Name: 出刃包丁 (deba) Deba Bōchō
Type: Traditional Style
Best for: Fish
Sizing: 150-330 mm
What is a Deba Knife?
The Deba Knife – written in Japanese as 出刃包丁 (deba) and pronounced as Deba Bōchō – is a traditional Japanese kitchen knife, typically measuring 150-330 mm in length. We recommend a length of around 180 mm, as it is the most suitable size for most people. This knife is best used for processing fish.
The Deba is a sturdy and wide Japanese-style kitchen knife with a thick spine and a sharp blade edge that is pointed at the tip. It is traditionally used for cleaning, filleting, and beheading whole fish, but its strength and weight also make it suitable for breaking down poultry and meat with small bones. However, the Deba knife is not suitable for cutting through large or thick bones, and applying pressure perpendicular to the blade can damage it.
As with traditional Japanese knives, most Deba knives are single bevel, meaning only one side of the blade is ground to form a razor-sharp edge. Combined with the significant weight of the Deba, the wide asymmetrical blade allows you to effortlessly glide through delicate fish and make deep, clean cuts once you have mastered the technique of using single bevel Japanese knives.
What does Deba mean?
Literally translated, ‘Deba’ means ‘pointed carving knife.’
However, note that the Deba is nothing like a Western-style carving knife, which usually features a long and narrow blade for thinly slicing large cooked meats like poultry, roasts, and hams. It is also different from a Western-style filleting knife, which is usually slim and flexible. Instead, the Deba knife is a heavy and robust knife with a thick, wide blade and a pointed tip. It is primarily used for processing fish.
Deba Knife Characteristics
The Deba knife is designed to work with whole fish, including removing the head of the fish. Therefore, it is especially important for a Deba knife to be heavy with a sharp blade, while feeling well-balanced in the user’s hand, both in weight and length.
The Deba knife is available in several styles, but the most common is the Hon-Deba (literally, ‘true deba’). Hon-Deba knives have sharp, tough blades that are typically 150 mm to 330 mm in length and 5 mm to 9 mm thick. For the average user, a 180 mm blade length is recommended, but it is best to match the size of the blade to the size of the fish you will be cutting and filleting.
The blade is wide at the heel and tapers towards the cutting edge, leading to the pointed tip. The spine of the blade is thick, and the more obtuse angle on the back of the heel allows the Deba knife to cut off fish heads without damage.
The extremely sharp edge of the Deba is due to the single bevel blade (also called a chiseled edge), which is a typical characteristic of traditional-style Japanese knives. Simply put, single bevel means that the blade is ground (sharpened) on only one side, usually at an acute angle between 10 to 15 degrees. This gives the blade an extremely sharp edge.
When using a single bevel knife, only the cutting edge of the blade touches the food, making it ideal for achieving clean cuts that preserve the natural freshness, flavor, and texture of the food. Compared to a double bevel blade, which is usually sharpened at 20 to 30 degrees, the extremely fine and sharp edge from a single bevel Deba knife is the perfect tool for cutting through delicate, softer products like fish.
Most single bevel knives are created for right-handed cooks, so if you are left-handed, be sure to look for left-handed Deba knives.
What are Common Variants of Deba Knives?
There are several styles of Deba knives. The most popular version is Hon-Deba, which literally means ‘true deba.’ This is the thickest and heaviest version of Deba knives and the most commonly found type of Deba knife.
Other kinds of Deba knives include:
Ko-Deba
小出刃 (literally: ‘small deba’) – also known as Aji-Deba or Ajikiri.
The Ko-Deba is a smaller deba with blade lengths of around 100 mm to 120 mm. The word ‘Ko’ in Japanese translates to ‘small’ or ‘short’ in English, and this small Ko-Deba is suitable for cleaning and filleting small saltwater and freshwater fish.
Fun fact: The widespread use of Ko-Deba in the coastal areas of Japan to fillet and butterfly Aji, the Japanese horse mackerel, has given it the nickname Aji-Deba or Aji-Kiri.
Ai-Deba
合出刃 (literally: ‘both deba’)
The Ai-Deba is a thinner and lighter version of the Hon-Deba, with a narrower blade that ranges from 135 mm to 270 mm in length. The word ‘Ai’ in Japanese translates to ‘both’ in English, which refers to the Ai-Deba’s exceptional ability to fillet and slice medium-sized fish with soft bones, such as mackerel. The relatively thin blade makes the Ai-Deba far better at slicing fish than the Hon-Deba.
Yo-Deba
The Yo-Deba (洋出刃 – literally: ‘Western deba’) is a Western-style version of the Hon-Deba, typically featuring a double-bevel edge and a Western-style handle. The blade length of the Yo-Deba ranges from 165 mm to 300 mm. Just like the Hon-Deba, the Yo-Deba has a thick spine and a heavier weight that is ideal for butchering fish; however, the increased bevel angle at the edge does not allow the Yo-Deba to achieve the same level of sharpness as a Hon-Deba.
Kanisaki-Deba
The Kanisaki-Deba (蟹裂出刃 – literally: ‘crab deba’) is a specialized Deba for cutting and filleting shellfish such as lobsters and crabs. The blade length ranges from 180 mm to 210 mm. This typically single-bevel knife is especially unique as the cutting edge is ground on the left side for right-handed knives – i.e., on the opposite side to a normal Hon-Deba. This is done to prevent the knife edge from cutting into the crab meat when cutting into the crab’s hard shell.
Mioroshi-Deba
The Mioroshi-Deba (身卸出刃 – literally: ‘filleting deba’) has a thinner and longer blade of 165 mm to 330 mm in length and is specifically used for filleting fish. The Mioroshi Deba was originally designed to save Japanese fishermen from having to carry both the Deba and Yanagiba knives on their boats. It is essentially a hybrid between the two knives, intermediate in thickness, weight, and length.
What Size Deba Knife Should I Buy?
The best way to know what size your Deba knife should be is to match the blade length to the size of the fish you will be handling.
The common blade size of 180 mm will take care of yellowtail and similarly sized fish, whereas smaller fish such as horse mackerel will best suit a Ko-Deba with a 120 mm blade.