Megalodon 6.6" Hand Forged Meat Cleaver with Finger Hole, Serbian Style, High Carbon Steel, Wenge Handle

The Megalodon is a 6.6" meat cleaver with a finger hole punched through the top of the blade, and that hole is the whole point. Hook your index finger through it and the cleaver stops being a blunt chopper and becomes something you can steer. It is forged from high carbon steel with raw forge scale on the flats, set on a dark wenge wood handle, full tang with steel pins.

What the Finger Hole Does at the Board

Choke up with a finger in the hole and you get fine control for skinning, trimming silver skin and portioning steaks. Slide your hand back onto the handle and you have a short, heavy chopper with a deep belly for ribs and cartilage. Anglers like it on the dock for heading and portioning a big catch. If you want more reach and more weight behind each chop, the Kraken 8" cleaver is the step up. The full range lives under cleavers.

A Gift That Gets Used

This is the one for the angler who cleans their own catch, or the home cook who wants a knife that looks nothing like the block on the counter. It suits a birthday or a retirement send off for someone with a boat and time on their hands. Shipping is free in the USA and Australia, and you can browse more ideas in 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.

A Serbian cleaver is a wide slab of hand hammered steel with the forge scale left on and, often, a hole near the spine. On plenty of knives that hole is there for show. On the Megalodon it does real work. It sits close to the spine, so your finger lands right over the heaviest part of the blade and the cleaver moves with your hand. The flats stay dark and raw straight off the anvil, and only the edge gets ground and polished, because that is where the cutting happens.

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.

• 6.6" hand forged blade
• High carbon steel
• Top finger hole for control
• Raw forge scale with a polished edge
• Full tang with steel pins
• Wenge wood handle

Specifications

• Blade: 6.6", hand forged
• Steel: High carbon steel
• Handle: Wenge wood
• Finish: Raw forge scale with a polished edge
• Construction: Full tang with steel pins
• Features: Top finger hole for control

• Megalodon 6.6" hand forged 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.

Hand wash it, dry it right away and give the blade a light coat of food safe oil. Keep it out of the dishwasher and never leave it soaking, especially after fish.

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.

What is the finger hole for?
Control. Put your index finger through it for close work like trimming and skinning, or hold the handle alone when you want to chop.

Is this the same as a Serbian chef knife?
It comes from the same forging style, but the Megalodon is a cleaver. It is wider and carries more weight behind the edge, so it chops where a chef knife slices.

Does it cut bone?
Yes, it is built to chop through bone and cartilage. For big beef bones, a heavier cleaver like the Mammoth makes the job easier.

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.

Choke up with a finger in the hole to trim and portion, or slide back onto the handle to chop ribs. If you are still weighing it against our other cleavers, the guide to the best meat cleaver for everyday cooking sorts them by job.