countryboy
Single-Sixer
I bought this old Briddell cleaver a while back on ebay and thought I'd post some pictures of what I did to it. It is a pretty big cleaver and has an 8" blade, about 14 3/4" OAL. It was in really good shape compared to some I have seen and I think I got a pretty good deal on it. I see a lot of these with a good bit of damage to the spine from pounding on them and this one had a little close to the end but not much. It had a nice patina on the blade but I do plan to use it occasionally so I wanted to clean it up good so it would be sanitary. Who knows what this thing has cut over the years. The handle was solid but did have a few gaps between it and the tang and was held on by rivets.
I'm not sure how old it its but a little research showed that the Briddell company started in the late 1800s. There are quite a few Briddell cleavers out there but most I have seen are stamped " Briddell Solid Steel " and mine has a shield stamped on it and says " Briddell Of Crisfield ". I have seen others with the shield like mine but not near as many as I see with the solid steel stamp so I think this one is pretty old. I did see one on another forum stamped like mine that someone said had been in their family for a hundred years but I have no way to confirm the age of mine for sure. Anyway I think it's cool and will come in handy chopping up ribs for the smoker.
Basically I removed the handles and washed it good with soap and water. I sanded off the old patina and then used an sos pad and some bleach water to make sure and kill any bacteria. I used vinegar to force a new patina and then sent it to Matt of ML Knives to be re handled. Matt even put a nice edge on it for me for no extra charge. Below are some photos showing the progress.
This is what It looked like when I received it.
I removed the handles and used a Dremel to sand it down.
I then hand sanded it.
Here is a close up of the stamp.
Forced a new patina on it with vinegar.
Note the dark line half way up the blade. I think this is the temper line. I asked Matt of ML Knives about it and he agreed that most likely it is. Matt said In the old days a lot of blades were done this way and he thinks it makes for a better blade. He tempers his knives in a similar way and I can attest to the quality of Matt's knives because I own several.
Aged tiger maple handles put on by Matt from ML Knives.
New sheath.
I'm not sure how old it its but a little research showed that the Briddell company started in the late 1800s. There are quite a few Briddell cleavers out there but most I have seen are stamped " Briddell Solid Steel " and mine has a shield stamped on it and says " Briddell Of Crisfield ". I have seen others with the shield like mine but not near as many as I see with the solid steel stamp so I think this one is pretty old. I did see one on another forum stamped like mine that someone said had been in their family for a hundred years but I have no way to confirm the age of mine for sure. Anyway I think it's cool and will come in handy chopping up ribs for the smoker.
Basically I removed the handles and washed it good with soap and water. I sanded off the old patina and then used an sos pad and some bleach water to make sure and kill any bacteria. I used vinegar to force a new patina and then sent it to Matt of ML Knives to be re handled. Matt even put a nice edge on it for me for no extra charge. Below are some photos showing the progress.
This is what It looked like when I received it.
I removed the handles and used a Dremel to sand it down.
I then hand sanded it.
Here is a close up of the stamp.
Forced a new patina on it with vinegar.
Note the dark line half way up the blade. I think this is the temper line. I asked Matt of ML Knives about it and he agreed that most likely it is. Matt said In the old days a lot of blades were done this way and he thinks it makes for a better blade. He tempers his knives in a similar way and I can attest to the quality of Matt's knives because I own several.
Aged tiger maple handles put on by Matt from ML Knives.
New sheath.
