what do you use a cleaver knife for
hacking through bone crushing in food preparation
title: Cleaver text: Cleaver A cleaver is a large knife that varies in its shape but usually resembles a rectangular-bladed hatchet. It is largely used as a kitchen or butcher knife intended for hacking through bone. The knife's broad side can also be used for crushing in food preparation (such as garlic). Tools described as cleavers have been in use since the Acheulean period. In contrast to other kitchen knives, the cleaver has an especially tough 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, title: Cleaver text: meats, there is a heavier Chinese "cleaver", used in similar fashion to the Western one. In Japanese cutlery, the main cleaver used is the light-duty deba bocho, primarily for cutting the head off fish (fish is the main meat in traditional Japanese cuisine). Cleaver A cleaver is a large knife that varies in its shape but usually resembles a rectangular-bladed hatchet. It is largely used as a kitchen or butcher knife intended for hacking through bone. The knife's broad side can also be used for crushing in food preparation (such as garlic). Tools described as cleavers have been in use title: Cleaver text: tougher steel and a thicker blade, because a harder steel or thinner blade might fracture or buckle under hard use. In use, it is swung like a meat tenderizer or hammer - 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, in fact a knife-sharp edge on a cleaver title: Kitchen knife text: meat and bone. A cleaver may be distinguished from a kitchen knife of similar shape by the fact that it has a heavy blade that is thick from the spine to quite near the edge. The edge is sharply beveled and the bevel is typically convex. The knife is designed to cut with a swift stroke without cracking, splintering or bending the blade. Many cleavers have a hole in the end to allow them to be easily hung on a rack. Cleavers are an essential tool for any restaurant that prepares its own meat. The cleaver most often found in title: Cleaver text: is undesirable. The grind for a meat cleaver, at approximately 25°, is much blunter than for other kitchen knives 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. 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