Making a Tapered Tang Cleaver Butcher Knife (Full Knife Build)

Description In this video I forged out a large cleaver from 80CrV2 steel. I needed to make some thicker starting stock, so I forge welded some 80CrV2 flat bar. I used my Coal Iron Works 12-ton press rough shape the steel, and refined the shape of the blade on the anvil and with the 2x72 grinder. I forged a taper on the tang, and attached desert ironwood handle scales. I used Total Boat Medium epoxy with black color pigment added, along with (6) 3mm stainless steel handle pins to secure the scales. I rough shaped the handle on the 2x72, and refined the shape by hand. I took the handle finish up to 400-grit before applying 3 coats of Odie’s Oil finish, allowing at least 12 hours of cure time between coats. I used Wedgek angle guides to help sharpen the knife on diamond stones, and progressed through a 300-grit, 1200-grit, and 3000-grit stone. I stropped the knives on a double sided leather strop loaded with 5 micron diamond paste on one side and 3.5 micron diamond paste on the other.