Butcher Cleaver

Our website is designed to give you the information you need to make good choices and find good deals on a butcher cleaver and selected other Chinese cutlery.

For butchering tasks of preparing boned meats, the Chinese have long employed a heavier series of 'bone' or butcer cleavers designed perform the tasks assigned to the Western meat cleaver. A butcher cleaver is an essential chef's tool in any large well-stocked kitchen. The weight and heavy construction of a good butcher cleaver are essential in carrying out the tasks of choping through bone and just plain hacking through large pieces of meat.
 
Description

A Chinese butcher cleaver is a specialized type of thick bladed broad knife primarily used by butchers and chinese chefs, although it has been used by other cultures as well. With its heavy, squared blade and a substantial weight, it uses brute force to chop through bones and larger foods such as coconuts. Some butcher cleavers are designed as one sold piece with a metal handle that is a part of the design. However, others have wood handles that add to their beauty and draw from traditional designs from the past.

Use

This is not a fine, precision instrument like the Chinese vegetable cleaver. Use decisive chops to cut through rinds, chop open fruits. It is a heavy, tough blade intended for use in the breaking down of meats and poultry into smaller chunks suitable for cooking or further processing. Let the weight of the cleaver do most of the work, along with a sharp blade. Be sure to think about the placement of that other hand if you wish to avoid injury--and you do.

What To Look For

You want a cleaver that has solid construction, made from superior steel, with a relatively thick but sharp edge, a handle that fits your hand well, and the heft and weight necessary for efficient cutting. Choose a balance between the weight needed to chop through bones and the quality of steel that will hold a sharp edge. It doesn't help to get one so heavy that you dread using it or have to take a break every few seconds because your arm is too weary to lift it.

Many experts consider Japanese blades to be of a harder steel which can be used to create a significantly thinner blade with the accompanying reduction in weight. Generally, the thinner the blade, the more susceptible it is to becoming brittle and breaking upon contact with bone. As a general rule, as blades become harder and thinner, the steel becomes more brittle and prone to chipping.

Cleavers are classified by the weight of the blade (e.g., 2 lb cleaver, 4lb cleaver, 5lb cleaver, etc. ) a good cleaver will not be balanced like a fine knife but will be much heavier on the blade side and have a full tang through a comfortable and robust handle.

Care and Storage

Use a regular sharpening stone or steel sharpener to keep the edge on your blade. Since a Chinese butcher cleaver is quite powerful, some consideration must be given to the cutting table or board. The cutting surface must be thick and strong enough to hold up under the blows of an instrument that is both heavy and sharp.

Accessories

  Chinese Vegetable Cleaver
  Sharpening stone of steel
  Oriental cookbook