ZHANG XIAO QUAN SINCE 1628 Bone Chopper Axe with Wood Handle,5.7 Inch Butcher Knife Heavy Duty Hand Forged Bone Cutting

Good cutting knife

The knife is sturdy, but it doesnt have the sharpness of a new knife at all. Is that normal or is it a defect? A little dissapointed cuz a brand 100’s of years old should be stunning.

Different tasks call for different tools. To chop bones, this is what I needed. It's very sharp and the shape of the handle allows for a good grip. It's lighter than I expected but works well. It works best for occasional use as opposed to long and frequent daily use. After a persistent day of use while prepping food for an event, the cleaver showed signs of wear and a slight chip at the edge. I still think this is a good cleaver to have on hand with a whetstone alongside it.

I already have a knife similar looking to this one. But, there's a major difference. It has a cutting edge angle of about15 degrees. This knife, a cleaver, has a cutting edge of around 25 degrees. That 10 degree angle difference is what allows this cleaver, any cleaver, just like an axe is used to cut firewood, to exert more of its force into splitting, cracking bone. So, while that Serbian made knife is a beautiful knife, it's just another form of a chef knife, and not a cleaver, like this one. It cannot be used as a cleaver.Granted, a cleaver, such as this one, is a tool built for only a very specific niche function. Compared to a Chef, Santuko, or Nakiri, a cleaver is a poor meat cutter. It's a chopper, not a slicer. But the thing is; if and when you need a cleaver, a Chef knife, of any kind, isn't going to get the job done. But also, if you want to cut that Bison thigh bone, you're going to need a bandsaw.About this Knife:1) As a cleaver must have, its a full tang knife. Only a cleaver with a full tang, is worth buying. Any other will break far too quickly.2) The spine, or back-edge of the blade is thick, and has spots; where a mallet can be used on it. Swinging a cleaver, like you would an axe, is a good way to cut fingers off. Multiple swings also means you're making a very jagged cut through the bone.3) The blade is short (~6in), and the handle is long (~6-1/2in). Even if a bone is wider than 6in, you want the force going into a smaller area, with the bone then cracking along that axis. A long handle allows you to keep your hand further away from any mallet striking point. (You want to break bone, just not your own bones.)4) The blade is arched. This allows an even greater pin-pointing of the Kinetic energy, to a specific location, thus magnifying its impact. You want to crack bones, along clean lines, not cut them. The principle is different.Any Concerns?1) As far as knives go, it's a heavy knife. But as far as cleavers go, it's rather light-weight. Weight, especially weight on the blade, equals cutting force and durability of the cleaver. So, it depends on what you're butchering. Big game, like Elk, Bison, or Moose, are going to be too much for this cleaver. (Honestly, you need a bandsaw for them.)2) Type of stainless steel used; is not noted. So, might or might not be an issue.Yet overall, for this price ($35.99 as of 5/25/2024), you're getting a lot of quality. And price to performance, is why I'm giving it a five star review. As in; For sure there's better out there. But, you'll be paying a lot, lot more for them. And unless you butcher a lot, you won't be getting your money's worth out of those far more expensive cleavers. It's too much of a niche knife.

Not capable ofcutting ribs. Not recommended.

Quickly became one of my favorite cooking utensils. No loner intimidated by any cut of meat with this bad boy. Easy to clean, I like how it comes with that plastic piece to cover the blade.

This small clever is so handy I keep it in my chef's bag!! It's perfectly weighted so you have enough thrust when chopping to go through bone. It doesn't weigh so much that you get fatigued if you have a lot of protein to go through, I sectioned two dozen chicken wings pretty quickly!So far I have dissected a chicken in separate parts, cut turkey wings into pieces, and removed most from a larger pork shoulder (I did need a boning knife to get ever scrap, but it did most of the big work)Love this thing!!!

This thing is a beast of a knife that will chop off anything under it with it's heft and rugged size. I would really take a look at it and see if you really need it because it is a niche knife that really only shines when it is doing what it is intended for: chopping through bones like a champ.8/10 I would recommend it. I hope this review is helpful.