F. Dick Red Spirit 7-inch Chopping Cleaver

It looks like a Chinese-style chef’s knife, but this Red Spirit chopping cleaver has about twice the spine thickness and weighs 15.5 ounces. That makes it an all-purpose blade that goes through small bones and still minces garlic.

Thin Chinese vegetable knives are brittle and meant only for produce. The extra thickness here lets the cook chop through chicken backs, duck and pork ribs without worrying about the edge. The tall blade also scoops chopped food from the board, and the flat face crushes garlic and ginger.

Use a firm, controlled chop rather than a swing when going through bone, and let the weight of the blade do the work. The heel portion is the best part of the edge for bone, while the front stays sharper for vegetables.

For vegetables alone, the lighter Red Spirit slicing Chinese cleaver is quicker. Heavier bones call for a meat cleaver such as the F. Dick 7-inch 2-pound meat cleaver. Our knife shapes guide explains meat and vegetable cleavers.