone in chicken from roasted, cold legs. Then the carbon or stainless slicer depending on mood for other things.
I’m not buying more cleavers for myself either, but if I would for a present, it would still be a CCK likely, as I know what they are about, and would like to push that for the receiver as well, lol.
Btw I have the same ShiBaZi as you Ray and I like it. Bought it to test out how I liked using a Chinese cleaver, and turns out I really do like it. May consider upgrading in the future (finish is not the best), but for now it’s working out well.
OK, side by side is a stretch, but my detective work convinces me of the connection.
Got a good Chinese cleaver recommendation? I have used a no name and a Dexter.
Nobody on KKF suggested that CCKs have any connection whatsoever with Shibazi.
This is the actual quote on kkf:
“I have been to the store, they used to manufactured the knives in HongKong before demand exploded, now they manufacture their stuff in Guang Dong (without mention specific cities). The old markings on CCK knives is literally their store address in Hong Kong, indicting they are the only seller.”
And then he also showed you the message from CCK themselves saying they have their own factory. See pic below.
Look, Hong Kong is a city of 7 million people, every single one of them crazy about food. If you walk any street you will see dozens of places to eat around you, either outside or in restaurants. That’s a massive market for any serious knife manufacturer.
Why are you so hellbent on suggesting an association between Shibazi and CCK? Are you hoping that CCKs reputation of being excellent knives will rub off on your Shibazi? Seems like it.
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If it matters, I am hopeful folk will weigh in. If the consensus is that it does not matter, what the heck are we doing here?
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Yes, it is a Sabatier Jeune (the grape cluster logo). My others are Thiers-Issard (the elephant and four stars logo). Both marks have very similar knives. I have seen others bearing the Sabatier label but found the ones I saw markedly different and, to me, inferior.
