Cleaver

A cleaver is a large knife, typically shaped like a rectangular-bladed tomahawk. It functions mainly as a kitchen or butcher tool, designed to split soft bones and cut through thick meat. Its broad side can crush ingredients like garlic and scoop up chopped items.

Tools called cleavers have existed since the Acheulean period. In the late 17th century, the word was often spelled "clever."

Design

Unlike other kitchen knives, a cleaver has a tough edge built to withstand repeated blows against meat, cartilage, bone, and cutting boards. This durability comes from a softer, tougher steel and a thicker blade; harder steel or a thinner blade might crack or buckle under heavy use.

The cleaver is swung like a hammer, relying on momentum rather than a sawing motion to cut straight through. Its momentum comes from both the user’s force and the knife’s weight. Because of this, the edge does not need to be very sharp—in fact, a razor-sharp edge is undesirable. The grind on a meat cleaver is about 25°, much blunter than on other kitchen knives.

The tough metal and thick blade also make the cleaver suitable for crushing with its side, whereas thin slicing knives might crack under such stress. Some cleavers have a small hole at the top front corner for hanging on a wall; butchers avoid laying them flat to prevent dulling or damage.

Use

Cleavers are mainly used for cutting through thin or soft bones and sinew—for example, chopping through a chicken’s thin bones or separating ribs. They can also prepare hard vegetables like squash, where a thin blade might shatter. However, cleavers are not used for solid, thick, hard bones; a bone saw (manual or powered) is needed for that.

Cultural references

Cleavers appear in traditional Chinese thought. A story from the Zhuangzi describes a butcher who effortlessly cut apart ox carcasses without ever sharpening his cleaver, because he cut between the bones rather than through them. Confucius, explaining his ideal of junzi, remarked, “Why use an ox-cleaver to carve a chicken?” to illustrate the futility of common people trying to emulate noblemen.

Chinese "cleaver"

In East Asia, the Chinese chef’s knife is often mistakenly called a “cleaver” due to its rectangular shape. But it is much thinner and serves as a general-purpose knife for slicing boneless meats, chopping vegetables, and flattening garlic or ginger, as well as a scraper. For butchering, a heavier Chinese “cleaver” exists, used similarly to Western ones. In Japan, the light-duty deba bōchō fills a similar role, primarily for cutting fish heads off.