Camp Cleaver

Most of my knives have a game plan - a mental picture in my head before I start. This piece was just a fun diversion with only the vague notion that I was making a very wide, short-bladed cleaver (which is about 50% bigger than it looks). Whether it was a kitchen tool or an outdoor tool wasn't really part of the vision. So this is maybe....both?

The blade is 80CRV2. I forge-welded three pieces of 1/4" thick x 2" wide steel together to get enough mass to make the super wide blade I had in mind. The resulting piece has satin finished blade bevels with a convex roll at the cutting edge and natural forge texture at the spine. The handle is black Curly Maple with African Blackwood pins and lanyard tube.

The handle is almost a hand-and-a-half style, but when you hold it you understand how it works.  By choking up you have a lot of control and could easily use it to prep vegetables at camp, by gripping at the rear you can break down large pieces of meat or ribs with ease. Heck, you could chop wood for the campfire with this beast!

The leather blade cover has a dark, autumn leaf pattern.

Blade length: 5.5", Width (at widest point): 4.25", Thickness: .220", Overall: 12.25", Weight: 22.1 oz.