Description
A cleaver this small is a deliberate choice. You get cleaver geometry — a tall, flat blade that scoops as well as it chops — in a knife 5.5 inches from tip to butt.
| Overall length | 5.5 inches |
| Blade length | 2.5 inches |
| Handle length | 3 inches |
| Steel | 1095 + 15N20 Damascus, 352 layers |
| Hardness | 58–60 HRC, oil tempered |
| Weight | 8 oz |
| Handle | wood handle with beautiful resin |
| Pattern | Wind & Mix twist Fire pattern Damascus Blade, Extreme custom Brass File-work |
| Included | Hand-stitched leather sheath |
Where it earns its keep: camp kitchens, bar prep, and the small board jobs a big cleaver makes clumsy. Shallots, garlic, a chicken thigh off the bone. The tall blade gives you a face to press herbs flat and a spine wide enough to lean on.
Why the blade is only 2.5 inches
Chopping force comes from mass and edge angle, not from length. At 8 oz across 5.5 inches, almost all of the weight sits forward of your fingers, so the blade does the work on the drop and you only have to steer it. A longer cleaver would swing wider than most travel boards allow.
The handle stack
The handle is wood set against colored resin, so each one comes out of the shop with a different figure in the grain and a different break line between the two materials. Three inches of handle is a full grip for most hands and a three-finger grip for large ones, which is normal on a knife built to ride in a sheath.
What the file-work is doing
The brass file-work along the spine is cut by hand after the blade is forged. It is decorative, but it also gives your thumb a textured place to sit when you choke up for fine cuts. A hand-stitched leather sheath is included, which matters on a blade with no folding mechanism.
Carrying it
A knife this short rides on a belt without pulling at it, which is why the leather sheath matters more here than the dimensions suggest. Most owners keep this one in a knife roll or a pack rather than a kitchen block.
Care: this is high-carbon pattern-welded steel, so it will spot if you leave it wet. Dry it as soon as you finish, put a thin film of mineral oil on it once a month, and keep it out of the leather between uses — tanned leather holds moisture against a blade. Our 352-layer Damascus explainer covers what the layer count does and does not tell you.
FAQs
Is it big enough to be a real cleaver? For a home or camp board, yes. For breaking bone or heavy butchery, step up to a full-size Damascus cleaver with a 9 inch blade.
Will the pattern wear off? No. The pattern is the structure of the steel, not a coating, so it goes all the way through. Sharpening exposes fresh layers rather than removing the figure.
How should I store it? Out of the leather, dry, with the edge protected. Why a cleaver profile at all is covered in our blade shapes guide.
Model: BMK-164
Ronald Torres –
Got this for a groomsman gift and now I want one for myself too. This has quickly replaced my old go to knife for field dressing. Can’t recommend this enough.
Roger Clark –
So happy I finally pulled the trigger on this one. Sheath snaps shut securely and doesn’t feel flimsy at all. Already added a few more items from this maker to my cart.
Antoine Marsh –
Not going to lie. This exceeded my expectations by a lot. This has quickly replaced my old go to knife for field dressing. This is the kind of purchase that makes online shopping worth it.
Ashley Young –
Can’t stop showing this off to everyone who comes over. Pommel and guard are solid, no wobble anywhere on the knife. Fit and finish is museum quality. You can tell real craftsmen made this by hand. Worth every penny.
Michael Jefferson –
Kept picking this knife up just to admire it after it arrived. Fit and finish is museum quality. You can tell real craftsmen made this by hand. This is exactly why I keep coming back to this company.
Walter Gray –
This knife has already earned a permanent spot in my collection. Even the small details in the damascus pattern are crisp and clean. Handle feels amazing and the balance is perfect. Can’t say enough good things about this purchase.