Cleaver Knives

Cleaver knives are heavy, broad-bladed kitchen tools made to chop through meat, joints and bone with a single controlled stroke. This collection brings together handmade cleavers in traditional butcher patterns, from full-tang butcher cleavers to long splitters and heavy dual-edged meat tools, for cooks, home butchers and collectors of classic cutlery. Compare blade length, weight and steel below, or browse our chopping knives for other broad-bladed choppers.

What a Cleaver Knife Is Built For

A cleaver works by weight, not by slicing. The tall, rectangular blade puts a lot of steel behind a short, sturdy edge, so a single downward stroke drives through ribs, poultry joints and thick cuts that would chip a chef's knife. The flat face doubles as a tool for crushing garlic and scooping chopped food off the board, and the spine can tenderize meat.

Most cleavers share a few traits: a thick spine, a blade deep enough to keep your knuckles clear of the board, an obtuse edge that resists chipping, and weight that sits toward the front. How heavy, how long and how thin the blade is decides what the cleaver does best.

Types of Cleaver Knives

Meat Cleavers and Butcher Cleavers

The Western meat cleaver is the classic rectangular blade with a hole or rounded corner at the top front for hanging. It's the right choice for splitting chicken, breaking down ribs, cutting through joints and chopping bones for stock. A heavy-duty butcher cleaver takes the same idea further, with a thicker spine and more mass for repeated work through larger bones. This collection includes a forged hog splitter with full tang construction, a pattern made for that kind of demanding processing work.

Hog and Lamb Splitters

Splitters are the long, heavy cleavers of traditional butchery, used to divide carcasses and larger sections of meat and bone. A hog splitter is broad and weighty for hard, repeated chops, while the lamb splitter has a longer, narrower silhouette than a conventional meat cleaver. Here you'll find an 18-inch lamb splitter in a mid-century style, a piece that appeals as much to collectors of vintage-pattern butcher tools as to cooks.

Chinese Vegetable Cleavers

The Chinese cleaver, also called a Chinese chef's knife, looks like a meat cleaver but is a different tool. Its blade is thin and light, with a fine edge for slicing, dicing and mincing vegetables, herbs and boneless meat. In Japan the same style is known as the chuka bocho. A vegetable cleaver is an all-round kitchen knife for many cooks, but it should never be used on bone, since its thin edge can chip or roll.

Mini Cleavers and Cleaver-Style Knives

Small cleavers keep the tall blade and knuckle clearance in a lighter, handier size. They suit prep work, smaller cuts of meat and anyone who finds a full-size meat cleaver tiring to use. Outdoor cleaver-style knives take a similar square profile into camp cooking and game processing, usually with a sheath for carry.

Heavy Dual-Edged Meat Tools

Some butcher tools combine a chopping edge with pounding mass. This collection includes a dual-edged meat pounder made from 3 lbs of solid high carbon steel, used for tenderizing and preparing meat, where the sheer weight does most of the work.

Cleaver vs Butcher Knife vs Chef's Knife

These three cover different jobs in meat prep. A cleaver chops: it comes straight down through bone and joints. A butcher knife slices and trims: its long, curved blade breaks down large cuts and removes fat and sinew without going through bone. A chef's knife is the everyday prep blade for vegetables and boneless meat, and it shouldn't be used on bone at all. Many home butchers keep a meat cleaver and a butcher knife together, with a chef's knife for everything else. See our chef knives for everyday prep blades.

Steel, Weight and Edge

A cleaver's steel has to take repeated impact, so toughness matters more than extreme hardness. High carbon steel is the traditional choice. It absorbs shock well, sharpens easily and is used on old butcher patterns and new handmade cleavers alike, but it needs to be kept dry and oiled to prevent rust. Stainless cleavers need less care, though they can be harder to bring back to a keen edge. Damascus cleavers are chosen mostly for the look of the layered steel.

Weight is the main thing to compare between cleavers. A heavier meat cleaver goes through bone with less effort but tires the arm faster. A lighter one gives more control for poultry and smaller cuts. Blade length matters for reach: long splitters handle large sections, while a shorter cleaver is easier to control on a home cutting board. On every heavy cleaver, the edge is ground thicker and more obtuse than a kitchen slicer's so it can survive hitting bone.

How to Use a Meat Cleaver Safely

Use a thick end-grain wood or heavy synthetic cutting board, never glass, stone or metal. Grip the handle firmly and let the weight of the blade drop through the cut rather than swinging hard. Keep your free hand flat and well back from the landing point. For thick bones, set the edge in place with a light tap, then follow with one firmer chop rather than several glancing hits. Avoid twisting the blade while it is stuck in bone; that is the most common way to chip an edge.

Caring for a Cleaver

Wash a cleaver by hand and dry it at once, especially a carbon steel blade, then wipe on a thin coat of food-safe oil before storage. Never put a cleaver in the dishwasher. Hone it often, and sharpen on a coarse stone first to reset a chipped or dented edge before refining. Store cleavers on a magnetic strip, a hook through the hanging hole, or in a sheath, never loose in a drawer.

Compare the cleavers above by weight, length and pattern, or browse our collectible knives for more traditional cutlery patterns.

FAQs

FAQ About Cleaver Knives

What is a cleaver knife used for?

A cleaver knife is used to chop through meat, joints and bone with a heavy downward stroke. The flat blade also crushes garlic and scoops chopped food off the board.

What is the difference between a meat cleaver and a vegetable cleaver?

A meat cleaver is thick and heavy, with a sturdy edge for chopping bone. A vegetable cleaver, or Chinese chef's knife, is thin and light for slicing produce and should not be used on bone.

Can a meat cleaver cut through bone?

Yes, a heavy meat cleaver is made for poultry bones, ribs and joints. Very large or dense bones, such as beef leg bones, usually need a bone saw instead.

What is the difference between a cleaver and a butcher knife?

A cleaver chops straight down through bone and joints, while a butcher knife has a long, curved blade for slicing, trimming and breaking down large cuts of meat. Many cooks use both together.

What is a lamb splitter or hog splitter?

Splitters are long, heavy cleavers from traditional butchery, used to divide carcasses and large sections of meat and bone. Today they are also collected as classic butcher tools.

Are carbon steel cleavers better than stainless steel?

Carbon steel cleavers are tougher and easier to sharpen but must be kept dry and oiled to prevent rust. Stainless cleavers need less care, but they can be harder to sharpen.