Saw cleaver

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Name	saw cleaver
Appearance	saw cleaver
Damage vs. small	1d6
Damage vs. large	1d4
To-hit bonus	+1
Weapon skill	farm implements
Size	one-handed
Base price	4 zm (+10/positive enchant)
Weight	60
Material	iron

)
Name	razor cleaver
Appearance	razor cleaver
Damage vs. small	1d6+1
Damage vs. large	1d8
To-hit bonus	+0
Weapon skill	farm implements
Size	one-handed
Base price	4 zm (+10/positive enchant)
Weight	60
Material	iron

A saw cleaver is a type of weapon that appears in dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack. It is a one-handed slashing weapon that uses the farm implements skill and is made of iron. At skilled and expert it gains the bleed expert trait.

When applied, the saw cleaver turns into a razor cleaver, which is still a one-handed slashing weapon that uses the farm implements skill and retains its material. It does not gain any expert traits from higher skill.

Saw cleavers count as serrated weapons, dealing +20% bonus damage.

Razor cleavers are 25% (3 action points) slower to swing than other weapons. They will also cleave enemies, hitting to the right and left of the direction of attack, like Cleaver. This is the same effect dolls of cleaving grant.

Generation

Saw cleavers make up ¹⁄₁₀₀₀ of randomly generated weapons. Razor cleavers do not randomly generate.

Non-vampire Undead hunters will start the game with a saw cleaver ¹⁄₆ of the time.

Undead hunters will find a saw cleaver in their quest in the top-left room near the edge of the map. To the left of the forge there will be a box with a 90% chance of containing a saw cleaver.

Strategy

For Undead hunters who start the game with a saw cleaver it will serve as a passable weapon until they can build up enough skill to hit consistently. Until they hit level 7 the slowness of the razor cleaver will probably be too prohibitive despite the increase in damage. Its razor form will really shine against large mobs such as zombie groups and against slow, bleed susceptible foes.

For most use cases, the saw cleaver will probably hold more benefits, especially once the cleaver has been smithed a few times. Most enemies in the early game won't have 8 DR, so the serrated property will somewhat offset the lower base damage anyway.

For female Half-dragons this is an ideal weapon for training their farm implements skill before receiving their quest artifact.

Origin

The Saw cleaver is one of the more well-known weapons from Bloodborne. It features prominently on promotional material and is present on the cover art as well as in the game's title screen. It has also been adopted by many players as their weapon of choice, the reason being the ease of obtaining the weapon relative to how long it remains useful as the game progresses.

The design of its blade is of a serrated saw on one edge and a beveled edge on the other. The handle is fashioned into an exaggerated S-shape with the blade curving the other way. The general silhouette of the weapon is reminiscent of a mezzaluna or herb chopper with a single handle when it is folded up. In this form, the serrated edge of the blade is facing outwards, leaving the sharp edge of the blade facing the handle where the hands rest. When it is folded out it follows the same motion as a switchblade; the blade rotates along the axis of the top of the S-shape of the handle until it is at a straight angle. When it is folded back, it does the inverse motion, resting at an acute angle.

The locking and rotating mechanism is fashioned at the top of the handle where it meets the blade. Although the exact mechanical working isn't shown in detail in any official artwork, the blade seems to have had its tang fashioned into a circular disk with two wells on either side. This bit allows the blade to rotate around a central pin going perpendicular through the handle that attaches it to the top of the handle. A lever (probably with a return spring attached) engages the wells as the blade rotates, locking the blade into the folded/unfolded positions. When it is unfolded, the cleaver truly resembles a long traditional Japanese wood saw.

dNetHack's translation of the idea retains a lot of the original's, down to the longer attack animations in its transformed form, as well as losing out on the serrated damage bonus.

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