Deba Do's and Dont's

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HHH Knives

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Quick question. Deba. What is it. and whats it mainly used for?

What are the specs and grinds like, traditionally and or otherwise?

I am going to try to make one in the near future. and have never had one in hand to use or examine. Maybe someone has one I could borrow for a week to use lightly, and examine the way its ground, and take some specks off..

I think that will help make the test Deba closer to good. and not a total waste of time and steel. :) lol

I appreciate any comments and guidance guy, and thank you in advance!

I understand that there may be many opinions as to what good or sizes etc. Im not trying to start a debate, more so to gain knowledge from all your experiences and opinions.

Randy
 
Surprised there aren't 20 responses already. That being said I have a Kanisaki deba you can borrow anytime. It has the opposite bevel for crab to crack the leg without hurting the meat. I think Debas in general are for fish. I love the weight and feel of mine, and plan on buying more Debas. I am sure there will be a long list of people willing to loan you one. Otherwise, I can just grab a cheap one from eBay $50-$70 and just send it to you. Let me know. I would be happy to help.
 
deba is for filleting fish, and I use mine very successfully for chicken too.\
There is a traditional single bevel with convex back (just like yanagi, usuba) .
There is also western style deba which is symmetric.
Measurements very depending on size.
 
Surprised there aren't 20 responses already. That being said I have a Kanisaki deba you can borrow anytime. It has the opposite bevel for crab to crack the leg without hurting the meat. I think Debas in general are for fish. I love the weight and feel of mine, and plan on buying more Debas. I am sure there will be a long list of people willing to loan you one. Otherwise, I can just grab a cheap one from eBay $50-$70 and just send it to you. Let me know. I would be happy to help.

OK, I cant believe there are not more responses to this question myself. Maybe I put the question in the wrong place and it didnt get seen?


How about this. Let me ask ,, Whats your Favorite Deba, and why?

Maybe I can get enough info from that to do some Google searches and stuff and find the info im looking for. Like What are the traditional specs? heel height, blade thickness at the spine, blade length etc? Or is it to broad of a question?

Thanks
 
Maybe I can get enough info from that to do some Google searches and stuff and find the info im looking for. Like What are the traditional specs? heel height, blade thickness at the spine, blade length etc? Or is it to broad of a question?

It is a pretty broad question. There are perhaps more varieties of debas than any other style of single bevel knife. They make thin-ish, thick and extra thick versions, in all sorts of lengths and heel heights, and in all sorts of shapes for different applications. Like deckhand's Kanisaki deba, which is used for crab. Gator's site lists some of the varieties of deba, all of which come in different sizes.

I would concentrate on a basic/standard 180mm deba.
 
This link could offer some useful information. Posted last week

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/5896-To-Deba-or-Not-to-Deba-That-is-the-question

I chose a Sakai 195 in Hitachi Blue #2 finished Hon Kasumi with Saya. The seller is on ebay under BluewayJapan his name is Keiichi. I've purchased several knives from him. Last one was a Yusuke Sakai ultra-thin Wa-gyuto in White #1. Ordered it Thursday, was delivered to my house on Tuesday.

http://yayasyumyums.blogspot.com/2011/08/knife-shops-in-japan-tokyo-kyoto-osaka.html


Hope that helps.
 
I tend to use one of my debas more than any of the others, which I honestly haven't put in enough time on yet to really compare and contrast. I know that I like using my deba(s) and I find fileting fish to be relaxing and enjoyable, but beyond that... I don't have much in the way of details that'll be helpful for ya, Randy.
 
They make thin-ish, thick and extra thick versions, in all sorts of lengths and heel heights, and in all sorts of shapes for different applications.
I would concentrate on a basic/standard 180mm deba.

Ah, this I could say a smidge about. As a home user, 165mm and 180mm are great. The only times I use anything bigger are for some pretty nicely-sized salmon I pick up every once in a while. With something so soft like salmon, a thinner blade is really nice to use ... but I find that I still switch over to a regular-thickness hon-deba to go through the spine either at the beginning to take the head off or at the end to chunk up the "leftovers" (including the head) for broiling. If I didn't have the luxury of having multiple debas to use, I'd certainly go with just a regular deba. The thinner ones are, in my view, pure luxury because I *do* go through spinal columns and heads, not just filet off the meat.
 
Now I am getting it.. And yes, It was way to broad of a question. I didnt know there were that many variations of the deba. Thank you guys for the info and the links. Its starting to become clearer. and I will have to determine what thickness and size best suites my needs and or my customers needs.

Lets say for example. You dont own a deba, and have used a few of the sizes and thicknesses, and even grinds.. And you hab too purchase just one. to use as a all around tool. And you could only have one in your bag.. what one would it be?
 
I'd suggest to maybe make a thread asking for measurements of 165, 180, 210 mm debas traditional style and if someone can give you western deba measurments.
This way you will have a starting point?
 
Since I fish Offshore and am sometimes lucky enough to catch big tunas, Mahi, etc, I like a bigger one, 210mm or longer. For the inshore fish, I would want a 165, but a bit thinner for the smaller inshore fish like fluke, striped bass, cod, etc.
 
Seems like part of the answer would be to decide which kinds of fish you will be using it on, the type of knife and technique would follow from there.
 
Or just buy a few different ones! :) I have 2 so far... Big and carbon for big fish at the dock, long, thin and cheap stainless for on the boat, but its too long/unwieldy for the smaller fish.
 
Don't take this the wrong way, but I think the reason more folks haven't responded is because it is massively unlikely for you to nail a Deba on the first try. Or even first of several tries.

That's not to say I think you shouldn't do it. I certainly do think you should!


Have you and Jr forged knives to shape much? Forgive me for not knowing, but I assumed it was mostly dammy billet-making followed by stock removal. If you are forging to shape, you should tell people more, lol.

Though now that I think about it, the idea of a stock removal deba makes me chuckle. I'd love to see that, but it'd probably cost $500 in belts! :lol2:
 
Don't take this the wrong way, but I think the reason more folks haven't responded is because it is massively unlikely for you to nail a Deba on the first try. Or even first of several tries.

That's not to say I think you shouldn't do it. I certainly do think you should!


Have you and Jr forged knives to shape much? Forgive me for not knowing, but I assumed it was mostly dammy billet-making followed by stock removal. If you are forging to shape, you should tell people more, lol.

Though now that I think about it, the idea of a stock removal deba makes me chuckle. I'd love to see that, but it'd probably cost $500 in belts! :lol2:

I have a Yoshikane Deba, 180 mm, Tamamoku pattern, Takefu V2 cutting edge. I haven't used it or any deba much, and am a complete amateur. However, what I like about the deba is dealing with bones or fish heads. The deba is very heavy and has a spine about 3/8 of an inch thick. I don't think it's correct to use the weight of the deba to chop off a fish head, or to split it, by swinging it like a cleaver or hatchet. So, I place the edge where I want it, and push down on the spine with my left hand. The fat spine makes this very comfortable and safe. So, among the characteristics of a deba that others might tell you about here, my two cents is: fat spine.

Also, the concave, ura side of the blade, I think, is set by the curve of the wheel that it is ground upon.

Cheers,

Jack
 
How are you going to form the ura? I'd love to see a WIP on this.
 
I saw somewhere that people form the ura by making a curved platen in the radius of approximately a 48" wheel. IE take a piece of metal and grind/bend it until it is a nice, shallow radius and grind on that as a platen instead of using a wheel. Other people smaller cuts on a large wheel, then blend them together.
 
I keep seeing the word convex used when referring to the back side (urasuki, most commonly the left side) of Japanese single-bevel knives. I am confused. Aren't they concave-ground?
 
Yes, they are concave. I think that mixing the two up is fairly common.
 
Well, It looks like I have a couple Deba's heading my way. This should be another fun challenge! :) Thanks guys for all your input, and help.
 
Hello, Last year I started this thread and after a few comments one of you guys offered to send me a Deba. After a couple weeks. the knife was tucked into a drawer of a in table in the front room. It just came back into my sights this week. So I owe someone a Deba and a apology!

Please shoot me a PM and ill get this sent back out to ya this week And please accept my sincere apology's for the EXTRA long delay in getting this knife back to you.

Blessings
Randy
 
Hello, Last year I started this thread and after a few comments one of you guys offered to send me a Deba. After a couple weeks. the knife was tucked into a drawer of a in table in the front room. It just came back into my sights this week. So I owe someone a Deba and a apology!

Please shoot me a PM and ill get this sent back out to ya this week And please accept my sincere apology's for the EXTRA long delay in getting this knife back to you.

Blessings
Randy

Oh, go ahead and keep the Deba, and just send me one of your spirograph damascus gyutos ...


... Just kidding.

Cheers,

Mark
 
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