Am I crazy? Re-profile question...

Ok! So this year I am actually the happy recipient of a tax refund! So, naturally, I should use it wisely and buy a new knife...

I'm going to buy a cleaver, but I am concerned about profiles (I found I love the "cleaver-way" via a CCK 1102), and I've been thinking about how to test the profiles of different cleavers without laying down the cash to do so.

Then comes this idea... could I buy one or two really cheap cleavers (e.g. something like http://www.wokshop.com/HTML/products/cleavers/carbon-steel-cleaver.html ) and go to town doing a complete re-profile? Is this completely insane? :scratchhead:

I'd rather not take the route of buying then reselling if it doesn't work out, and one of the options I'm considering (Mizuno) is too much $$ to make this sort of a goof on. Thanks... :scared2:

What do you like/dislike about the profile of your CCK1102?

I learned how to reprofile knives on a CCK. 20 bucks is a cheap lesson.

yeah - I think you're crazy....Grinding cheap steel from a cheap cleaver into an expensive (relatively) stone in order to reinvent the wheel just doesn't sound like fun. If you were to grind a Chicago Cutlery chef's into the profile of a Shige, would you have a Shige experience?

IMHO - the 2 most prevelant cleaver profiles are dead flat or deal flat with some easing at the tip and heal, I wouldn't venture past that...just my $0.02

Well, what I've discovered with the CCK is mainly the shape and use of a cleaver as a knife works really well. My main beef is the edge retention (steel), thus the desire to upgrade.

I like how clean the CCK cuts, but the profile feels "clunky", not smooth as a tend to do more push-cut/rock-cut hybrid... that just sounds strange, I don't do a lot of chopping but I think that's because the CCK is higher at the distal end, which makes board contact with the last third of the blade awkward for a chopping motion.

My CCK 1303 was pretty flat, and I ground the tip to have a little belly in the first inch so it would rock a little better. You can grind the heel a bit too if when rocking back to the heel your stroke ends too abruptly.

I would grind your CCK a bit to address your issues with the profile. It wont take much. Then when you have found a design that works better for you, you can look for a cleaver with a similar profile in a better steel.

+1 johnnychance

ease your tip & heel
Edge retention ? DOn't know your angles, but I wouldn't take a CCk nearly as acute as J-steel, and because the 11xx is so tall, it does feel really strange how hihyou have to lift the spine to get to a 15 - 20* angle