Butchers Cleaver - Restoration

My good friend from Germany was clearing out his shed when he came across his grandmother's old butcher's cleaver. I told him I'd love to restore it and he was kind enough to send it over to me! Not much is known about the origins of the blade as it doesn't have a maker's mark on it at all. But it was likely forged by a local blacksmith to his grandmother as you can see the forge marks on the tang when I remove the handle in the video.
The cleaver itself is quite basic so I knew I needed to get a bit creative with this restoration. I began by removing the handle which was held on by the peened over tang. I attempted to straighten it out but without heat the metal just snapped. In order to fix this, the handle needed to be drawn out with a mixture of hot and cold forging which increased the tang length from 14cm to 16cm.
I removed the rust from the blade using a mixture of electrolysis and wire wheeling, after which I decided I would not grind away the pitting as it gives the blade a unique character and us an insight to its past. The handle was beyond repair, so I crafted a new handle from a lovely piece of walnut wood and decided to accent it with a brass bolster and butt plate.
All of these components were shaped using files, mini lathe and grinding belts. Eventually they were all bound together using a two-part epoxy and finally secured by re-peening the tang onto the butt plate which was a different style than the original. The blade was finished off with a mirror finished sharpened blade, mirror finished brass and a tung oiled handle.
It was a unique, interesting challenge and often very stressful! But I believe the results speak for themselves and I am happy to have given this old blade a brand-new lease of life.
I hope you enjoyed the video and please like and subscribe if you would like to see more in the future :)
RestoreMore

[@BradleyStuartable]

This video demonstrates a really creative use of "alternative" tools, e.g., utilizing common chisels for lathe cutters. Brilliant! Plus the final product in no way suffers from using common shop tools alternatively. A job very well done. And thank you for the brilliant ideas.

[@RestoreMore]

Thank you very much, glad you appreciate my basic tool workshop! Cheers for watching :)

[@geraldstamour1312]

Ideal gift for any food service professional!

[@alangunning9019]

Tremendous stuff! Very satisfying banana choppage - it WILL cut!

[@RestoreMore]

Cheers Alan!! The banana didn't stand a chance!

[@MotoWrenchers]

Bro, this video is amazing. Your craftsmanship as well as the editing are amazing. Great job on the cleaver, so unique, so beautiful. Ich ziehe meinen Hut, mein Freund!

[@RestoreMore]

Thank you for your kind words bröther! Couldn’t do it without you! 😎

[@dojoron]

Oh my god I LOVE butchers cleavers , SO SO NICE

[@smp-vn3pc]

Im far behind a handyman or a hands on kind of guy but i really appreciate the work you do and all the super cool tools you have i will probably nevver attempt or even try to do the things you do cause it's just not me but i love watching your videos it really relaxes me and very peaceful

[@RestoreMore]

Thanks a lot for that buddy, makes my day to read it! I'm glad the videos help you to chill out :) You should give restoring something a try! I'm sure you'd be great at it! I'm just finishing up editing my next video as we speak. Should be out tomorrow night!

[@robertbeer2584]

probable my favorite cleaver restoration simple and beautifull

[@RestoreMore]

Thank you! That means a lot :) so happy you enjoyed it!

[@tori5225]

dude the production quality as well as your craftsmanship is insane!!! i cant believe you don’t have several hundred thousand subscribers! keep up the good work you definitely have something special here.

[@RestoreMore]

Made my day! Thank you for the comment! So happy you enjoyed it and I’ll keep the videos coming! 🙌🏼

[@mattansell7691]

That’s an amazing transformation. Excellent job!

[@RestoreMore]

Thank you Matt, really glad you liked the video!

[@RestorationAustralia]

Super, well done.😊

[@mathuparrish6798]

Well done!

[@taffiejames1496]

Excellent work. 🎉😊

[@RestoreMore]

Much appreciated Taffie :)

[@alistairmcdonald9715]

Great restoration and video quality was awesome. Well done.

[@RestoreMore]

Thank your bröther! Much appreciated!

[@BenLymanO_o]

It would have been tough for me to leave all that pitting without grinding at least an inch or so higher. It shows you need patience and restraint to restore things properly.

[@Urashok]

Solid video dude, keep it up!

[@RestoreMore]

Thank you! Appreciate it broski!

[@tennwalt]

!0 out of 10 for excellent craftsmanship as well as production. You are going places young man, count on it! Subbed

[@RestoreMore]

Thank you, that really means a lot to me! And thank you for the sub! More projects on the way!

[@TheBakerBro]

Earned a sub. Well done

[@RestoreMore]

Legend! Thank you so much!! 🙌🏼

[@markneo1]

Excelente trabalho. Parabéns 👏👏🇧🇷

[@troymanning3150]

Nice job

[@RestoreMore]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@gregmcewan6882]

This is one of these videos you can watch!

[@lughaidhcook3429]

Love this pimped it up but also kept all of the character. I really love this channel please if you have time could you post more as I’ll watch all your videos religiously. Love ur channel man keep at it

[@RestoreMore]

Haha really happy you enjoy it! I shall be posting regularly now! Thanks again! :)

[@lughaidhcook3429]

@@RestoreMore really glad to hear that. Can’t wait for more

[@RestoreMore]

☺️☺️☺️

[@user-yz4xo6pd7r]

Очень брутально смотрится )👍

[@Pilph1966]

Nice job. I watch lots of these and do it myself. Not a fan of leaving the pitting but I know some like that.

[@RestoreMore]

I would be interested to see your work! Just got to do what I think is nice and hope the viewers like it too!

[@user-ln9hw6sz9l]

Saya senang menonton dgn pekerjaan yg anda lakukan..barang yg sudah tidak layak di pakai lagi ,, menjadi bisa di pakai kembali. Saya senang menonton karena sesuai dgn kesukaan saya juga pekerjaan yg anda lakukan..Amin.

[@RestoreMore]

Thank you! 🙌🏼

[@sandyskiing]

🎉

[@anime3713]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@rolandlantz6613]

I really liked this video, until you start with the glue. I hope you didn't glued the tang to the handle. 😢 but other than that, really really good restoration. Thumbsup

[@RestoreMore]

I’m glad you liked it! Yes I did glue it up I never want it to come off! 😂 I definitely didn’t need to glue it but it just makes things a bit more solid!

[@Gha6i]

Do you sell your projects?

[@vityok9414]

I dont know why but i get a felling to do something like this

[@RestoreMore]

You should! It’s a very rewarding feeling!

[@rohananderson8635]

Hope you ate that banana 😂

[@RestoreMore]

Straight in the blender bro 😂

[@gasanahmedov448]

П

[@Facetiously.Esoteric]

Nope. You ruined the temper.

[@RestoreMore]

I quenched it frequently during grinding. What you you advise doing?

[@Facetiously.Esoteric]

@Restore More That's all you can do if you are grinding it. You can see the discoloration I'm talking about. It wasn't the whole blade. Just a small circle, but that's all it takes. I would suggest retempering it. That's what I usually end up doing just to be safe. You want a wider bevel for a cleaver of that style too. I like the handle though. I don't usually leave pitting like that either because it can develop rust much easier than a smooth blade. It also leaves nooks for bacteria to grow in if not properly sanitized.