Deba?

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Boondocker

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Looking to upgrade my deba, and learn more about proper use and sharpening tehnique. I've got an inexpensive deba (90 with saya five years ago I think) Minamoto brand i'm pretty sure. Hae been told by a coworker that it is worth spending a little more for better steel/heat treat.

180mm will be using it for whole fish mainly but Have been advised to use it on duck and chickena s well in the past (instead of a honesuke/garasuki).
 
i know a lot of people that say deba is good for chicken and duck, but i totally disagree (aside from the fact that i have issues with this misuse of a deba which is really not designed for that kind of work). Honesuki, garasuki, or even a petty (depending on the petty) are MUCH better for the job. For fish, i havent found anything i like better than a deba yet.
 
They say with proper technique they shouldn't be an issue. I don't know proper technique though ha.

I prefer boning or paying knife for chicken
 
Check Jons videos for proper use of Deba on YouTube under JKI


Sent from my iPhone using Kitchen Knife Forum
 
i know a lot of people that say deba is good for chicken and duck, but i totally disagree (aside from the fact that i have issues with this misuse of a deba which is really not designed for that kind of work). Honesuki, garasuki, or even a petty (depending on the petty) are MUCH better for the job. For fish, i havent found anything i like better than a deba yet.

Wow I didn't know this and am guilty of this misuse myself. Thanks for the clear up.
 
[video=youtube;SHt8oLWpXnU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHt8oLWpXnU[/video]

[video=youtube;W7__yMkGvzc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7__yMkGvzc[/video]

[video=youtube;jqe71SKhajI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqe71SKhajI[/video]
 
thanks for the links. they remind me of when i used to spend all morning watching itisan18 videos on youtube. Its nice to see them done, but without narration or somebody explaining WHY they are doing each step the WAY that they are doing it I don't feel like I'm learning everything there is to know. I know the procedure of breaking down a fish in that style, at a previous job wed get many large fish that I would use my deba for (grouper, sea bass, snappers). But at that time the only people I knew that I could physically talk to about it were of the mindset that its going to chip going through large fish bones and that it wasn't worth spending more than 100-125 on a deba. I'd like to really dive into the use of these knives (it doesnt hurt to know what the **** you are doing in a pro kitchen either). I am certain there is a specific technique around going through the ribs that works with the blade structure and what not.

And why do those guys never wipe their knife in those two videos. It bugs me when people do that at work too. Dirty knives cause the flesh to stick when you are slicing and thats far from ideal especially with delicate fleshed fish.


As for garasuki/honesuki. Have these been around as long as the traditionals. What did they use for birds before the sukis?

A current coworker suggested this book http://www.amazon.com/dp/1568364903/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20. Its not too expensive and I want to know what the hell im doing before I open up my next single bevel knife.
 
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I use Deba for removing flesh on whole chickens and it works good. I could use any other knife to do the job since there are no hard cuts, but since I do not filet much fish, I enjoy using it this way.
 
thanks for the links. they remind me of when i used to spend all morning watching itisan18 videos on youtube. Its nice to see them done, but without narration or somebody explaining WHY they are doing each step the WAY that they are doing it I don't feel like I'm learning everything there is to know. I know the procedure of breaking down a fish in that style, at a previous job wed get many large fish that I would use my deba for (grouper, sea bass, snappers). But at that time the only people I knew that I could physically talk to about it were of the mindset that its going to chip going through large fish bones and that it wasn't worth spending more than 100-125 on a deba. I'd like to really dive into the use of these knives (it doesnt hurt to know what the **** you are doing in a pro kitchen either). I am certain there is a specific technique around going through the ribs that works with the blade structure and what not.

And why do those guys never wipe their knife in those two videos. It bugs me when people do that at work too. Dirty knives cause the flesh to stick when you are slicing and thats far from ideal especially with delicate fleshed fish.


As for garasuki/honesuki. Have these been around as long as the traditionals. What did they use for birds before the sukis?

A current coworker suggested this book http://www.amazon.com/dp/1568364903/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20. Its not too expensive and I want to know what the hell im doing before I open up my next single bevel knife.

I guess you didn't see me wiping the blade at :25 and 1:40 and 3:31 in the second vid.

At home well, you got me there I didn't wipe it off during the second fish until 4:11. See the towel?

Ask me any questions on the why I do any of it in that way and I'll try to help. I'm a copycat myself so when I see something, I just know how to do it. That's just how I've always learned, never went to culinary school or anything. Most people who post questions on the channel get a quick response though.
 
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Rick most likely you already know but you dont have to cut down on the spine so hard. Just feel it with your finger find the little spine disks and pop your tip in and it will seperate so easily and you wont do any damage to your edge and also get a cleaner cut because of minimal force. Thats just my opinion take it with a grain of salt.
 
For that puny mackerel I totally agree. A bit overboard with the force on that one.
 
Ive always been taught to wipe after every cut, so that nothing builds up on the blade so the flesh doesnt stick to the blade. Less friction the better IMO.
 
Wiping every cut is a bit OCD... i wipe maybe once to twice each fish depending on size. If your station is continuously wet ( i leave a tap dripping next to me, then just run it over your board and wipe down..) its a lot faster and easier, no friction issues too.
 
Wiping every cut is a bit OCD... i wipe maybe once to twice each fish depending on size. If your station is continuously wet ( i leave a tap dripping next to me, then just run it over your board and wipe down..) its a lot faster and easier, no friction issues too.

unfortunately not currently possible. there are sinks I can set up on, but they have a lip on them and I hate that. I could make some sort of structure using a roasting rack, dish rack and cutting board perhaps? thatd put the board above the faucet or right at faucet level though.


Hmmm...one day ill have a fish sink.
 
With benchs that are next to sinks and they have a lip at the front you just put 2 boards ontop of each other and it is around the same height as the lip and you push the top board as close to the lip as possible.
 
Also if you really want to wipe after each cut. Get a small gastro with water and a cloth in it and a dry cloth. Wipe with wet cloth and then use dry cloth. At the place I used to work we scaled, gutted and filleted every fish we got. And my chef was anal as with wiping your knife and board. He was a beast at filleting though watching him break whole yellowfin in like 2 minutes was awesome.
 
thanks for the tips, jai I'll give them a shot.

We do have extra long boards that you can set up where they rest on the back rim of the sink, then on the lip in the front and sit at an angle. its not too bad for doing poussin but I prefer a flat board for fish.

Has anybody else read that book? probably going to pull the trigger on it after the weekend
 
thanks for the tips, jai I'll give them a shot.

We do have extra long boards that you can set up where they rest on the back rim of the sink, then on the lip in the front and sit at an angle. its not too bad for doing poussin but I prefer a flat board for fish.

Has anybody else read that book? probably going to pull the trigger on it after the weekend

The book is well worth the price. It went out of print a couple of years ago, and used copies were selling for $100+.
 
PTiger: Amazon seems to disagree, but if true I should sell mine. I do recommend the book though.
 
PTiger: Amazon seems to disagree, but if true I should sell mine. I do recommend the book though.

I should have made it clear that the book is back in print now. The $100+ price was from a couple of years back when it was out of print. Sorry for your confusion.
 
they are back in print again, but there was a year long period where they were not and prices skyrocketed
 
One of the bread bakers won't let me borrow it for that reason, haha
 
I checked out a copy from my local library about the time the price was going nuts. Liked it and ordered one of about 10 in stock from Amazon. Good read and technique is presented well. Well worth having. It does not however provide anything on sharpening or "opening up" a single bevel knife.
 
even in japanese, there are few resources that adequately cover the real technical aspects of sharpening (as opposed to dumbed down versions for chefs and home cooks)
 
even in japanese, there are few resources that adequately cover the real technical aspects of sharpening (as opposed to dumbed down versions for chefs and home cooks)

Do you have or could you make some videos about this?
 
i'm pretty sure this is covered somewhere in the 3+ hours of video we already have up :p
 
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