Cleavers

[Gossie]

Any good advice? Never used one, so of course, never bought one. <grin>

 

[Gretchen]

There are many kinds so you need to decide based on what you will use it for. I have an elegant one that is basically for vegetables. And it is the only one I have. I don't "cleave" meat much--or any more than I can do with a good chef's knife. But meat cleavers are heavy dudes.
Someone with far more knowledge of knives will be along, but I find very little use for one--even the one I have.

 

[GB]

I have a big heavy one. It is the one knife in my collection that I just do not use at all. I have actually been thinking of selling it on eBay recently. I simply have no need for it. My chefs knife does everything that I would use a cleaver for.

 

[thymeless]

I'm not a fan of European-style cleavers. Thick beasts with no real uses.

the Asian-style cleavers I like using. They're thin, take a fine edge and are nice tools.

thymeless

 

[Andy M.]

I have a Henckels Professional S cleaver. I don't use it often. It's heavy and I use it for heavy duty stuff such as chopping through bones. It works well for its intended uses.

A Light weight Asian style cleaver is designed for different uses and works well on those uses.

 

[XeniA]

Hubby has one and loves it, but he gets these notions. Useful for such things as hacking through whole chickens, I suppose. I want to say I've gotten along fine without, but then again, delicate belle that I be, since I just cannot stomach the sound of cutting bone, DH does all that nasty stuff for me. In short? You can probably live without. Get yourself a good man instead -- they're far more versatile.

 

[Chopstix]

I have a good, not too expensive cleaver used for cutting large chunks of meat and cutting through bone. Because it's too messy to hack away at carcasses (not to mention that I might be off-target), I normally just cut through the meat gently first, then use a mallet to pound the top edge of the cleaver through to the bone. I wouldn't dream of doing this with an expensive cleaver, that's why I don't own an expensive one.

 

[T-roy]

I love lightweight Asian cleavers; they’re great for chopping & moving large amounts of veggies or meat. The wide blade makes a great scoop. There are a lot of Asian markets around here so they go for around 20 dollars or so, they hold a decent edge. I have a heavy cleaver for bones that doesn't get much use.

 

[Gossie]

Hubby has one and loves it, but he gets these notions. Useful for such things as hacking through whole chickens, I suppose. I want to say I've gotten along fine without, but then again, delicate belle that I be, since I just cannot stomach the sound of cutting bone, DH does all that nasty stuff for me. In short? You can probably live without. Get yourself a good man instead -- they're far more versatile.

I have a good Greek man. BUT I would NOT trust him with any type of knife!!!!! He's more the electrical type, that's his forte!

BTW, what all can you use a man for? How versatile are they?

 

[shpj4]

Cindy - I do not haave a Cleaver but I do have a great chef's knive.

The next time I am at Williams Sonoma I will take a look at their Cleavers.

 

[RPCookin]

I have a nice Chinese cleaver, although I don't use it much any more since I got a good Wustoff chef. The chef is just easier to maneuver... you rock and slice with it rather than the chopping motion of the cleaver. I don't feel that my fingers are quite as much in harm's way with the chef.

 

[boufa06]

Cindy, I find the Chinese cleaver very useful in the kitchen as it is fairly light, thin at the side and sharp. You can mince and slice meat easily, chop vegetables especially onions, garlic, chillies, tomatoes, nuts etc.

 

[Andy M.]

A Chinese or Asian cleaver is, IMHO, a knfe. As such, it is used as you would a chef's knife or santoku. It is light weight and sharp as any knife would be. In the average kitchen, it would get as much use as a chef's or santoku.

A meat cleaver is not a knife but a special use tool for heavy meat and bone work. It's heavy becuse weight aid in its use.

As the OP never made it clear which type of cleaver she was interested in, I guess we should ask.

Cindy:

Which type of cleaver are you asking about?

 

[Robo410]

I have one and use it to split whole fowl. I haven't butchered red meat carcasses at home yet...but I'm soon to be in PA near a goat farm...I do like goat stew both curried and jerked. hmmm

 

[Caine]

The Cleavers​

 

[Gossie]

I thought there was only one type. LOL

I do want something to break down a chicken into pieces, but I also want to be able to mince veggies then use the knife to pick it up and dump it in the pot.

I ask for too much, huh? hehe

 

[RPCookin]

I thought there was only one type. LOL

I do want something to break down a chicken into pieces, but I also want to be able to mince veggies then use the knife to pick it up and dump it in the pot.

I ask for too much, huh? hehe

You can use a good chef's knife for all of that. Cutting up a chicken is more technique than brute force. Just cut through the cartilage at the joints for the most part. And for the back and breast I generally use my kitchen shears to snip along both sides of the backbone, then cut through the center area between the shoulder bones. The piece of cartilage/bone that most would call the breastbone can just be gripped by hand and pulled out in one piece after you open the back.

The chef does the veggies just fine too.

 

[YT2095]

my main kitchen knife is a cleaver, this one to be exact: http://www.shibazi.com/product/S601.htm

it will take a Razor sharp edge and keep it for a very long time also. I use it for almost everything, although they do take some time to get used to at first, when you do it feels just as natural as any other knife.
it is quite heavy, but also well ballanced, just remember to let knife do the work

 

[Gossie]

I have one and use it to split whole fowl. I haven't butchered red meat carcasses at home yet...but I'm soon to be in PA near a goat farm...I do like goat stew both curried and jerked. hmmm

<runs to PA to hide the goats>

<and pigs in case you have that notion as well>


ROFL

 

[T-roy]

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/prodlist.asp?BrandID=114&FamilyID=9

I know it looks gimmicky but I bought one & like it a lot. Lamson Sharp has a lot of quirky but cool kitchen tools & is worth taking a look at.