Dexter-Russell Traditional 7-inch Chinese Chef's Knife

At 7 x 2 inches, the S5197 is a narrower, lighter take on Dexter-Russell’s Chinese chef’s knife, and it suits cooks who want the shape without the size of the 8-inch models. Dexter rates it for vegetables, herbs and fruit as well as boneless meat.

The flat blade still crushes garlic and scoops ingredients into a pot or wok. The smaller blade is easier to control for thin slicing and quicker to maneuver on a home cutting board, and it fits a knife block slot that a full-size cleaver would not. It is a good first Chinese chef’s knife for a cook who is new to the style and wants to learn the push cut and the scoop. Cooks search our site for it by its model number, and it comes from Dexter’s factory in Southbridge, Massachusetts. The stain-free steel resists the micro-chipping often seen in harder, more brittle Japanese steels.

7-inch or 8-inch?

For more blade height and reach, the Traditional 8915 is the classic full-size version, and the Duo-Edge S5198GE adds hollows that help slices release.