# Cleaver > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Cleaver > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Cleaver.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleaver > Source revision: 1312758348 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Large, often squared off knife}} {{Other uses}}thumb|upright=1.4|A modern wood-handled cleaver [[Image:Chinese and old North American cleavers.JPG|thumb|[Chinese chef's knife](/source/Chinese_chef's_knife) (top) and old North American cleaver (bottom)]] [[Image:Cleaver (PSF).jpg|thumb|A cleaver in use, being used to cut [pork chop](/source/pork_chop)s from a loin of pork]] A '''cleaver''' is a large [knife](/source/knife) that varies in its shape but usually resembles a rectangular-bladed [tomahawk](/source/tomahawk). It is largely used as a [kitchen](/source/kitchen_knife) or [butcher knife](/source/butcher_knife) and is mostly intended for splitting up large pieces of soft bones and slashing through thick pieces of meat. The knife's broad side can also be used for crushing in [food preparation](/source/outline_of_food_preparation) (such as garlic) and can also be used to scoop up chopped items. [Tools described as cleavers](/source/Cleaver_(tool)) have been in use since the [Acheulean](/source/Acheulean) period. "Cleaver" was commonly spelled ''clever'' in the late 17th century.{{Cite journal|last=de la Torre|first=Ignacio|date=2016-07-05|title=The origins of the Acheulean: past and present perspectives on a major transition in human evolution|journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume=371|issue=1698|doi=10.1098/rstb.2015.0245|issn=0962-8436|pmc=4920301|pmid=27298475}} == Design == In contrast to other [kitchen knives](/source/kitchen_knives), the cleaver has an especially [tough](/source/toughness) edge meant to withstand repeated blows directly into thick meat, dense cartilage, bone, and the cutting board below. This resilience is accomplished by using a softer, tougher steel and a thicker blade, because a harder steel or thinner blade might fracture or [buckle](/source/Buckling) under hard use. In use, it is swung like a [meat tenderizer](/source/meat_tenderizer) or hammer{{snd}} the knife's design relies on sheer momentum to cut efficiently; to chop straight through rather than slicing in a sawing motion. Part of the momentum derives from how hard the user swings the cleaver, and the other part from how heavy the cleaver is. Because of this, the edge of a meat cleaver does not need to be particularly sharp{{snd}} in fact, a knife-sharp edge on a cleaver is undesirable. The [grind](/source/grind) for a meat cleaver, at approximately 25°, is much blunter than for other kitchen knives.Eastern Asian kitchen knives have a grind of 15–18 degrees, while most Western kitchen knives have 20–22° The tough metal and thick blade of a cleaver also make it a suitable tool for crushing with the side of the blade, whereas some hard, thin slicing knives could crack under such repeated stress. Some cleavers have a small hole, at the top front corner, for hanging them on a wall. A [butcher](/source/butcher) does not typically lay them flat, as the blade may dull or get damaged.{{Cite web|last=CooksInfo|title=Cleaver|url=https://www.cooksinfo.com/cleaver|access-date=2020-12-09|website=CooksInfo|language=en-US}} == Use == Cleavers are primarily used for cutting through thin or soft bones and sinew. With a chicken, for example, it can be used to chop through the bird's thin bones or to separate ribs. Cleavers can also be used in preparation of hard vegetables and other foods, such as [squash](/source/Squash_(plant)), where a thin slicing blade runs the risk of shattering. Cleavers are not used for cutting through solid, thick and hard bones – instead a [bone saw](/source/bone_saw), either manual or powered, is used. === Cultural references === Cleavers occur with some frequency in traditional Chinese thought. A story from the [Zhuangzi](/source/Zhuangzi_(book)) on the proper use of a cleaver tells of a butcher who effortlessly cut ox carcasses apart, without ever needing to sharpen his cleaver. When asked how he did so, he replied that he did not cut ''through'' the bones, but rather in the space ''between'' the bones.[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Chuang_Tz%C5%AD_(Giles)/Chapter_3 Zhuangzi, chapter 3] In explaining his ideal of [junzi](/source/junzi), [Confucius](/source/Confucius) remarked "Why use an ox-cleaver to carve a chicken?" on the futility of the common people seeking to emulate noblemen.{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1353/pew.0.0033| title = "Why Use an Ox-Cleaver to Carve a Chicken?" The Sociology of the ''Junzi'' Ideal in the ''Lunyu''| year = 2009| last1 = Erica Brindley| journal = Philosophy East and West| volume = 59| pages = 47–70| s2cid = 144620752}} == East Asia == === Chinese "cleaver" === The [Chinese chef's knife](/source/Chinese_chef's_knife) is frequently incorrectly referred to as a "cleaver", due its similar rectangular shape. However Chinese chef’s knives are much thinner in cross-section and are intended more as general-purpose kitchen knives, and mostly used to slice boneless meats, chop, slice, dice, or mince vegetables, and to flatten garlic bulbs or ginger; while also serving as a scraper to carry prepared ingredients to the bowls or the wok.{{Cite web|last=CooksInfo|title=Chinese Cleaver|url=https://www.cooksinfo.com/chinese-cleaver|access-date=2020-12-09|website=CooksInfo|language=en-US}} For butchering tasks and to prepare boned meats, there is a heavier Chinese "cleaver", used in similar fashion to the Western one. === Japan === [[File:DebaBocho.Cleaver.Japan.jpg|thumb|upright|[Deba bōchō](/source/Deba_b%C5%8Dch%C5%8D) of different sizes]] In [Japanese cutlery](/source/Japanese_cutlery), the main knife to fill a similar role, is the light-duty [deba bōchō](/source/deba_b%C5%8Dch%C5%8D), primarily for cutting the head off fish. == References == {{Reflist}} {{wiktionary|cleaver}} {{Knives}}{{Kitchen tools}}{{Authority control}} Category:Kitchen knives Category:Chinese food preparation utensils Category:Japanese food preparation utensils Category:Korean food preparation utensils --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cleaver](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleaver) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleaver?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.