Someone else mentioned hitting a knife w/hammer or hatchet. NOT around my Dad ! !
Not a knife but I have used a cleaver to split the hams along the back bone, while hanging from a gambrel. Using a rubber hammer, or a piece of 2x4. The man that I learned to butcher from had a 2 hand cleaver that He would split beef and hogs with. He was good at it, but made me saw them. I have tried splitting deer along the backbone using a Brush hook/slingblade. Worked pretty good as long as you took little chops at a time. I did learn why He made me saw the backbone for customers to see. miles
