Posted 8 years ago
Sting
(27 items)
Commercial Meat Cleaver- belonged to my grandfather. Possible geographic places of origin include Central Florida, New Jersey, or even NB, Canada. When was it made? Who made it? I don't have a clue. I have not found any lettering.
The cleaver is built with a full tang and the tang gets thinner as it gets to the pommel. (I assume this is to keep most of the weight on the business end. )
The tool has been abused. There is a "bead" built up on the spine of the blade- clearly someone used a hammer. The handle is shattered.
My intent is to restore (gasp) this piece. I am assuming the wood is hickory but I am open to suggestions. I want to clean it down to a patina but I also want to file off the bead. Strangely enough the condition of the cutting edge is not bad. It is a pretty beefy (pardon the pun) grind and maybe a good piece of steel.
Any ideas on restoration are also appreciated.
i really like cleavers too! i have a bunch of them!
This happens all the time. I have a plan and then it changes. In cleaning up the blade I found "FOSTER BROS" and "9". The blade length is about 9", overall the cleaver is about 16 1/4. The "FOSTER BROS" alone was used from 1878-1890 and then again from 1953-1956. I don't know if there are other distinguishing features that may help with pin- pointing the age. The narrowing tang may be a clue. The wood handles could be reassembled and glued..... I have no intention of ever selling it so I am not sure what to do.
I have researched the firm to the best of my ability and I have no idea what kind of wood was used for the handle of this cleaver. The pieces that have fallen from the tang resemble terra cotta . My instinct tells me hickory but I really don't know. Any clues?
It depends on the ultimate purpose for restoring the knife, IMO. If the purpose is to display it, then you probably want the same wood. Have you tried asking the people at your local nursery? They might know what kind of wood it is, or can possibly refer you to someone else who does know. You might want to keep the old wooden pieces and use them as part of the display. Encase the restored cleaver in a glass display case and include the original broken handle, you know.
If the purpose is to restore the cleaver and actually use it, then you might want to use a stronger wood, possibly oak or teak, and just toss out the old, broken-up handle and be done with it. Just my 2 cents' worth. [;>)
I gave up on the original wood and opted for oak I salvaged from an old pallet. I would really like to confirm the shape of blade is close to original. I understand that in many cases the maker ground a rounded blade and over the years the user, intentionally or otherwise, flattened out the curve. I am going to attempt to swap out a couple of pictures.