Good cleaver for beginning user?

I'd like to try a cleaver, and obviously prefer to keep the investment as low as possible. Basically, I'm a light-use home cook with only a rudimentary knowledge of knives and no experience sharpening blades. I cut up whole chicken carcasses about once every 6 weeks, and I'd like to have a bit of fun when i do so, as well as prepping some vegetables. I'm not going to be Rambo when dismantling bones in the birds. I dont really foresee myself using a cleaver predominantly, but I'd like the cleaver to last for a long time, too. With this pattern of usage, is a cck a proper purchase, or will a no-name cleaver adequately match my needs? Can y'all suggest a good model? (I'm not adverse to buying used cleaver, especially from a forum member who has maintained it well.)

Also, I've seen whet stone suggestions of a Bester 1200x and a Suehiro Rika 5k. Are those still good options for beginners? Is ~$50 each the normal price for them?

 

Depends on what you want to use the clever for primarily. Reply with some details on that and I think we'll probably be able to narrow your interest down to something rather affordable.

 

I cut up whole chicken carcasses about once every 6 weeks, and I'd like to have a bit of fun when I do so, as well as prepping some vegetables. I'm not going to be Rambo when dismantling bones in the birds.

Is there any other specific info that would help?

 

I use cleavers often, probably my most used knife. The cck is a good bet, not the prettiest, but the steel sharpens easy. I have no idea what the hrc is, but it works.

The 1103 is larger and I use it for most tasks. If I was using it for chicken and had to fanagle around bones I would use the 1303 which is slightly smaller. You can get a passable cleaver for 10 to 20 bucks, but you never know what you may get. The cck is a sure bet as a reasonable workhorse

 

I think the CCK is more money than you need to spend on a chinese chef's knife, but if you drop down into the $10-$20 range you're quite likely to have to put in some time thinning and evening out both the edge and behind to get something that'll perform reasonably well. So I suppose that's the big question you'll have to ask yourself: do you want to pay a little extra for a little less work, or do you want to go a little cheaper and likely have to put some time in to tune it on how you would like it; and all of this is assuming you want a carbon steel blade. Whatever direction you go, I highly recoomend being able to get your hands on several examples at wherever you plan to purchase from so you can pick out the one with the least amount of flaws.

 

The Dexter/Russel is still under $40. Hard to beat for general use and breaking down yard birds. They take a good edge. Mine never sees over a 1K stone. These will split breasts with cartilage in half with ease.

Dave