The Chinese cleaver (菜刀, càidāo) is one of the most versatile knives in Chinese cuisine, designed as an all purpose kitchen blade rather than simply a chopping tool. Unlike Western cleavers, which are often heavy and built for splitting bones, traditional Chinese cleavers are typically thinner, lighter, and engineered for precision work including slicing, chopping, dicing, mincing, and vegetable preparation. The broad rectangular blade provides a large cutting surface for transferring ingredients, crushing garlic and ginger, and scooping food from the board, while the thin cutting edge allows clean, controlled cuts. A well-made Chinese cleaver combines strength, balance, and versatility, making it a favourite tool among professional chefs who value efficiency and precision in high-volume preparation.
The Takeda Hamono NAS Aogami Super range is forged from Aogami Super Blue Super carbon steel, one of the highest performing traditional Japanese knife steels, manufactured using advanced alloying with high levels of carbon, tungsten, molybdenum, chromium, and vanadium. The high carbon content allows the blades to achieve exceptional hardness, typically around 62–64 HRC, delivering outstanding edge retention and the ability to take an extremely fine, razor sharp edge. Tungsten and vanadium contribute to the formation of hard carbides, improving wear resistance and cutting longevity, while molybdenum enhances toughness and stability during heat treatment.
Each blade is traditionally hand-forged by Shosui Takeda using san mai construction, with a hard Aogami Super core protected by softer cladding layers to balance cutting performance, durability, and strength. The NAS range is renowned among professional chefs for its exceptional sharpness, unique forged finish, and the combination of advanced metallurgy with centuries old Japanese blacksmithing techniques.
Weight: 394g
Handle Material: Wa handle - Magnolia wood, Buffalo horn ferrule
Handle Length: 140mm (5.5")
Blade Length: 239mm (9.4")
Blade Depth: 120mm
Thickness at spine: 4.2mm
Thickness at tip: 0.5mm
Cutting Edge: Double 50/50
Blade Material: Aogami Super (Blue Super) (Carbon steel)
Hardness (Rockwell scale): 63 - 64
