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Any good meat cleaver which does not need sharpening?

9K views 36 replies 9 participants last post by  rick alan 
#1 ·
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.
 
#9 ·
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.
 
#22 ·
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.
 
#25 ·
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.
 
#26 ·
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.
 
#28 ·
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
 
#31 ·
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.
 
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