Babish High-Carbon 1.4116 German Steel Cutlery, 7.5″ Clef (Cleaver + Chef) Knife
$24
- Forged from a single piece of high-carbon 1.4116 German steel
- Tempered, ground, and polished for maximum sharpness
- Full-tang handle provides a balanced, comfortable grip
- Hybrid chef’s knife and cleaver design is powerful and precise
- Before first use: Remove any tags or stickers. Rinse with warm soapy water and towel dry.
Specification: Babish High-Carbon 1.4116 German Steel Cutlery, 7.5″ Clef (Cleaver + Chef) Knife
|
10 reviews for Babish High-Carbon 1.4116 German Steel Cutlery, 7.5″ Clef (Cleaver + Chef) Knife
Show all
Most Helpful
Highest Rating
Lowest Rating
Smokey da Burrr –
Keeps an edge very well. Been using it frequently for months without need for sharpening. Cheap enough that I’m not afraid to really abuse it like some of my more expensive knives.
Amazon customer –
This is a great knife, it’s flat on the blunt side to make it easier to scrape off a cutting board, comfortable to hold, and holds an edge very well. I saw some reviews saying the steel was subpar, but it has taken and held an edge without issue for me. Perhaps someone used to high-end knives would find it subpar, but this is the best budget knife I have ever used.
D. B. Wells –
This is the best knife for under $100 I’ve ever bought.
There are trade-offs but the price makes them easy to replace if needed.
Tim Hartwell –
A good a around knife, it has now become my go to knife for everything.
Marcus G –
I’m just a home cook, not a real chef or anything. But I do sharpen my own knives and have fun with it. This knife comes very sharp, which doesn’t really matter because any knife can be sharpened. But this knife also is keeping an edge quite well, and it’s surprisingly comfortable to use for long periods. It’s also a wide enough blade to make transferring veg a breeze. The only task I don’t love using this knife for is fine mincing herbs, as it rocking it up onto the tip doesn’t feel as stable/sturdy as I’d like.
Chris Probert –
Greetings fellow Chefs – Professionals, Kitchen, Home, and foodtuber enthusiasts.
I am one of you. And I bought this knife.
So bear with me as this is a bit of a short story.
To start this story let me tell you about me. I’m a home cook. Once upon a time, I went to a community college with a great culinary program. I worked in a variety of restaurants and delis, gaining experience and learning to deal with kitchens and sharp things. Deciding it wasn’t for me (hours to effort/pay ratios) I became the humble home cook and foodtuber enthusiast I am now.
I had bought a set of Victorinox knives upon my beginnings, a long time ago and sharpen them with hand tools or at a store every few years. They have served admirably and will last until I die most likely.
But this week, I thought… “Hmmm. I’m due for a new knife.” So knowing my foodtubers and knowing Babish had a knife, seeing the cost of such a beautiful tool I purchased it without hesitation..
It’s amazing quality for an amazing price. I don’t think it can be beat.
BUT.
It was a bloody reminder for me of how sharp professional high-end knives are.
I decided to use it to try out a new chili colorado (colored red) recipe.
Little did I know it would be colored red with my blood. (I’m being dramatic, but also..)
Quickly into cutting my celery did I nick my index finger by merely sliding my finger along the flat of the blade to get the celery off. Not to be deterred by a minor flesh wound, I bandaged up and continued. A little more carefully now, beginning imagining this review in my head.
I get through the bell peppers, and onions alright. Then I nick myself again.
And then again while not even cutting anything, just handling this knife washing it off.
***This. Knife. Is. Dangerously. Sharp.***
Do not misunderstand me – I would not dare leave a bad review for my own carelessness. For this knife is perfectly amazing for everything I used it for, including cubing some beef chuck. (Went through it like butter, by the way. No resistance.) And it can go through YOU just as easily.
If you’re a professional chef – You’ll know to be careful and respect the knife.
If you’re a kitchen chef, take it cool, don’t try your normal speed until you’re used to the size of it.
If you’re a home cook (like me), this is a reminder of the sharpness of professional-grade knives.
And if you’re an amateur, who’s used to old family knives, or just grocery story set knives… This is a warning to you to be ***exceedingly*** careful and aware of where this knife is at all times. Never point it to yourself. Ever. Keep your fingers AWAY from the blade.
In conclusion? This knife is worth the price and worth the blood. I can not recommend it any higher.
Just be careful, dudes and dudettes.
Dallas Riley –
This knife is extremely high quality for the price range that it is in. The steel is quite hard and made from a reputable manufacturer. The knife is elegant and keeps an edge for a good while.
This knife is very versatile and would be an excellent part of anyone’s kitchen ware.
B. Thomas –
Sure you can find a million better knives out there across a whole spectrum of prices. But this knife is actually a head scratcher. It holds its edge, it is extremely sharp, balanced feel in the hand, light weight but still sturdy, and it’s $20 to $30 on average. Like how on earth is it this inexpensive. I’d buy this knife for at least $80 to $100. But Babish has other plans. He want to get great cutlery in the hands of the many so that the barrier to entry for cooking doesn’t need to be monetary. Thank you for such a great knife Chef Andrew Rea.
Jerome –
Really good knife sharp I just wish it came with sheath
MP –
A couple of things to get out of the way first. I am not a trained chef. I am not a professional cook. I am not a cutlery or forging expert. I’m not going to bore anyone at parties with my knowledge of metallurgy or knife-making. My primitive intellect doesn’t understand alloys and compositions and things with… molecular structures. Any knowledge I really have comes from watching YouTube videos, experimenting with recipes, and failing or succeeding over several decades in the kitchen. I did discover somewhat early on that unlike golf where I can buy the most expensive clubs sold, I will still be a pretty bad golfer, in the kitchen, good tools can help even a bad cook be a better cook. I also have a brother in law who is a trained and (formerly) professional chef, who has complimented me on numerous occasions for having good quality cook and prep-ware.
That out of the way, I am rating this knife entirely on its own merits, price point, etc. My five-star rating is for a $18 knife (which it was when I bought it, though I’ve noticed the price fluctuates a little bit). Certainly anything I say about it might vary if it were a $150 knife. It is not. So take that into account.
I have been a fan of Andrew Rea’s cooking videos for quite a long time, and when he started selling products, I wanted to support him. I have a few things from the Babish line, including the tiny whisks (HIGHLY recommended, you’ll be surprised by how much you use them), the small prep bowl (again, extremely useful), and the iron trivet, which I bought because it sort of looks like me and that’s fun. But one thing I really love is knives. Knives make me sort of starry-eyed, and I love having a new one. In fact, I have many more than I really need. Especially if you ask my wife. I bought this sort of as a low-risk bet, more than a real need for it. I was curious. I wanted to know how a $18 knife would hold up. Worst case, I figured, is I would hate it and donate it to a nephew or something. I didn’t.
Most of my knives are forged and made in Germany. They are typically Messermeister, Wustoff, or Zwilling. Not the most expensive knives you can buy for sure, but definitely above average. Before I got married, I had a block of Chicago Cutlery knives, which got the job done, but they were kind of cheap stamped-steel rigs. Decent for college knives, but not awesome. I only say this to give you an idea of what I’m comparing this to. I do not have wildly expensive professional cutlery, but I do have nice stuff.
I honestly expected this to be a pretty below average knife, but perhaps probably okay for the price. Like a Target special. When it arrived, I was more impressed with it than I expected to be. It’s well packaged, a nice weight, pretty well balanced, and sharp. The handle is comfortable and it looks nice. Nothing about it screams loudly that it doesn’t belong with its much more expensive German counterparts. The shape is unique, and pretty cool. Especially if you’re only looking to have a couple, two or three, knives in your collection. It’s become one of my go-to knives for vegetables, chopping, etc. I used it tonight on a tri-tip and it slices meat competently as well. I always hand-wash my knives, so I can’t say whether it holds up to machine washing, or how well. Don’t put your knives in the dishwasher. Come on.
I do not know the metal composition, nor do I care all that much. For the price, I’m guessing it’s probably a lower-grade steel, but that’s fine. I also don’t know how long it will hold an edge over the long-term, but two months later, a couple of passes on a ceramic steel and it’s still going strong. I assume it’s full tang. It feels like it is, but if it’s not, again, I’m not sure I care. The construction is all at least average. Even my chef brother-in-law was reasonably impressed with it, and his knives, I’m pretty certain, were forged in the fires of Mount Doom by ancient trolls, or something.
I would possibly buy more Babish knives, but then I’d probably have to get a divorce. Because I don’t know where I’d store them, along with the scores of other knives I have that I don’t display or use. But if these were the only knives I had, I think they’d be fine. I’d be perfectly okay gifting these to someone just starting to build their culinary skills and collection. Again, if this was $150, I may feel differently about it, but it’s not, and I do not. For the price, this checks all the boxes for me.