I want to buy a cleaver, not an expat one since it will be exclusively for kitchen use. Hoping to find something for 300 or less and I was hoping to use a smaller knife maker not something like shun or wusthoff. Thanks.
check out the stuff by Daado over on bladeforums or Instagram. Good forged cleavers at great prices. I have a 1/8" one coming soon
Victorinox it is what every professional line chef I know uses, but the serious question is why can’t you use an expat cleaver exclusively in the kitchen?
I like my 6” Grohmann cleaver. Hand made in Canada. The price is reasonable as well at about $100USD. All my kitchen knives are Grohmanns, mainly from their forged line. Love ‘em. http://www.gknives.com/index.php/products/kitchen/full-tang/chefs-cleaver-detail about 4.5mm thick (0.177”)
On the one hand, I don't see a reason to give up Expat or Old hickory. On the other hand, there are a lot of expert reviews which help you to make the right choice. For example - this one
Dexter Russell white handle or fibrox black. Available off Amazon for under a Grant I’m pretty sure. Made by people who have been doing it since the Stone Age and used by pros worldwide. You want a cleaver to cut things in the kitchen...not chop down the greatest tree in the forest withhhhhh.....
T M Hunt makes the greatest cleaver in the history of the world. One of the forum members here has the best of the best he made.
I'm kind of a snob when it comes to kitchen cutlery and even though I only have a Mercer chef knife, I'd recommend either the wusthof classic or ikon (if they make a cleaver in the ikon) or a zwilling J.A. Henckles.