Serbian Style Knives, Hand Forged

What does Serbian style mean on Xcutlery?

Here it means a way of forging and a look, not a postmark. The blade is hammered out of high carbon steel, then the edge is ground bright while the dark forge scale or hammer texture stays on the flats. The profile is tall, the spine is thick, and the tang runs the full length of the handle with steel pins holding the wood on. That is why a chef knife and a cleaver on this page look like relatives at the same wedding. The scale is not a cosmetic leftover either: the textured flats help food release from the steel, and over time the bright edge darkens into a patina, which is normal.

Why are the blades so tall and heavy?

Height keeps your knuckles off the board and gives you a wide face to scoop a pile of chopped onion into the pan. Weight puts mass right over the edge, so the cut comes from the steel falling rather than from you leaning on it. A light knife makes you push. A Serbian knife mostly asks you to guide it. The trade is that a heavy blade is slower to flick around for fine work, which is why the range also includes slimmer knives for trimming and slicing.

Which Serbian knife should you start with?

Start with the one that matches what you cut most. For vegetables, herbs and boneless meat, the Kermode 7" is the easy first pick: a curved edge that rocks, 349 grams, $119. If you grill and break down cuts at home, the Kodiak 8" has a drop point that carves at the grill and a heavy blade that splits joints. If you want the full Serbian cleaver experience, the Rhino 8" has a 7.6 mm spine and a modified cleaver profile. It is made to order, so allow 2 to 3 weeks before it ships. In stock knives arrive in 5 to 6 business days.

Serbian chef knives

A Serbian chef knife sits between a chef knife and a cleaver. The Chef's Kiss 7" has a tall blade and weighs 404 grams, so it chops dense squash without a fight. The Kermode is a little lighter and rocks more easily. If you want something closer to a classic chef knife, the Orca 7" is the everyday option at 260 grams, and the Ironclad 8.7" adds reach and a hand hammered spine. Our guide on what a chef knife is used for covers the daily jobs, and the full group lives in our chef knives.

Serbian cleavers

This is where the weight goes up. The Kraken 8" is hammer textured and suits game and quartering. The Megalodon 6.6" has a finger hole, which hangs the knife on a hook and locks the blade to your hand in a pinch grip for slicing. Keep the finger out of it when you chop bone. The Warthog 6" is the compact one for the grill. For beef bone and primal cuts, the Grizzly 8.7" and the Mammoth 9.1" do the heavy work. None of them should go near frozen meat or frozen bone, which chips the edge. The rest of the choppers are in our meat cleavers.

The rest of the range

Not every job needs a cleaver, and pretending otherwise is how people end up hacking at a fish. The Hellfang 5" is a small butcher knife for trimming meat. The Mako 7.5" boning knife has a trailing point for working around joints, and the Barracuda fillet knives come with 6" and 8" blades just 1.8 mm thick. For brisket, the Mamba 11" has a long straight edge that slices in one stroke. If you would rather buy once, the Butcher's Trio puts three cleavers in one set and the Mastercraft 4 piece set pairs two cleavers with a fish and steak cutter and a 9" chef knife.

How the Serbian style knives compare

Read before you buy

If you are stuck between the two main shapes, cleaver vs chef knife settles which one to buy first, and Serbian cleaver vs Chinese cleaver explains how the heavy Serbian blade differs from the thin vegetable cleaver. Keep the edge working with how to sharpen a meat cleaver, and keep rust away with our high carbon steel knife care routine. Want more than one? See our knife sets, and if the knife is for someone else, our knife gifts are a good place to start.