Yoshikazu Tanaka-san is a blacksmith from Sakai renown for his mastery of carbon steel knife forging. In particular, he is known for his Blue #1 steel, which has the high hardness point without the accompanying difficulty in sharpening, according to professional sharpeners working with his blades in Sakai. Tosho fans may already know of Tanaka-san’s work from Konosuke’s coveted Fujiyama series. Despite Tanaka-san’s advanced age and propensity to work with iron cladded knives, he still challenges himself by experimenting with new materials.

A Deba is a traditional Japanese fish filleting/butchery knife that is single-sided/bevelled. Despite its Santoku-like profile, it does not perform well on dense produce; however, it excels in deboning various fish, thanks to its weight and bevel shape. The technique of using a deba is quite different from using a flexible filleting knife (Western style fish deboning), but in practiced hands, both styles can yield very good results. We recommend a deba for any cook looking to get better at filleting fish and sharpening a single bevel knife in Japanese fashion.

Brand: Hitohira
Smith: Tanaka Blacksmith
Sharpener: Manzo
Producing Area: Sakai-Osaka/ Japan
Profile: Deba
Size: 165mm
Steel Type: Carbon Steel
Steel: Yasuki White (Shirogami) #2, Soft Iron Clad
Handle: Ho Wood & Buffalo Horn Ferrule Octagonal
Come with Saya
Total Length: 315mm
Edge Length: 172mm
Handle to Tip Length: 190mm
Blade Height: 50mm
Thickness: 6.5mm
Handle Length: 129mm
Weight: 266g
Hand Orientation: Right-Handed