18cm Fusion Cleaver
18cm Fusion Cleaver
£330
All the fun of a cooking cleaver without the learning curve: deep enough for serious root vegetables, good enough knuckle clearance for fast prep work, and with enough rock to handle more than you would expect from a blade this shape.
We love the Chinese cleaver as a concept. What we are less keen on is the significant learning curve it tends to impose before it becomes useful. The Astounding Cleaver is our answer to that: all the fun, most of the capability, and none of the six-month adjustment period. The bottom inch of the blade is a near-parallel sliver of hardened steel less than a millimetre thick. It will handle a pile of carrots, a pumpkin, a rack of lamb, and a lemon. It is the personal favourite knife of the person who makes all of them, for whatever that is worth. The one thing it will not do is get into tight spaces that require a point, which is the only honest limitation we can name. It is also pretty much the only knife Laurie uses at home.
The Astounding Cleaver is made from Sandvik (Alleima) 14C28N, a modern Swedish stainless steel, hardened in-house to 60 HRC using a nitrogen atmosphere process. The heat treatment takes the steel from 1080°C to -75°C in a controlled cycle that maximises carbide formation, edge stability, and corrosion resistance.
The blade is concave ground to 0.3mm thickness at 1mm from the edge. This geometry reduces drag through dense produce and improves slicing performance without sacrificing rigidity. Every Savernake knife is sharpened to 15° per side.
CATRA, the global authority on cutlery performance, rank our blades in the top 2.5% of all blades ever assessed for initial sharpness and edge retention, tested to ISO 8442.5.
Washing
Wash by hand and dry immediately. The steel handles dishwashers, but the handle materials don’t, and the blade will dull faster regardless. Ten seconds at the sink is the right habit.
Day-to-day maintenance
A honing steel realigns the edge between sharpenings. Two or three passes per side before heavy use is enough. You don’t need to do this every time – just when the blade starts to feel less certain.
Sharpening
We offer complimentary workshop sharpening once a year for the first three years. After that we sharpen at cost. If you prefer to sharpen at home, our blades are ground to a 15-degree bevel – specify this if you use a third-party service, as most sharpen to 20 or 22 degrees as a default.
Storage
A magnetic strip or knife roll is ideal. Loose in a drawer accelerates dulling and risks chipping the edge. If a drawer is the only option, a blade guard solves both problems.
Handle care
Timber handles benefit from a light application of food-safe cutting board oil once or twice a year. Composite handles need nothing beyond normal washing.
Yourself
“The only stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”
– Julia Child
UK and Channel Island Delivery is Free
Each knife has a default handle that is held in stock and available for next working day despatch.
If you’d prefer another of our standard handles, we’ll despatch within 7 working days.
If you design your own knife through the Configurator, we aim for 4 weeks or less to make it from scratch.
All orders are delivered by Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed in specially-designed tubular Savernake packaging.
A signature and age verification will be required on delivery.
We charge a £40 flat rate for delivery worldwide and use UPS.
Lifetime Guarantee
With proper care, our knives are guaranteed for a lifetime of use
Unique Concave Geometry
Our signature blade profile. A cutting edge with only the thinnest sliver of near-parallel steel to follow through.
CATRA Top 2.5% Worldwide
Independently ranked in the top 2.5% of all knives ever assessed for sharpness and edge retention
60 HRC Hardness
Hardened in-house to 60 HRC using a nitrogen atmosphere and cryogenic treatment to -75°C
Individually Crafted
Every knife is made by hand in our Wiltshire workshop, from steel selection through to final edge
Like some more options?
Our configurator lets you choose from 18 blade designs, with full control over handle material, shape, spine pattern and accent colour.Â
