Cleaving it: The ESEE Expat Cleaver, first look

When you think the phrase Cleaver I’m betting you don’t think survival. You probably think butcher, but at the end of the day every hunter has a little butcher in them right? That what this cleaver is for, the hunter, the adventurer, and the survivor. This the tool a man who kills a deer in the morning and has it butchered and ready to eat before dinner, and of course cooks it over a campfire. The ESEE Expat Cleaver is a beast and is for the serious hunter, survivor, and camper.

The ESEE Expat Introduction

ESEE has long been a friend of the Loadout Room, their gear is always top-notch and was one of the first products I ever reviewed for the Loadout Room was the ESEE 4 fixed blade knife. I’ve been a fan for some time and when browsing their website I stumbled across the Expat Cleaver and just knew I had to review it.

Expat knives and ESEE are good friends and have joined together to produce a series of knives and of course at least one cleaver. Expat is the Nom de Guerre of a world traveler who apparently hangs out in the sketchier parts of the world. He needed knives and like me was a fan of ESEE. After years of carrying and using their products on his adventures. The ESEE Expat Cleaver in this first in this line.

Unboxing the Cleaver

I’m not going to lie, you can read the specs and you’ll know that the cleaver is :

• 11.5 inches long
• 3.25 inches wide (at its widest point)
• Weighs 25.5 ounces

But nothing really prepares you for pulling this massive cleaver out of the box. It feels incredibly well-built and looks fantastic. The massive blade is coated with a black finish that looks fantastic. This is a black powder coat applied by Rowen. The ESEE Expat Cleaver is a full tang design with G10 black handles with a glass breaker and lanyard loop.

The handle really fills the hand and feels insanely comfortable. The cleaver is, of course, blade heavy, but that’s the point. The ESEE Expat Cleaver comes with a leather sheath, or maybe it’s better described as a blade cover. This isn’t designed to be worn on the belt but kept in the pack until game is taken and needs to be cleaned.

With that said the Cleaver should be a handy light axe work, not for splitting wood, but would be excellent for light chopping. I intend to use and abuse the cleaver quite a bit with both light and moderate chopping. I’m also planning to chop a bit of meat, and show just what this cleaver can do in the wild. If just holding it is exciting, imagine how much fun it is to use.