Cleaver Knife 7" | Quantum 1 Series | Dalstrong ©

The BD1N-VX steel keeps its edge noticeably longer than my old German knives, and I’ve been hacking through chicken bones all week without a single chip. It’s heavy in the hand but balanced enough that I don’t get tired chopping a whole onion batch.

The edge from that 8-12° D3 sharpening took the guesswork out of prepping—sliced through a butternut squash’s skin cleanly on the first pass. The liquid-nitrogen-cooled steel keeps it feeling sturdy through a whole evening of chopping, which my wrist appreciated.

The hyper steel blade feels dense and balanced in the hand, and that 8-12° edge glides through butternut squash like it’s butter. Chopping a whole chicken into pieces took me about two minutes flat, no sawing or cracking. I’ve owned pricier cleavers that didn’t hold a candle to this one.