Finding a useable non-custom blade for the cleaver is pretty hard without going custom. The most common blade is a bit like a bolo machete, but shorter and much thicker. There were many variations, of course, but from what I can find, only rarely and rather later do we see blades that look more like modern kitchen meat cleavers. Large "chopper" knives used for heavy woodwork somewhat resemble the classic Waidpraxe, but tend to be pricier than I want for this project.
Luckily, in my searches I stumbled across two examples that could serve as models. One is archived at
Hermann Historica and the other at
Bonham's; both are identified as Saxon (in the sense of originating from Saxony), mid-17th century, and have unusually narrow blades with parallel edges. The Bonham's example has a dropped point.
As it happens, Crazy Crow sells
a large blade with a similar profile. It's far from perfect; it's faintly bowed, lacks a fuller, and as a cleaver, it could stand to be a millimeter or two thicker. Also, the company offers no guarantees on the steel or heat-treatment of the Indian-made lineups in this price bracket (which include the belduque I'm using in this project as a by-knife). But its simple geometry and profile make it a unique design, and probably the best I'm going to get without going custom. The fact that the rifleman blade has a similar cross section and the same finish as the belduque is fortuitous.
The first step in modifying it is to give its grip the classic Waidpraxe profile. To begin with, I marked it up as you can see above.
I first attacked the tang with the scroll saw, but it wanted nothing to do with this and I was afraid all I'd accomplish would be wearing out the saw blade. Instead, I've turned to the angle grinder, which is less suited for fine work like this but much more powerful. Its flap disk ate away the corners of the butt end in seconds.
This kind of heavy work is what results in the blade "burning" or losing its heat treatment, which you can see near the third rivet hole where the steel is turning brown. Clearly, I will have to proceed slowly and (if possible) use two clamps as heat sinks.
With any luck, next update in a week or two.
