SOLD Old monosteel (?) Korean profile 180mm Japanese made deba

[refcast]

$90 sold

Blade
181mm long
57mm at heel
59mm at tallest
6mm spine at heel

Handle
160mm long
28mm high x 24mm wide at butt end
Shellac finish

Overall
length 358mm
Weight 396g

Feels like oil quench honyaki white, in the softer side but so crisp feeling it feels like white 1

I for the life of me, cannot find a lamination line on the knife. I've used every stone that I know has brought me contrast, and have gotten none. It could possibly be the hardest iron I've ever seen on a clad blade, or monosteel. I plan to coffee etch to see if that can tell me more info. There is rust at the heel and the grind is slightly thinner there, in addition to the hammer marks there. The knife is supposed to be 50 years old or so, and does feel like it. . . The patina on the brass ferrule for instance.

Steel wise it feels like a honyaki, and doesn't give up much at all to the other honyaki I've tried. . .and it refines upon stropping just as nice as I'd like

It has the weirdest ura I've ever seen... A 2/3 ura, with the rest above as hammer finish

If any of you can see a lamination line, I'd appreciate it. I don't see any black little spots or contrast or any regular tell tale signs. . . And it took me longer than usual to abrade the knife too, compared to laminated knives , but not as long as Sakai honyaki.

There was patina banding too, when I stored it for awhile. Sharpening marks in bunch of direction to attempt to coax contrast. . .didn't happen

Bevels are still convexed, hence streaking. The last 5mm of the edge at the heel is bent, but the rest of the blade edge is straightened

And I have cut with it, and it still too, resembles honyaki

One other weird thing is the tang is nearly ground with distal taper, and chamfered... So the super rustic blade seems to be a stylistic choice too. . . The tang is probably the most evenly ground tang on a forged knife I've seen. . . A lot are just raw hammer forge finish

The ferrule had a wire brush finish and some hammer marks. The ferrule was loose so I glued it with pva and it's pretty solid now, feels stuck on there

 

[refcast]

 

[refcast]

Old picture with banding. It looks like it was clad, which I though at the time... Still might be clad but I can't find a definitive line on it now

 

[Naftoor]

That’s an interesting older piece. GLWS!
And here I am, never having prepared a whole fish in my life being tempted by a deba

 

[BillHanna]

That’s an interesting older piece. GLWS!
And here I am, never having prepared a whole fish in my life being tempted by a deba

I’m a lefty and trying to talk myself into it

 

[Greasylake]

I got to try this knife out not too long ago. The profile is really good for filleting, and it slices through meat really nicely. The thinner spine is nice imo, less drag as you cut further into the fish, don't have to lift the fillet as much. The big handle keeps it nicely balanced but I have relatively small hands so it was a bit big for me. It's a heck of a knife.

 

[iimi]

I'm about to pull the trigger. My Korean ancestors are whispering into my ears. I've seen knives with this style of handle and a couple with the same blade profile in rural korea, plus I just got my first job as a line cook at a beach side restaurant and I know I'll have the opportunity to work with a lot of fish in the future.

 

[taitanium]

so is this lefty or righty

 

[BillHanna]

righty