Do you really need a cleaver?

I like having a big, heavy cleaver for bone and frozen food. If you have a heavy, German chef's knife it's probably redundant, but for Japanese or French cutlery with very thin edges a cleaver is a very nice tool to have. That said, mass is what does real cleaver work so, personally, I don't bother spending much money on one. Pick up a heavy one at a garage sale or thrift store and put a decent edge on it and just whack the hell out of whatever needs whacking.
 
My wife wanted me to make her one for the longest time. ...
So I did. Now it's her favorite tool in the kitchen.
If you normally buy chicken parts, just buying the whole chicken at a lower cost, the cleaver will pay for itself in no time!
 
What kind of cleaver are you asking about? A knife used to break down primal cuts or a Chef's cleaver with a thin edge used like a Chef's knife or gyuto? I have both types but they are used for completely different purposes. As far as breaking down a chicken I use kitchen shears to remove the backbone and then a thick and heavy cleaver is unnecessary if one simply cuts through the joints as opposed to sawing or hacking through bone.
 
I have never used one, well, for prepping food. I may have hacked random items in the kitchen for fun.

I do know Chinese use the cleaver exclusively and they're probably good at making them too, though I would probably buy a japanese one...
 
Thin vs thick.
Thin can be used for everything but breaking down primal cuts. Research Nakaris, thin vegetable knives that are awesome for what they do.
Then research Chinese Chefs knife.
You don't have to spend much. Well... Unless you want to.

Think of it this way. If you had to feed a couple billion people what would you want? Chinese kitchen knife, aka Cleaver.
 
If you mean the bone chopping type of cleaver, most of the Asian countries I've been in use them rather than a saw when breaking down hogs, goats and beef. I tried one last year while butchering out a deer and I maybe a convert. Easier than a dull meat saw for sure.
 
Don't really "need" one, but they are fun though.

If you break a lot of whole animals down, they can be very handy, depending on what you're butchering and what the end goal is. Although you could always go big and use the fdick beef chopper
nGIBPM1.png
 
Even for those that don't have much bone-chopping to do, a cleaver can be handy for cutting up hard squash and root vegetables like rutabagas, though thinning the edge is a good idea if intending a cleaver for such work. A bone-chopping cleaver has an edge like a cold chisel and is a fracture-inducing tool more than a cutting tool in the traditional sense. Besides the chef/butcher cleaver distinction there's also the household/industrial distinction for thicker cleavers. Household cleavers are fairly thin and light, but still made for hacking, like splitting whole chickens etc. while a professional industrial cleaver will be THICK and HEAVY and make you feel like yelling "HULK SMASH" while you indiscriminately destroy things with it. They're for actually breaking down full carcasses so unless you raise your own livestock it's unlikely you'll need one unless you modify it for squash/tuber use.
 
B34NS said:
Don't really "need" one, but they are fun though.

If you break a lot of whole animals down, they can be very handy, depending on what you're butchering and what the end goal is. Although you could always go big and use the fdick beef chopper
nGIBPM1.png
Click to expand...

Could you provide the dimensions for that F. Dick chopper? I've been wanting to make one for quite some time. I have a piece of 5160 that I think would work nicely.
 
B34NS said:
Don't really "need" one, but they are fun though.

If you break a lot of whole animals down, they can be very handy, depending on what you're butchering and what the end goal is. Although you could always go big and use the fdick beef chopper
nGIBPM1.png
Click to expand...

This picture is incomplete without Daniel Day Lewis and some blood!
 
Darrin Sanders said:
Could you provide the dimensions for that F. Dick chopper? I've been wanting to make one for quite some time. I have a piece of 5160 that I think would work nicely.
Click to expand...

Absolutley, might take a couple days to head over to my buddies shop, but will do! If you have any specific measurements on the edge feel free to ping me.

Cackmandu said:
This picture is incomplete without Daniel Day Lewis and some blood!
Click to expand...

Haha! Woulda been a great halloween costume if I had enough time to grow the stache out.
 
"need" nah, but it does bring a smile to my face in a primal sort of way every time i grab it and whack something :)

I have a junky, heavy $15 walmart cleaver (probably Kitchen-aid or Chicago cutlery or something like that) that I use for hacking on carcasses (mainly chicken and turkey). It's also good for parlor tricks (slice paper or carve a turkey).

With turkey day right around the corner, I probably ought to break it out and sharpen it up a bit.
 
as mentioned, there are two styles of cleaver available. one is for heavy chopping and bone breaking, 5/32" or thicker steel, weight measured in pounds. i have a WW2 vintage Foster Bros. that weights about 3 pounds that makes quick work of chickens, pork ribs, and small pine trees. the other is for slicing and general kitchen use. I use a 6"x2 1/2" cleaver of 1/8" steel as my basic kitchen knife instead of a 8" or 9" chef's knife, it is what i am most comfortable with. if you look, you might find a cleaver in 1/16" x 6"to7" x 3" that may change you mind about chef's knives, especially if made of high carbon steel tempered at Rc62 or better.
scott
 
Here's their largest beef splitter in hand.

BeefSplitterBW.jpg


Blade Length: 16"
Overall Length: 34"
Thickness: 1/4"
Steel: X55CrMo14
Weight: 7lbs. 6oz.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top