Grizzly 8.7" Hand Forged Heavy Duty Meat Cleaver, Serbian Style, High Carbon Steel, Olive Wood Handle

The Grizzly is an 8.7" heavy duty meat cleaver with a wide, heavy profile made for one job: getting through bone. Primal breakdown, splitting a rack of ribs, taking a pork leg apart at the joint. It is hand forged from high carbon steel, full tang with steel pins, and fitted with an olive wood handle that has plenty of grain to look at between chops.

Built for Bone

This butcher cleaver is for people who buy a quarter or half animal, or who simply prefer to cut their own ribs, oxtail and chops. Let the weight fall and it drives through dense bone and cartilage where a chef knife would chip or bounce. It is overkill for fine slicing and far too big for dicing garlic. If you mostly cook on a smoker and want something that also carves, look at the Kodiak 8" drop point cleaver. For the whole heavy lineup, see our butcher knives and cleavers.

A Gift That Gets Used

Give the Grizzly to the person who orders a side of beef every year, or the hunter who refuses to pay someone else to process a deer. It makes a memorable retirement gift for a man who finally has time to cure his own bacon, and it lands well at Christmas under a tree full of socks. The olive wood handle means it looks as good hanging on a wall rack as it works on the block. More ideas sit in our knife gifts.

Every Xcutlery blade is high carbon steel, hand forged one at a time in the Serbian style: thick stock, a lot of hammer work, and the forge finish left on the flats.

Forged in the Serbian style, the Grizzly is hammered by hand into a broad, tall blade and left with the textured finish those hammer blows produce. No two come out quite the same, which is the honest result of working steel by hand. The height of the blade matters. It puts mass high above the edge, so each chop lands with weight rather than arm strength, and the tall face keeps your knuckles well clear of the board.

Why high carbon steel

It takes a very fine edge and comes back quickly on a whetstone. The price of that edge is a little care. This steel is not a rust resistant alloy, so water left on the blade will mark it. Wash it, dry it, wipe on a light coat of oil, and it will be cutting long after the cutting board has given up.

Patina

With use the steel darkens to a grey or blue patina. That is normal for high carbon steel and it helps protect the blade. Red rust is a different thing, and it comes from a knife left wet.

• 8.7" hand forged blade
• High carbon steel
• Heavy and wide profile, built for bone
• Full tang with steel pins
• Olive wood handle
• Built for primal breakdown, butchering and BBQ

Specifications

• Blade: 8.7", hand forged
• Steel: High carbon steel
• Profile: Heavy and wide, built for bone
• Handle: Olive wood
• Finish: Hand forged texture
• Construction: Full tang with steel pins
• Made for: Primal breakdown, butchering, BBQ

• Grizzly 8.7" hand forged heavy duty meat cleaver
• Lifetime warranty against defects in materials and craftsmanship

Each blade is forged by hand, so the forge texture, hammer marks and wood grain on yours will be its own.

This is high carbon steel, so do not let it sit wet. Hand wash, dry right away and rub on a light coat of food safe oil. No dishwasher and no soaking.

Every time you use it

• Hand wash it right after use and dry it straight away
• Wipe on a light coat of food safe oil before it goes away
• Cut on wood or plastic boards
• Touch up the edge on a whetstone when it starts to drag

Keep it away from

• The dishwasher, and a sink full of water overnight
• Glass, stone or metal cutting surfaces
• Prying, twisting or throwing

The full routine is in our high carbon steel knife care guide, and the edge work is in how to sharpen a meat cleaver.

Every Xcutlery knife is covered for life against defects in materials and craftsmanship. If a handle works loose from the tang, a pin comes free, or there is a flaw in the steel or the build that came from us, we repair or replace it free of charge.

It does not cover normal wear such as a dull edge, damage from misuse, or rust from the dishwasher or soaking. Slight differences in forge texture, hammer marks and wood grain are part of a handmade knife, not defects.

To make a claim, email sales@xcutlery.com (Australia: sales@xcutlery.com.au) with your order number and photos. Separately, you have 30 days from delivery to return an unused knife. Engraved and custom knives cannot be returned for a change of mind. Full terms are on the warranty page.

Will it go through beef bone?
Yes. It was built for primal breakdown and drives through dense bone and cartilage. Let the weight do the work rather than swinging hard.

What steel is the Grizzly made from?
High carbon steel, hand forged. It takes a keen edge and is easy to sharpen at home, but it needs to be dried and oiled after use.

Is there a warranty?
Every knife carries a lifetime warranty against defects in materials and craftsmanship, and shipping is free in the USA and Australia.

How do I stop it rusting?
Dry it the moment you finish washing it and keep a thin coat of food safe oil on the blade between uses. Over time high carbon steel darkens into a patina, which is normal and actually helps protect it.

Primal breakdown and splitting ribs are where the Grizzly belongs. Before you commit to this much steel, our guide on how heavy a meat cleaver should be is worth a few minutes.