Cleavers? Let’s see them!

scdub

scdub

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I rarely use it, but I love my old cleaver.

I got it while I was in college, probably 25 years ago at an antique shop in Humboldt.

Only mark says “Old File, Hand Made, 8”.

It’s a beast at just over 1.5 pounds.

Has some hammer marks on the spine so looks like it saw some heavy work, but everything is straight and tight. If you look closely you can see a differential heat-treat line on the blade.

Tapered tang and spine. Beautiful to me.

Let’s see yours. :)
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Wow that’s nice - looks like a great woods tool. Great around a deer camp I bet.
 
scdub said:
I rarely use it, but I love my old cleaver.

I got it while I was in college, probably 25 years ago at an antique shop in Humboldt.

Only mark says “Old File, Hand Made, 8”.

It’s a beast at just over 1.5 pounds.

Has some hammer marks on the spine so looks like it saw some heavy work, but everything is straight and tight. If you look closely you can see a differential heat-treat line on the blade.

Tapered tang and spine. Beautiful to me.

Let’s see yours. :)
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I have a similar styled carbon steel cleaver that needs sharpening. Do you know what degree that edge is? I'm never sure what to sharpen a real cleaver at.
 
SuburbanBarbarian said:
I have a similar styled carbon steel cleaver that needs sharpening. Do you know what degree that edge is? I'm never sure what to sharpen a real cleaver at.
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I keep it around 20 dps - thick for a normal kitchen knife but I only use it for heavier jobs…
 
SuburbanBarbarian said:
I have a similar styled carbon steel cleaver that needs sharpening. Do you know what degree that edge is? I'm never sure what to sharpen a real cleaver at.
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I convex mine. 20 degrees is probably a good start, but i would just sharpen it and if it chips make the edge a bit more obtuse

Here are a couple of my efforts
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The top one is a Sambonet, an Italian brand, but I think these are imported and marketed under license. Didn't cost much either. But it seems to be decently made, with a nice high convex grind. Works for about all day to day tasks. Could use a tad more weight perhaps, but it's kinda multipurpose the way it's designed.

The little one is a super cheap and lightweight Tramontina. After regrinding the bevels, it's been seeing use as a pretty nice vegetable knife. Surprisingly good at holding an edge.

The big old swede at the bottom is about 8.5 mm or 0.33 in thick. Obtuse edge, handle made for some northern giant. Not in any way handy, but when you really need to split something, that's the ticket. That's just some surface oxidation on the blade, not cracks on anything. Vintage stuff from Jernbolaget Eskilstuna.
 
I REALLY like that Swedish cleaver. At the same time, I'm quite sure I'd never have a need for it, short of a werewolf attack. Almost worth it, though...

I was going to show mine, an cheap mutt of a cleaver, made by Old Hickory. I ground off the rough edges on the top of the blade, and both sides of the handle (it's full tang). I also thinned the edge, making it quite useful as a vegetable knife.

However. I attempted to put an epoxy finish on it yesterday. I had heated the handle (heat gun) to encourage thinning of the epoxy as it was applied.
The finish sort of, well, I believe the technical term is "curdled". I've broken Hollandaise sauce, but this the first time it's happened on a knife.

I shall attempt to remove the finish with acetone, then industrious scraping.

It's sort of comforting that, at my advanced age, I can still find new ways to screw things up.
 
Aardvark said:
I REALLY like that Swedish cleaver. At the same time, I'm quite sure I'd never have a need for it, short of a werewolf attack. Almost worth it, though...

I was going to show mine, an cheap mutt of a cleaver, made by Old Hickory. I ground off the rough edges on the top of the blade, and both sides of the handle (it's full tang). I also thinned the edge, making it quite useful as a vegetable knife.

However. I attempted to put an epoxy finish on it yesterday. I had heated the handle (heat gun) to encourage thinning of the epoxy as it was applied.
The finish sort of, well, I believe the technical term is "curdled". I've broken Hollandaise sauce, but this the first time it's happened on a knife.

I shall attempt to remove the finish with acetone, then industrious scraping.

It's sort of comforting that, at my advanced age, I can still find new ways to screw things up.
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Man that sucks - sorry to hear that! I’m very familiar with the “try, fail, research” method haha.

Speaking of research, I did quite a bit on oils, and found that PURE Tung oil is naturally drying and food safe after curing. For the last several years I’ve been using pure Tung oil mixed 1:1 with pure orange oil spirits (look online - not likely to be available at the hardware store) to all of my wood handled tools. It’s great stuff and it won’t cause blisters like some varnish-type coatings can.
 
Well, the epoxy came off pretty easily, after soaking in acetone, and scraping with a knife.

Can you be more specific about the "orange oil spirits"? I looked online, and found a LARGE array of stuff, as well as recipes for doing it myself. No problem with that, but I'd want to be more sure about what it is I'm making.

Thanks.
 
scdub said:
That’s a great looking cleaver! It has very similar hammer marks on the spine as the one I posted. Like someone took a roofing hammer to it…
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exactly . I have several knives/cleavers/other sharp items that have spines like that. some i grind off , some i leave as is. Depends on what it's on and what i want to do with it :cool:
 
Aardvark said:
Well, the epoxy came off pretty easily, after soaking in acetone, and scraping with a knife.

Can you be more specific about the "orange oil spirits"? I looked online, and found a LARGE array of stuff, as well as recipes for doing it myself. No problem with that, but I'd want to be more sure about what it is I'm making.

Thanks.
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For sure. The stuff I’ve been using is called “Heritage Natural Finishes” and they sell both pure Tung oil and the orange solvent. The oil can spoil/harden if exposed to air so as I use it I fill the bottle with clean gravel to keep it full and air-free. FD7D8EFC-2256-494B-B645-383C9F9EAE9C.jpeg
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Much obliged, sir.

They sell a pre-mixed tung oil/citrus oil combination, which is probably what I will buy. Less likely that one or the other will go bad/solidify/evaporate over time, since I won't be using it up quickly.

I'll post pictures if this works out. The "if" was intentional, given my luck (skill) levels lately.

Is the cutting board finished with the products you described?
 
No I just use mineral oil on the cutting boards - no need to let it cure like tung oil.

Also - since we’re talking oils! ;)
Flax oil to season carbon steel pans. Just for seasoning - like tung oil you shouldn’t cook with it but if you add a very light layer (like almost completely wiped ofc with a paper towel) on a cool pan, then heat it until it stops smoking, you’ll have a tough layer of polymerized oil on the pan. Repeat several times before first use of a new pan, then every few times you use the pan. Keep this oil in the fridge.
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Fine looking wok, there.

If you haven't discovered TheWoksOfLife.com, I highly recommend it. Very well researched and written recipes, with an excellent section that describes Chinese ingredients.

I use cast iron cookware a lot. I've had a number of bad experiences using flaxseed oil for seasonings. I put 4-5 layers on some skillets, an hour at a time. Looked beautiful, but didn't last worth a damn. Flaked off at the first cooking. I know that a lot of people swear by it for seasoning, but I won' use it anymore. Will stick to grapeseed oil for now.
 
Will look into that for sure - enjoy those pans!
 
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