A deba for freshwater fish?

[Jvang998]

Hi everyone, as an avid fisherman, I'm looking for a traditional Deba to use on freshwater fish like crappies (9"-12"), walleyes (15"-22"), and smaller pike (20"-28").

I've been looking at Mac CL-4 4" deba and Tojiro DP 155mm deba. My question is do you guys the think 4" deba would able to do it all or should I just go bigger? I do enjoy the nimbleness of a small knife, but would not want it to get overmatched. I would only be filleting the walleyes and pike, and sometimes I chop the heads off of the crappies. I would like to keep it under $120 since the less I spend on a deba the more knives I can buy.

I am a novice to Japanese knives, but I recently I finished reading Chad Ward's "An edge in the kitchen", as well as purchasing my first chef's knife which ended up being a Mac Pro 8.5", and I also bought the Edge Pro Apex 4.

Any input would be very much appreciated. Even just input or opinions of deba usage on freshwater fish or experiences with them.

Thanks,
John

 

[kpnv]

i would suggest taking a look at 330mate's tanaka deba in ginsanko
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Japanese...efaultDomain_0&var&hash=item2eb464ffdc&_uhb=1

inexpensive and stainless, a good beginner's option. they also sell a variety of sizes.

in general, it's always possible to use a longer deba to fillet smaller fish but it's definitely harder to use a small deba on larger fish. given the sizes of the pike you handle, you would probably be better off with at least a 150mm length. for what it's worth, the most common size for a deba in japanese kitchens is 180mm.

the mac is meant for small fish primarily. the tojiro has a core vg-10 steel that's known to be a little chippy. for a beginner to deba, i wouldn't recommend it even if it was cheap.

 

[JKerr]

I could be wrong, but I believe the Mac and Tojiro are both western deba i.e. basically just a thicker, heavy duty chef's knife, very different from a traditional deba (Like the Tanaka).

Although they'd certainly be more than capable of doing the job, and for what it's worth, you may be better sticking to that style rather than the traditional single bevel debas given that you're using an edgepro. I've never used one myself, but I've heard they're less than ideal for single bevel knives. Happy to be corrected on this though.

Cheers,
Josh

 

[EdipisReks]

edge pro isn't going to properly sharpen single bevel knives.

 

[Jvang998]

Thanks for the replies! I guess I'll keep doing some research and watch more videos on technique to help make my choice.