Deba for home cook?

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robenco15

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What is a common use for a Deba in a home kitchen? Even necessary? They intrigue me, but not sure the point.

Thanks!
 
you use it to break down fish or chicken.

necessary- very subjective.. depends on how much stuff you go through.

Essential- no
 
So not that useful. I don't whole filet fish much and for chicken I can just use my Henckels knife. Neat looking knife though.

Inwas just thinking about when I cut lobster tails or ever need to break through tough stuff. I guess my German knife can handle it.
 
Not a knife to "break through" tough stuff. It's a fish knife that some use on chickens, thin blade with a lot of ass behind it.

I like them and currently only use them at home. Won't try and convince anyone I need them.

Now a double bevel Deba is considerably more robust and is up for tough work. See some of Theory's videos where he wails on one.
 
Why is double bevel more robust? Does that mean better?

What size Deba?
 
For you, the main purpose would be to brag to everyone who cares to listen that you are the proud owner of an

"Awesome.....Japaneeeessseee.....DEBBAAAAA!!!"
 
Why is double bevel more robust? Does that mean better?

What size Deba?

A double-bevel deba, or Western deba, is a misnomer. It is a thick, heavy blade with a lot of metal behind the edge. It is meant to be used as a bone and lobster splitter, not as a fish butchery knife like the traditional Japanese deba.

Does it mean better? Not at all. They are two completely different knives with two completely different purposes.
 
The double edge deba is a utility knife, but the shape may or may not be very useful depending on your desires.

I personally would prefer (and have used) ryo-deba over a santoku as a casual cooks knife. But that is just my preferences for a pointy tip on the knife and more heft on the spine. The contrast is really the thinness of a santoku is more important for some types of cuts (eg, geometric, thin, regular shapes, straight tracking) than others where you might prefer the robustness of a thicker behind the edge blade (slicing, cubing, general breaking down into smaller pieces, using a pointed tip).

Western vs Japaneese or other cuisine will also skew your personal preferences.

It probably goes without saying you can make almost any knife grind on any knife profile, so caveat emptor, but generally speaking each shape is designed for a rough approximation of form following function.
 
The double edge deba is a utility knife, but the shape may or may not be very useful depending on your desires.

100%. Yo-deba is basically a very heavy duty chef's knife that you can beat on without worrying about it.
 
This is a deba.

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


This is yo deba.

[video=youtube;urIeUid1TMo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urIeUid1TMo&t[/video]


Any questions?
 
How much "worse" is the yo deba for traditional fish butchery, really? I understand that it will cut differently, sure... and it's not going to be a substitute. But it seems like it'd do the job for the average home cook, no? And you could also hack through chicken backs like there's no tomorrow. Am I just totally wrong about this?

I'm considering an inexpensive "beater" ($175ish or less) 165mm-ish yo deba for chickens, shellfish claws, the occasional whole fish, and zombie killing. I say "zombie killing" because someone on the board referred to their traditional deba as both a drawer queen and a zombie killer. That seemed right. I'm hoping to get a "zombie killer" that does more than sit in a drawer.
 
My crackpot standpoint about the deba being a general purpose knife originally .... :) And I am often positively surprised how well the small thin ones (ajikiri-ish) perform as peelers, and how meditative using a heavy one feels. And I am still not convinced the secret isn't in the feedback from a deba telling you a lot about the mouthfeel your cuts will have.
 
If you need to break down fish, there aren't many better tools than a deba imo. Slicing fish is a different story.
 
I have my eye on the Kajiwara Kurouchi 165mm yo deba... looks small enough to be nimble but weighty enough for hacking through things.
 
Also, small stainless debas are one of the best mango tools - dangerous but very very capable :)
 
I have my eye on the Kajiwara Kurouchi 165mm yo deba... looks small enough to be nimble but weighty enough for hacking through things.

I only use traditional deba for fish but for dealing with small bones, tough winter veggies or even cracking a coconut with the spine I rely on a ryodeba like you're looking at. The one thing that would concern me about that model is the dimensions. 165mm long, 55mm high at the heel - no problem there but 10.1mm thickness at the heel make for one thick knife. I guess it would depend on other factors but on paper it looks like a wedge machine. I have a custom 185 that is a hair over 5mm thick at the heel. It has enough steel behind the edge to tackle the toughest jobs but it still moves through produce quite well. If you end up getting it I'd enjoy hearing about the performance.
 
It's thick, alright. I also have my eye on its slightly larger brother, the 180mm version:

[video=youtube;ekea4Q0dl1g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekea4Q0dl1g[/video]

They're both super-thick at the spine, but from what I understand, that's to be expected in a deba (even if these are on the burlier end of the spectrum). I don't know how much use it'd really get for vegetables, but it does look like a wedge machine (at least on paper). Looks like it could wreck some chickens though, that's for sure!

I'm starting to think that the Tojiro stainless VG deba that Theory uses in that chicken video might be a better overall choice in terms of usage, maintenance, and wedging. It's not super thick, but what it lacks in girth it makes up for in length. I can't really imagine using a 240 deba. Most of my knives are on the larger side as it is, so a smaller blade might be more welcome. I also feel like the sheer size and shape of the Tojiro seems like a different style of knife... like a sort of roided out gyuto. Which is definitely cool in its own right, whether or not it's sufficiently "deba-like".

I wish I had the money to just spring for a Takeda.
 
Tojiro Western Deba.... do bear in mind that the with of blade is almost the same as its gyuto... Basically a thick double sided gyuto...

rgds Z
 
I have a 240 Tojiro DP yo-deba and quite frankly I find myself reaching for it even to clean and fillet whole Atlantic mackerel. My chicken destroying device is a honesuki tho, a deba could never be as nimble around joints nor as useful scraping meat from bone. When I need to go through cooked chicken bones or entire raw carcasses I pull out the 240 yo deba.
 
What is a common use for a Deba in a home kitchen? Even necessary? They intrigue me, but not sure the point.

Thanks!

Not absolutely necessary. Meant for fish butchery, though you can break down a fish with chefs knife or fillet knife.

That said, get one if you have an interest in traditional Japanese knives and cutting techniques. I have an Uraku deba that I'm very happy with, use it a fair amount. Lots of cool factor holding suck a substantial piece of metal.
 

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