That's going to be one thick, heavy cleaver. A cleaver that beefy would be for chopping bone, and 440C isn't the best material for such blunt impact in my opinion.
Geometry-wise, what kinds of jobs do you intend to do with the cleaver? A cleaver is more than a club, and there is wide array of cleavers meant for different things. For instance, breaking down primal cuts into roasts, ribs, etc is the job of a big cleaver if you don't have a saw. You can cleave the ribs from the backbone. This is the kind of cleaver you seem to be describing- basically a kitchen hatchet. Something like this is a brute tool, typically with a long handle, that is entirely too heavy for all around use. 1/8" to 3/16" is plenty thick and I'd still grind at least halfway up to shave off some weight and allow for sharp cutting.
The masters of cleaver use are Chinese chefs who use them for everything, all day. If you look at Chinese heavy cleavers they range in size with blades in the 7-9 inch range and 3-6 inches tall. They'd be in the 1/8" thickness range with a bevel that runs up anywhere from 2 inches to just about half the height with a convex edge. This will still give you a very sharp edge so that you can cut cleanly through chicken bone and connective tissue without shattering the bone.
The next size down would be the all-around Chinese chef knife, which looks like a cleaver but is actually a knife. These usually have a 3 or 4-inch tall blade about 6-8 inches in length. You'd still want to be in the 1/8" range (or slightly thinner) thickness range but do a full height grind with a convex edge. Add some distal taper and you've got a fantastic all-around chef knife. (check out Martin Yan videos on YouTube to see what a true master can do with such a knife).
Compare these dimensions to the $6 heavy cleaver you find at any Asian market or big box store. Those are flat with a crude bevel. They are about ten shades of useless the way they come. After you regrind the blade into something approximating a bevel they perform fairly well, if you are lucky enough to find one with decent steel.
