# Any good meat cleaver which does not need sharpening?



## mystic (Nov 10, 2014)

Hello, I have 2 meat cleavers, one is lighter and the other is heavy, I am sick and tired of having to sharpen them every single time after simply cutting up a chicken and to sharpen it first of all is another ordeal by itself. A could days ago I showed it to my neighbor who does construction and he said it's because it's not tempered steel.

He said he had purchased a machete which his wife uses which cuts through turkey and chicken bones with ease and never needs sharpening. I now have arthritis in both hands so I need something like what he has, the weight does not bother me that much so I don;t really need a light cleaver. I mostly need one that I can use time and time again to cut chicken, turkey and pork slabs, not the thick pork shoulder bone and not have to sharpen it.

I don't want a machete otherwise I would have bought the one my neighbor has, I want a meat cleaver, can anyone link me to a really good one for my purpose which I might find at local stores like home depot, Ace hardware e.t.c or preferable online please? Thank you.


----------



## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

Have you considered an electric knife?


----------



## mystic (Nov 10, 2014)

No, I wouldn't want an electric knife.


----------



## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

Why not? Although that may have sounded like a smart-aleck remark... it was intended to be a valid suggestion.

If you have arthritis and don't want to be sharpening knives it might actually work quite good for you.


----------



## mystic (Nov 10, 2014)

brianshaw said:


> Why not? Although that may have sounded like a smart-aleck remark.


No, I didn't think so at all. It's a good option [thanks] but just not for me, I simply won;t be comfortable with it, don't know what else to say.


----------



## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

Aranyik cleaver. I use it for tough things. Lemongrass, lobster splitting, chicken backs etc. Easy to sharpen, stays sharp
Home use maybe 3 sharpenings a year. 25-30 degrees a side and a 40 degree microbevel.

$35-40 shipped on ebay. Look for the one with a pointy tip.


----------



## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

Aranyik cleaver. I use it for tough things. Lemongrass, lobster splitting, chicken backs etc. Easy to sharpen, stays sharp
Home use maybe 3 sharpenings a year. 25-30 degrees a side and a 40 degree microbevel.

$35-40 shipped on ebay. Look for the one with a pointy tip.


----------



## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

mystic said:


> No, I didn't think so at all. It's a good option [thanks] but just not for me, I simply won;t be comfortable with it, don't know what else to say.


Here is what I have. Dexter Chinese Cleaver. It doesn't sharpen to a blazingly sharp blade but is sharp enough for cooking purposes, is good for all but bone breaking, and stays sharp a reasonably long period of time.

I don't have arthritis in the wrist/hands yet but do have a bit of carpal tunnel syndrome. I find the handle to be almost tolerable.

https://www.centralrestaurant.com/C...MIt-u94MKl1gIV3rXACh2WHg45EAQYASABEgIoHfD_BwE


----------



## mystic (Nov 10, 2014)

millionsknives said:


> Aranyik cleaver. I use it for tough things. Lemongrass, lobster splitting, chicken backs etc. Easy to sharpen, stays sharp
> Home use maybe 3 sharpenings a year. 25-30 degrees a side and a 40 degree microbevel.
> 
> $35-40 shipped on ebay. Look for the one with a pointy tip.


The 2 reviews on this is good [thanks], only thing that worries me is the material looks exactly the same as mine. On saturday I plan to go to the store where my neighbor bought the machete, will take mine and will ask the guy there what the deal is since that is his specialty, will report back here.


----------



## Cdp (Aug 31, 2017)

got this bad boy on the wish list
https://www.chefsarmoury.com/collections/chopper/products/hk-heavy-duty-chopper-carbon-steel


----------



## mystic (Nov 10, 2014)

That's the same exact chopper I have and is why I intend on taking it to the guy in the store to find out why with such good ratings I am having these problems with it?


----------



## Cdp (Aug 31, 2017)

hhmmm odd.

I used 1 at my old work and yeah never had a problem with it but it was sharpened on an odd angle but due it chopping rather than slicing it did an excellent job on porks and a breeze on chook


----------



## mystic (Nov 10, 2014)

If it wasn't for the fact that 2 of my friends who do construction tried to sharpen this thing and none of them could get it to sharpen really good even after trying for close to 30 minutes then I would say ok it's my fault.


----------



## mystic (Nov 10, 2014)

This is the machete my neighbor is referring to, doesn't look like a typical machete to me, more looks like a cross between a chopper and machete?


----------



## playero (Nov 20, 2016)

Buy a Winco Cleaver. I use it even to chop wood. they are like up to $25-35 and cheaper


----------



## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

How did they sharpen it? belt sander can overheat the edge if you are not careful. That would wreck the heat treatment and you are left with a soft unsharpenable steel.

Or as you say it was never heat treated and hardened in the first place. Rare, but mistakes happen.


----------



## Chef Stephen (Aug 23, 2017)

Doesn't need sharpening?

Don't use it, then.


----------



## mystic (Nov 10, 2014)

millionsknives said:


> How did they sharpen it?.


We tried with both sanding stone and various sharpening files. I found this here online which many has great reviews and especially this "maintaining long last sharpness even after long term use":


----------



## Chef Stephen (Aug 23, 2017)

Horribly cheap for a professional tool.

I sharpen mine with a steel, though very occasionally use a grindstone if it's badly blunted.


----------



## mystic (Nov 10, 2014)

Chef Stephen said:


> Horribly cheap for a professional tool.


Are you referring to the Spevorix above? If so, it's only the price being too cheap that's the issue? I am going by the 67 mainly 5 stars reviews with only one low review that it is too heavy which is not my concern.


----------



## scott livesey (Jan 25, 2013)

check thru these . there are usually two styles of cleaver, a Chinese cleaver which is thin and works well on veg and a traditional meat cleaver which is heavy and made for splitting bone.


----------



## mystic (Nov 10, 2014)

Thanks but this from one review will not work for me:

If you are looking at any Ontario knives you probably know what steel is used, it's not stainless, and if you like sharp knives you will want to spend some time sharpening this knife.


----------



## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

Have you checked out the cleaver offered by Cutco? A lot of people scoff at their product but it meets the needs of many. One attribute is not needing sharpening.


----------



## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

1) your cleaver is not at all like what Cdp posted
2) I wouldn't want a stainless steel cleaver at all
3) Don't trust amazon reviews on knives... the average user knows just about nothing


----------



## mystic (Nov 10, 2014)

I think my plan is best guys to go to that store in the morning as first option to see what the guy says because there are tons of cleavers on the net with different types of steel and descriptions and reviews. I will let you guys know what transpires.


----------



## scott livesey (Jan 25, 2013)

again, what are you going to use the cleaver for. I prefer a thin one with a shaving sharp edge and use it instead of a traditional chef's knife. for breaking down large cuts, I have a WW2 era Foster Bros that weighs about 5 pounds. stainless would not be my choice for a hard use cleaver.


----------



## mystic (Nov 10, 2014)

From my original post:
I mostly need one that I can use time and time again to cut chicken, turkey and pork slabs, not the thick pork shoulder bone and not have to sharpen it.


----------



## scott livesey (Jan 25, 2013)

From my original post: I mostly need one that I can use time and time again to cut chicken, turkey and pork slabs, not the thick pork shoulder bone I can find or make you one that covers this
and not have to sharpen it. best i could do here is one that will keep a good edge for a month or so then need a touch up. the only knives I know of that you don't have to sharpen are Ginsu's that also slice soda cans and old tires


----------



## mystic (Nov 10, 2014)

I appreciate your info and help but I've already covered all of this. Anyway, what I am seeking is a meat cleaver option to what my neighbor got from the local store mentioned so I should know about this tomorrow.


----------



## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

I think visiting a store is a great idea. You may see very different offerings depending on the type of store: professional vs consumer cooking equipment, knife shop, Asian market or hardware store. No matter, you'll get an education. Good luck.


----------



## duckfat (Aug 7, 2008)

A knife that doesn't need sharpening???? Maybe a Bubba blade? A Ginsu or if your feeling really sporty something from Cutco. All blades that aren't disposable will need to be sharpened at some point. I've used a Dexter cleaver like the one upthread for decades. They take a fine edge very easy but that's a vegetable cleaver and not intended for cutting bone etc. Id do split Chicken breasts through the cartilage with mine.
If you are unhappy with what you have but like that style find a CKK or something similar but realize that no knife edge is going to cut through bone or even endure normal usage with out needing to be sharpened. However it surely should not require sharpening at every use if sharpened properly.
The Butchers knife your friend has seems to be a variation on a Scimitar. Wustoff, F Dick, Victorinox etc. all make them and they are often marked simply as "Butchers" knives. I've kept one for years but it's not a great tool for going through bone. Stick to a meat cleaver for that. If you like Vintage there has been some NOS Fosters on eBay from the 1950's for around $125. Should be great quality.


----------



## mystic (Nov 10, 2014)

Thanks for all the info, I did not see the store my neighbor spoke of today as there is some sort of building construction going in there, will try again tomorrow. I certainly don't expect never having to sharpen a cleaver of course but one should give some mileage as my neighbor's machete before then and also not be no where as difficult as mine to sharpen.

Will look into all the above items after visiting the store tomorrow, get back to you guys then.


----------



## mystic (Nov 10, 2014)

Well, the store owner doesn't have any more in stock and all he could tell me was it was "German steel" and swears by it so looks like I will look online specifically for that after checking around some more local stores.


----------



## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

What kind of a store did you go to?


----------



## mystic (Nov 10, 2014)

Variety store


----------



## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

I always dreamed of opening a scratch tickets, beef jerky, and meat cleaver store.


----------



## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Along with the Asian cleaver millions mentioned early on, Old Hickory makes theirs in high-purity 1095 carbon, tough to beat for edge taking and retention here, especially for the price. Your variety store cleaver of "German steel" reeks to me of Krupp 4116 stainless, pretty unexceptional performer in comparison.

One trick you should know is to sharpen these guys a bit more acute near the tip, using that section for slicing easily reached tendon, meat and skin.


----------

