BF2019 - NORA #1608 - 7.5 Cleaver - Sunset

KNIFE HIGHLIGHTS

This Blade is Ground:

>>>Thick for Durability (tough, built to last for heavy wear-n-tear)

This Knife Feels:

>>> Heavy in Hand (hefty, durable.  Make no mistake, this is a HEAVY cleaver.)

GENERAL USES OF THIS KNIFE

CLEAVER

This blade design is our take on the traditional, Western Style Cleaver.

These blades don't hide behind any fancy names...they do exactly what they say which is cleave large bits and bones apart from each other. If it's force and brute strength that you need, this is the knife to get the job done.  Cleavers are primarily used for butchering but they also work well for tougher squashes and vegetables. 

As a huge opposite to most of our other knives, our cleaver has a thick, softer edge which reinforces the toughness that this blade needs to withstand the blows that this knife takes.  Further, we don't sharpen these knives particularly keen because these knives work off momentum and weight, not necessarily sharpness. Speaking of weight...this is a HEAVY knife. The weight is what allows the knife to make clean cuts the first time thru.

And of course, a cleaver would not perhaps feel entirely like a cleaver without the signature hole near the top of the blade.  This provides the user the option of hanging if desired and also helps lighten a little weight on this particularly hefty knife.

HANDLE DESIGN & MATERIALS:

Every one of our knives is handmade, unique and numbered. This NORA knife has been handled with a sleek mix of G10 that was painstakingly glued together, layer by layer.  In this case we started with a base of black G10 and then added in several layers of colored G10 to produce a sunset, gradient effect. We used dual liners in red and orange to further coordinate with this color scheme.  The overall result is a beautiful, polished look that is both modern but classic. We really like how it turned out.

So what is G10? G10 is an incredibly strong & durable fiberglass laminate that was originally used in the electronics industry.  It has been adapted in the knife making world and has proven to be an excellent material for handles as it has high strength, low moisture absorption and can be found in a variety of colors.  It’s one of our favorite materials to work with outside of wood.

STEEL INFORMATION:

AEB-L STAINLESS STEEL

This knife blade is composed of AEB-L stainless steel which is a high-quality Swedish metal, originally developed for razor blades.  Recently, steel suppliers have made this steel available in thicker sheets and it has proven to be an excellent adaptation for the cutlery industry.

AEB-L has a beautiful balance of carbon and chromium and, with proper heat treatment, this steel produces both a very fine edge as well as excellent toughness and edge stability.  The fine grain structure also makes this steel very easy to sharpen. We believe it is one of the finest stainless steels available on the market today for use with kitchen knives.

As a side note, there are two things we like to mention about this steel:

1.) This steel responds beautifully to honing and if the knife is honed regularly it should need infrequent sharpening.

2.) AEB-L is a stainless steel but just barely.  The higher carbon content in this stainless is what allows it to get a fine edge and higher hardness than other stainless steels but it also has a tendency to sometimes form very fine rust spots on the blade.  If this happens, these are easily removed with a green scotch brite pad and usually the rough end of a kitchen sponge will also do the trick.