Dented Knives or more specifically cleavers... Wrong Tech?

So, either I'm chopping raw boned chicken wrong w/ my cleavers, or they're not good quality... I'm thinking I must be doing something wrong. So, I've "dented" two Japanese-made cleavers (actually they're Blue Ginger branded from a short-lived run at Target)... huge nicks in the blade... first cleaver I'm not sure what I was cleaving - crab?!?! then the second time I was cleaving chicken quarters and somehow dented the blade on a thighbone... Should this be happening? I thought cleavers were meant to cut through bone... were my knives too sharp? Too dull? My technique crap? I've got one last Japanese-made cleaver (Sekizo brand) which I'm hesitant to ruin... Do I need to go Henckels, Wusthoff or maybe just a cheap-ass all metal cleaver from Chinatown... Help!??!?

Jay,

There are two types of cleavers. Bone cleavers are extremely heavy and will easily chop through chicken bone,crab shell, and other bones like veal and lamb. I have never seen a bone cleaver damaged by any type of bone.

Vegetable cleavers are just that...lighter knives which are shaped like cleavers and intended only to cut vegetables and to do other light work like chopping herbs. I have seen major damage inflicted to this type of knife over the years when used do perform the wrong task.

Get yourself a heavy *ss Dexter Russell bone cleaver made in good ol' Massachussetts

http//:www.dexter-russell.com/

Thanks for the reply EvilRonnie... just to further be certain... any differentiation by those blades termed "meat cleaver," "Chinese-style cleaver" and actual "bone cleaver." All seem to have rectangular blades. My other two cleavers (dented) looked more like heavy over-sized chef's knives (were not rectangular). My last un-dented cleaver is rectangular in shape - safe to assume bone cleaver? Meat cleaver? Chinese-style cleaver?

Jay,

I wouldn't assume anything from the shape of the blade.

A bone cleaver probably weighs three or four pounds and the top of the blade can be up to about 1/6 to 1/4" thick. You'll know it when you're holding a bone cleaver...it's too darn heavy to do anything else with other than chopping through bone and meat.