Nathan Cline’s Western-style cleavers are big, strong choppers, perfect for everything from breaking down a chicken to splitting spaghetti squash.

Nathan currently makes two styles of cleaver: The Western, and the exquisite Japanese Nakiri-style meat cleaver. The Western is the larger and heavier of the two, giving it a gravity boost to easily move through hard rinds and bone.

The blade is curved, to enable rapid chopping, and its precision edge geometry makes it exceptionally sharp. The handle is sculpted to fit the hand, indexing the grip to ensure that the knife stays safely in place even when slippery.

Cleavers can be made from a variety of steels, ranging from recycled sawmill blades that retain some of their original wear marks, to advanced high-carbon alloys finished to a high polish for maximum protection against kitchen spills.

Some are differentially heat-treated to give them a hard (60-65HRC) edge with a tougher, more flexible spine. This allows the cleaver to keep a hard, razor-sharp edge while the shock-absorbing spine prevents chips and fractures.

Handles can be built to fit your hand, of exotic or domestic woods, resins, and custom-made mosaic pins.