FINEST Antique Portugese Chef's Swiss-style Cleaver Butcher Knife RAZOR SHARP

Please read our Terms below for details. PLEASE NOTE: We take our photos in natural light outdoors and as a result there are sometimes reflections or shadows or glare shown in the blades. In person none of these exist; we will say so in the description if it may be otherwise. This beautifully crafted piece of antique cutlery was forged in Lisbon, Portugal by a maker named J. Silva and Jamao and it is as fine a piece as any of those traditional cleavers of this form that were made by so many companies in France and Belgium.

Oddly for a piece most commonly found in Francophone kitchens it is one known sometimes there as a "feuille, " which means sheet or leaf, or here in the English-speaking world, as a Swiss Cleaver. When the French go to giving their knives special names ("cuisine massif/cuisine massive, " "trenchelard" and "tournier" are others), you can be sure it is because they are treasured, and that should surprise no one who has ever used such a knife as this. With its rare, clipped-point blade, to say the least, this superb piece is a model of craftsmanship and quality that proves exactly why such knives are so highly treasured.

It's an older piece and closely resembles those made for Sabatier by Thiers-Issard, who was a major producer of these fine blades, but it differs in that its point is clipped and its handle was turned from some kind of hardwood, probably laurel, which was much more common in Portugese knives. They're not made at all these days because the style of its construction is quite labor-intensive and requires considerable craftsmanship and extra hand-finishing (and honing--it's sharpened all the way around to the point at top of blade to permit chopping, slicing AND scraping in a push motion) and uses a much larger piece of expensive blade-stock. It's shape makes it as adept at slicing and cutting meat as it is for your toughest cutting and chopping.

It's size is deceptive, and it is much more maneuverable and agile than you might think, despite the fact that it measures a whopping 14.75" long with a blade that's 10.5" long and 4.25 wide. Weighing in at 19.7 ounces, it enjoys considerable heft yet never feels clumsy or unwieldy in the hand. Though its obvious uses call to mind whacking chops, steaks or poultry parts from a larger piece of meat, it's beautifully balanced and excels at slicing and even finer mincing and dicing, leaving even some very pricey oriental cleavers in the dust, in terms of performance. For most western users, it will be a first; it's much more like a chef's knife than what we in America think of as a cleaver, which tends to be thick and clunky, like an ax. Best of all, perhaps, this exceptional knife was given an EXTREMELY sharp professional edge by the good people at Ross Cutlery in downtown Los Angeles, the best in the business. As such, it must be treated with extreme care and is guaranteed to thrill even the most jaded veteran users. Please exercise MAXIMUM caution, since a careless user may find himself in the E. As you can see in the photos, its original turned and grooved bat-style handle has a "skullcrusher"-style pommel, which is solid carbon steel. It has been used over the years but it has NONE of the minor hairlines often found on the handles of such knives. The entire piece is quite tight and still provides a very sure grip; there should be no doubt that this piece will serve faithfully for another few generations, if called into service to do so. You'll find that this piece is fully capable of attaining instant heirloom status in the collection of any professional or amateur chef who is lucky enough to acquire it. Our store's inventory is searchable using the search field or may be browsed by clicking on categories, with each option found on the left side of the store's homepage.

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We take customer service very seriously and want to do whatever it takes to meet your needs. If you're not in total agreement with us here or disagree for any reason, we can only urge that you PLEASE shop elsewhere. International packages will be calculated on the basis of a MINIMUM ONE POUND weight. IMPORTANT: After TWELVE YEARS of doing everything we could to hold the line on int'l. If you're not in total agreement with us here or disagree for any reason, again, we can only urge you to PLEASE shop elsewhere. We'd like to sell'em cheaper.. But MY WIFE won't let me!! The item "FINEST Antique Portugese Chef's Swiss-style Cleaver Butcher Knife RAZOR SHARP" is in sale since Thursday, April 30, 2020. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Kitchen & Home\Kitchenware\Utensils\Cutlery". The seller is "ralph1396" and is located in Los Angeles, California. This item can be shipped worldwide.

Country/Region of Manufacture: Portugal