pull-through vs electric?

I've never "chopped" bones other than cutting a fryer apart after roasting or smoking it on the grill. I've always done it with a Henckels boning knife. Any other meat cut with a bone, I always buy from my butcher and I think he does it with a band saw.

I'm not a hunter, but possibly some of them could chime in here as they are field dressing game all of the time.
 
Come to think of it, I don't think I can put all the blame on the Cleaver, after pounding down hard on those Bones, how can I expect that Cleaver to stay sharp? So, let me add this up, I need a Saw, a different Cleaver and the Sharpmaker?
 
mikehende, instead of resharpening the knife after every use, you may want to try steeling.

When you use an edge, you are mildly deforming it as you go. A steel will help you to re-align the edge; it is when steeling doesn't bring the edge back to desired sharpness that you'll need to get out the sharpeners.

When cooking, I steel my knives before every use - it takes less than 30 seconds and the results are fantastic. Obviously, when I am done, the blades don't have the appearance of being quite as sharp as they were when I started. Resteel before the next use, and start all over again! :cool:

Butcher Steels are relatively inexpensive.

As far as sharpeners go, I highly recommend the Spyderco Sharpmaker. Or, for little more than the price of an electric sharpener, consider the Edge Pro Apex which will do more angles than the 30-40 inclusive that the Sharpmaker does.
 
Aside from your original question: Why do you need to chop bones when preparing a chicken? That is usually only necessary if you want to use the carcass for something like chicken stock. In filetting a chicken you cut along the bone with a very slim knife (boning knife, essentially the opposite of a cleaver) and through the joints which will handle any better knife without problems. A saw is usually only needed for much larger animals, like cutting pork chops. An honest suggestion and not tongue in cheek at all, but how about attending a cooking seminar to learn how to debone meat? That might be a more sensible investment than a sharpener.
 
Chicken bones are not difficult to cut, that was one of the things I did with the knife I ground out of a tension bar and the edge was <25 degrees included. For thicker bones it is just an issue of proper edge angle on the right steel, nothing too extreme, 15+ degrees per side on a decent non-brittle tool steel will hack up lower leg bones and similar.

-Cliff
 
Well, the unimaginable happened, I pulled out a sharpening tool from the drawer that was collecting dust, it is shaped like a sword with a handle a long metal or steel rod, I followed the directions I found here going 20 times from heel to tip on both sides with a maybe 25 degree angle or so, I did this with both a knife and the cleaver, result? I had to be very careful peeling a potato with the knife! The cleaver also got very sharp with minimal effort. I took me maybe a minute or so to do both.
Funny thing was, I even tried mimicking the Chefs on TV by holding the knife steady in one hand and moving the rod from heel to tip then I felt for the Burr and there it was so I flipped my hand over and did the same, now I am simply going to show-off with my new found sharpening skills before using that cleaver everytime I have to cut up meat, thanks to all of you guys here!
 
Forget the fancy chef shit. Use the steel with the handle in the air and the tip on a dishrag, towel on the counter and gently pull the knife toward you starting at the top, moving dowm. Saves you when you brain fart and keeps you from cutting your thumb off.
 
Is the steel grooved or smooth? (smooth is preferred, as the grooved one removes metal in a REALLY crude manner) Technically, this is not sharpening, but once you perfect this, sharpening methods should come clear to you. Maybe you should upgrade your cleaver
 
Have used the chef's choice electric pull through sharpener - it takes off too much metal and scratches the blade. - the V system ceramic rods (sharpmaker ) is the best for the money and easiest to use.
 
GarageBoy said:
Is the steel grooved or smooth? Maybe you should upgrade your cleaver
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The steel is grooved. I would like to keep this cleaver as it is heavy and this helps when cutting tough bones, I used again this morning and to my surprise it it still sharp so I am thinking that with practice and help/advice from you guys here, I should be ok in a short while but I will get the Sharpmaker!
 
Now you should get a stone you will be impressed at how much sharper you can get a knife I am new to this and used a serrated steel rod just like you do, for Christmas I got a small soft pocket stone and now get my knives twice as sharp as before. stores like walmart have them cheap so it will not hurt to give it a try.

ps
I sharpend a seven inch knife on mine the trick is to pinch the stone end to end between your index finger and your thumb.
 
mikehende said:
Yes, this Cleaver is a heavy sucker with a "Made in China" stamp and I spend a lot of time sharpening it
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mikehende said:
Thanks for the link, just out of curiousity, what do you guys use to chop bones or do you buy all "sliced" meat?
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I use a couple nice old Foster Brothers carbon steel cleavers, which I imagine could section a china cheapie into slivers. :)

For heavy work, I have a great old meat ax (two handed cleaver) with a steel edge scarf-welded to a mild steel body - biggest problem when I need it is it hits so hard I have to secure the meat at both ends because the impact will jolt meat a foot away. That's probably just my caveman technique though. :D

If you actually use a cleaver frequently, as you do, get a decent one. Go to your local flea market or junk store, or Ebay, and get an old brand name carbon steel cleaver. Ontario still makes a light chef's cleaver for their Old Hickory line, but I'm not sure they make a true butcher's cleaver any more.
 
I'm not a big fan of cleavers. Although I certainly don't buy all "sliced" meat, I usually do let the butcher cut my bone-in steaks and chops. Same with whole hams, etc., if I want to cook half and freeze the other half.

When I do need to cut through heavy bones, I use a hacksaw which I reserve for kitchen use only. They're cheap, easy to clean, and replacement blades are readily available. For most other heavy cutting, such as pork ribs and chickens, a good chefs knife is enough for me, but I never use it as a cleaver. I learned that lesson years ago after ruining a good chefs knife.
 
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