Hatsukokoro Sentan | Cleaver with a 195 mm blade

The SENTAN series features a hand-forged carbon steel blade in Aogami #2 with an iron cladding. The blade has a black kurouchi finish – a raw, dark surface that reflects the hand-forging process. The finish is simple, just as it should be on a classic cleaver. This is a knife made to work hard in the kitchen!

A Japanese meat cleaver (sometimes called Japanese cleaver or chuka-bocho, depending on the model) differs from its Western counterpart.

It is characterized by being:

• Thinner at the edge compared to a European meat cleaver – designed more for precision than for splitting large bones.

• Made for meat preparation – perfect for slicing, trimming, and portioning cartilage and cuts of meat, but not for chopping through large bones or solid frozen blocks.

• Lighter and more balanced than a traditional meat cleaver, making it closer to a heavy-duty knife than an axe.

In short, it is a specialized tool for clean meat work, where the goal is smooth, precise cuts rather than brute-force chopping.

• Weight: 405 g

• Spine thickness (center): 4.5 mm

• Blade height at heel: 97 mm

• Steel: Aogami #2 (62–63 HRC, non-stainless)

• Cladding: Iron

⚠️ Please note: Dimensions and weight may vary slightly since the knife is hand-forged.

⚠️ Also note: The thin and hard blade can be damaged if used to chop large bones or fully frozen food.