Why do meat cleavers have a hole at the top outer edge of the blade?

There are 2 reasons for the hole. Firstly, the hole allows the kitchen or cook to save space by hanging the cleaver on the wall, out of the way. This also protects the blade from damage. Secondly, the hole allows you to pinch that area at the top of the blade and pull the blade free if it gets firmly stuck in a thick piece of meat, it’s a grabbing cavity in other words.

What’s a vegetable cleaver?

A vegetable cleaver or pian dao in Chinese is a smaller, lighter cleaver used for cutting vegetables and for other lighter tasks in the kitchen. It’s a multi – purpose kitchen tool that lacks the weight and heft of a traditional meat cleaver, but it adds finesse and delicacy with its thinner blade and smaller surface area too.