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- Ai-Deba ( 合出刃 or 相出刃
) - - The definition for an Ai-deba on Japanese sites is generally that the Ai-deba is a slightly lighter Deba with spine thickness similar to a Miroshi deba (maybe slightly thinner), and blade height intermediate to a Mioroshi Deba and a Hon Deba.
- Ajikiri ( 鯵切)
- - Aji means a horse mackerel. Ajikiri is used for small fish, meat and vegetable. Also it's a paring knife in the can be used as a small paring knife.
- Deba ( 出刃)
- - Heavy, thick knife designed for cutting and filleting the fish. Can be used for butchering poultry, however cutting bones with it isn't recommended. As usual 165mm-200mm long blade. Traditionally single grind - see Kobayashi Deba review, although double grind versions, called Ryodeba are quite popular as well, see Takeda Deba review. Mainly Japanese style handles are used. Although, a few makers do offer various Debas with western type handles as well, those would be Yo-Debas.
- Dojosaki Bocho ( どじょう裂包丁)
- - Special knife designed for filleting Anago(sea eeel) and Dojo(called loach in English, a small fish related to the eel and caught in local waters in the summer). Basically it is a thinner and smaller, about 120mm long version of the Edosaki knife. Also called Anagosaki(あなご裂).
- Funayuki ( 舟行)
- - Thinner than or Miroshi Deba, but the blade is wider. Standard definition is that the knife was specifically made for fisherman for ease of handling on the boats. However, some makers use the same term for thin, double grind knives, more like Gyuto style knife.
- Gishiki ( 儀式包丁)
- - Or Gishiki-Bocho. Special knife for imperial court or Shinto Shrine cereminies. Designed to fillet the fish without touching the fish with hands, using just the knife and silver chopsticks. The process is called Shiki-Bocho, and the same term is used to refer to the person performing the procedure. Obviously, it requires extremely skilled chef. Has been used in Japan between 600 and 1000 years.
- Hon-Deba ( 本出刃)
- - In Japanese Hon means true or original, and is the thickest and heaviest type of Deba.
- Ikasaki ( イカサキ)
- - Specialized small knife for breaking down squid. Similar to Makiri, but with more round spine and the heel slightly sticking out below the handle.
- Kaibo ( 解剖)
- - Also Kaibou. Also Kaitai Deba. Relatively thick knife used to break down fish and meat.
- Kako Deba ( 加工出刃)
- - A knife with a deba profile but thinner spine. Used for all-day work by fishmongers. Also called Usudeba. Also Kakou Deba.
- Kanisaki Deba ( 蟹裂出刃)
- - Specialized Deba for filleting crab, lobster and shellfish. Unusual design feature is this is a single grind knife, but the edge is ground on the left side for the right handed knives. This is done to prevent knife edge from cutting into the crab meat when cutting it out of the hard shell. Heavy, thick blade is ideal for cutting through the shell or opening it. There is another popular variation of the Kanisaki deba knife.
- Kashiwa Deba ( かしわ出刃)
- - A special deba with a flat blade profile. Supposedly efficient for skinning fowl.
- Katsuo Hocho ( かつお包丁)
- - Thick, angular tipped knife for cutting Katsuo (skipjack) and the like. It's a double grind knife, and the angled cutting edge on the front is for sliding down the back to remove the tough dorsal fins. It's thick enough to handle bones too.
- Kotori Bocho Kamagata ( 鎌型子取り包丁)
- - Specialized knife for cutting out fish roe(fully ripe internal ovaries or egg masses of fish and other marine animals, e.g. shrimp, scallop, sea urchins, etc). Usually cod roe.
- Kyosaki Unagi ( 京サキ)
- - Variation of Unagisaki knife. Small blade, approximately 100-100mm long, with single grind edge. Designed to fillet small, live fish such as Unagi, Anago, Hamo, Dojo, Kisu, and Megochi. Kyosaki means Kyuto Style.
- Magurokiri ( 鮪切 マグロ切り)
- - Tuna filleting knife. Really long, up to 1000mm long, more like a sword than a knife. Used to fillet the tuna.
- Meuchi ( 目打ち)
- - Not sure why, but it still qualifies as a knife, although looks like a railroad spike. Assistant knife when filleting the eel with Unagisaki. Cook drives it through the head of the eel to pin it and then proceeds with Unagisaki for actual filleting. Comes in plain stiletto shape and T shape.
- Miroshi Deba ( 身卸出刃)
- - In Japanese the word Miroshi means filleting. Miroshi deba as the name suggests is optimized for that particular task. It is more slender and longer than typical Deba knife. See Shigefusa Kitaeji Miroshi Deba Kitchen Knife review. *Provided Kanji translates as Mioroshi Deba which is the correct spelling, however, incorrect Miroshi is pretty much de-facto translation in western world.
- Oroshi Hocho ( 卸し包丁)
- - Extremely long, around 1500mm (60") long knife. Used to cut large tuna in one cut. As usual requires more than one person to handle it. Actually, it is a longer blade than most of the swords, except perhaps the claymore. It is basically longer version of the Magurokiri.
- Ryodeba ( 両出刃 )
- - Basic Deba with double grind edge. Typically, anywhere between 165mm-200mm long blade. Used fillet the fish, dress poultry, cut through the small bones and joints. See Takeda Kuro Uchi Deba Review.
- Saikachi Deba ( サイカチ出刃)
- - Saikachi is the name of a plant in Japan. As a knife it is a specialized deba, with flat, unpointed tip. Mainly used by fishmongers(a person who sells and cuts up the fish at market for a living). Besides being used for breaking down the fish, its special purpose(unpointed tip) helps with cutting out the caviar from the fish. Single grind knife. There is also a double grind version of Saikachi Deba - 両刃サイカチ出刃.
- Tarasaki ( 鱈裂き)
- - Tara in Japanese means cod. Tarasaki - specialized knife for breaking down cod. Has a unique indentation in the choil allowing for a greater choke-up grip.
- Umi Bocho ( 海包丁)
- - Variation of the Katsuo Hocho. Thick angular blade, but with more rounded tip. Often called Katsuo hocho.
- Unagisaki ( 鰻裂 or うなぎ裂)
- - Unagi in Japanese is eel. Saki is tearing. Smallish knife for filleting the eel. Numerous variations exist: Kantogata - Kanto style, Unagisaki Kyogata - Kyoto style, Unagisaki Osakagata(鰻裂大阪型) - Osaka style, Unagisaki Edogata (鰻裂江戸型) - Edostyle, Unagisaki Nagoyagata - Nagoya style eel knife. Generic name for all of the above is still Unagisaki. The one shown on the photo here is Edosaki.
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Audio voiceovers courtesy of Sara and Jon - japaneseknifeimports.com
Thanks & Credits
- Nathan B. 'Bishamon' - For all his help with terminology and photos.
- Takeshi Aoki of Aframes Tokyo for help with Japanese terminology and providing photos.
- Shinichi Watanabe for help with Japanese terminology, providing photos, and for his excellent knives too.
- Akiko Moritaka of Moritaka Hamono Inc. for photos and excellent knives.
- Audio voiceovers courtesy of Sara and Jon - japaneseknifeimports.com
- knifeforums.com members - C9, Watercrawl, Nathan B. - 'Bishamon', RRLOVER and the KF Kitchen Crew.
- foodieforums.com/ members - Chris Lehrer, Spaceconvoy, DrNaka, Pascal.
- Hiromitsu Nozaki - Author of the book Japanese Kitchen Knives.
Having a good steak knife is as important as knowing how to cook the perfect medium rare steak. Use a meat thermometer to check the perfect steak medium rare temp of 135 degrees.
Last updated - 02/16/23