I raw feed by dogs and have a cheap (~$15) butcher knife that has gotten beat to hell. The edge has gotten bent from being forced through bones.
How can I get the edge straightened back out? It isnt notched. It’s just has curves in it as you look down the edge. Put the blade on a flat surface and take a hammer to it? Or is there a better way?
Yeah, it’s a cheap knife and can be replaced easily, but fixing it is more fun.
I would start by using a steel. Like: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019CEWA9S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_ZsshCbJ796QD7
Steels are more for “unrolling” the edge than sharpening. You may also need to resharpen at this point.
I think I’m beyond what a steel is going to do. This goes beyond “unrolling”.
all chefs please stop reading now
When taking apart a pork shoulder I’ll use a mallet to pound the blade through the bone. I’ll be buying a saw for this in the future. I do have to saw though - hacking stuff apart with a butcher knife is a great way to release some stress without going full Dexter.
Not sure these pictures convey what I’m dealing with:
That looks like it may need to go to the grinder. Not sure you can straighten it and still have a hard blade, but I know very little about working with metal.
don’t care about strengthing. Just want to be able to sharpen it without damaging my sharpening stone.
Doing meal prep for the dogs has really driven home the value of a sharp knife. If makes an amazing difference when you’re hacking up chicken thighs and brisket. You also see very quickly why it is safer to have a razor sharp knife verus a dull knife.
I concur. You’re either going to have to grind it out or hammer it out (which would require knowledge about the material you probably don’t have). The mallet method you were using has to be a major contributor to the problem. This cleaver doesn’t look particularly suited to hacking bone. Unless I am mistaken regarding the thickness, it looks more suited to vegetables and deboned meat, possibly poultry bones.
Also, remember that cleavers get a blunter edge than most knives ~25 deg instead of the conventional 22.5 deg.
If you’re going to attack bones that way, I’d take an entirely different approach!
@carpa - mashing on the cleaver with a mallet to take apart a pork shoulder is in no way a recommended practice. However, at the moment its the tool I have on hand…although the chainsaw looks inviting.
@bertberaht - A machete would be really satisfying but I think it would be safer for everybody if I go with a bone saw or something that doesnt have me swinging a sharp blade around.
