# Do you use a cleaver? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 6, 2007, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-a-cleaver/421748 "2007-10-06T14:37:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-a-cleaver/421748/21 "2007-10-07T15:30:29Z")
I use mine for cutting up rabbits. Chickens and ducks I can do just as easily with my butcher’s knife (that long, heavy, bow-bladed thing) because I’m used to where the joints are. Rabbit we eat rarely enough that it’s easier for me to just plow through it with the cleaver. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-a-cleaver/421748/22 "2007-10-07T15:34:48Z")
[QUOTE=Ukulele Ike] I use mine for cutting up rabbits. [/QUOTE] My first image was that they were still alive and hopping around. But then, I’m morbid. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-a-cleaver/421748/23 "2007-10-07T15:49:57Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] My first image was that they were still alive and hopping around. But then, I’m morbid. [/QUOTE] I’m just trying to figure out where one gets (eating) rabbits in Brooklyn… ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-a-cleaver/421748/24 "2007-10-07T16:01:15Z")
I’ve got one, but I NEVER use it. It’s part of my “Kalhoun knows what she’s doing in the kitchen” facade. So far, so good! They all think I’m Martha Fucking Stewart. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-a-cleaver/421748/25 "2007-10-07T18:13:30Z")
I don’t have one, but I want one. It’s not because it’s necessary, since I can get away with using my largest knife for the things that I’d use a cleaver for, but I have used one in the past in my times working in kitchens. A good cleaver is just the right tool for certain things. As some have said, a meat cleaver can be ideal for cutting up a fryer or other meats. I want a vegetable cleaver, just for how much more easy it will be to deal with bok choy and napa cabbage when making soups, such as hot & sour soup. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-a-cleaver/421748/26 "2007-10-07T20:03:49Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] I’m just trying to figure out where one gets (eating) rabbits in Brooklyn… [/QUOTE] Same place you get them in Pittsburgh: from a well-stocked butcher. Here, I go to Wholey’s (in the Strip District) and buy whole rabbits for $3 a pound. I seldom cut them up. The recipes I favor for rabbit work quite well with the whole animal. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-a-cleaver/421748/27 "2007-10-07T23:35:30Z")
A cleaver is perfect for mincing, as long as it has a curved edge. You can rock back and forth on the cutting board, and mince something very quickly. It makes a garlic press pointless. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-a-cleaver/421748/28 "2007-10-08T00:11:27Z")
[QUOTE=guizot] A cleaver is perfect for mincing, as long as it has a curved edge. You can rock back and forth on the cutting board, and mince something very quickly. It makes a garlic press pointless. [/QUOTE] What you’re talking about is a Chinese cook’s knife, sometimes called a cleaver because of the appearance, but it’s not used for heavy butchery and the blade would chip if struck against bone. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-a-cleaver/421748/29 "2007-10-08T02:05:11Z")
I use those thin lightweight Chinese cleavers for chopping and mincing, rocking the sharp edge back and forth on the cutting board. If I have a lot to mince, I’ll hold two side by side. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-a-cleaver/421748/30 "2007-10-08T02:40:45Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] How do you use it, that it is used so often? [/QUOTE] I use it for almost all my cutting. I’ve just gotten used to the angle; to having a blade corner near the handle rather than at the far point; I’ve gotten used to the flat blade the meets the board along its entire length. I don’t know, I’ve just adjusted my cutting style to be almost entirely cleaver oriented. I use the near corner for fine work; I keep it sharp so I can paper-slice onions or whatever. And with a cleaver, you can you can make your onion–or whatever–slices very smooth. Plus, you can flip it sideways to carry things to the stove. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-a-cleaver/421748/31 "2007-10-08T03:26:54Z")
[ul][li]Cuttin tubers and hard vegetables[/li][li]Shaving beeswax[/li][li]Chopping animals Chinese-style[/li][li]Cutting up animals Western-style[/li][li]Mincing (though that might be a Chinese cook’s knife)[/li][li]Slicing onions thinly[/li][li]Crushing and mincing garlic[/ul][/li] Any other uses? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-a-cleaver/421748/32 "2007-10-08T03:42:27Z")
You can cut stuff up in your hot iron skillet: the handle is high enough that you don’t burn your hand on the edge of the pan. ---
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-a-cleaver/421748/33 "2007-10-08T03:52:33Z")
I use it for breaking up blocks of ice from my ice maker, but that’s about it. Well, I’ll use the back side of it to break up coconuts, but it’s pretty rare that I need coconuts–I hate coconuts, but that milk is critical for good Thai food. Grabbing the cleaver just to smash garlic? Psh. The flat side of a standard chef’s knife works just fine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-a-cleaver/421748.md?page=1)