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Fish

Deba — The Heavyweight Fish Knife

A powerful Japanese knife designed to break down a whole fish. Its heft and thick blade let you lop off the head and cut through thick bones without fear of chipping. The smooth glide of a single bevel produces a clean three-piece fillet.

  • BevelSingle
  • Common lengths150 · 165 · 180 mm
  • Steel optionsCarbon · Ginsan · VG10

Cut with the blade's own weight — unshakable stability and power.

The heel is thick and tough to withstand cutting hard bone, while the blade is honed finer toward the tip, so one knife takes you from three-piece filleting to skinning. The solid weight felt in the hand steadies your work and lets you cut smoothly without wasted force.

What it excels at

※ Avoid extremely thick, hard bones of beef or pork and fully frozen food.

Choosing a size

The key is to choose the size to match the fish you break down (horse mackerel, sea bream, yellowtail, etc.).

Choosing the steel

Because it often meets fish drip (blood and moisture), choose by how long the edge lasts and how often you want to care for it.

For the full differences and how to choose, see the See the steel guide →.

Handedness & bevel

The deba is standard as a right-handed single-bevel (kataba) blade. The "urasuki" hollow ground on the back keeps fish flesh from sticking, so it releases cleanly. We stock dedicated left-handed deba for left-handed customers — please ask.

Come hold it in store to feel the weight and balance that suit you.

Because a deba cuts using its weight, the thickness of the handle that fits your hand and the weight balance matter a great deal. In store you can pick it up to feel the weight and check the response with a test cut.

Recommended

A few we'd pick for you

Kanemitsu INOX Deba 150mm

¥7,080 (excl. tax)

Jikko Tokusei Kasumi Deba 165mm

¥10,875 (excl. tax)

Kanemitsu Deba 18cm with Dragon Engraving

¥23,080 (excl. tax)

Shown as examples. Many other sizes and brands are in store — please ask.

○ In stock · △ Few left, please ask · × Awaiting restock

Come compare them in store

Reserve a few pieces you are interested in ahead of time and compare them side by side when you visit — or simply drop by whenever you like.

Reserve / ask about stock