Hatsukokoro Sentan White 2 Chinese Cleaver

The Sentan Chinese cleaver pairs a Shirogami #2 carbon steel core, hardened to 60 to 64 HRC, with stainless cladding. The cladding protects the outer surfaces while the cutting edge keeps the sharpening ease and bite of carbon steel, which is the combination most chuka buyers have been missing.

This is a true thin slicer: a tall, rectangular blade in the 195 to 200 mm range, ground thin behind the edge, at weights around 285 to 309 g. The defined tip handles scoring and carving while the flat edge takes heavy chopping, with no bone contact.

The core is reactive carbon steel, so the routine matters: wipe the blade and dry it immediately after use rather than leaving it on the wet edge of the sink. Used and cared for like that, the Sentan goes through a potato as nicely as a top Japanese gyuto, and it makes breaking down vegetables, herbs and portions of meat a one-knife job.