Deba means “short fat tooth” in Japanese, and that’s the shape of this knife. It’s the first knife a sushi chef would use when preparing fish. It is used to fillet fish and take shellfish apart. Used properly, this ultra-sharp knife can do the heavy work: cutting heads off fish and even some poultry. Once you get the hang of using a deba for fish, you will probably never go back to your old flexible filleting knife.

These knives, and a considerable amount of skill on the chef’s part, are the reason sushi looks so good and why the fish is cleaned so perfectly. Done properly, the bones will be in one pile with almost no meat on them and the meat will be completely bone free, perfect fillets. Don’t let the shape and weight of a deba fool you; they are nimble and precise. Choose your deba’s length based on the fish size you’ll be butchering most often.

The Tojiro Aogami Damascus Series is the crown jewel in their knife range as its made with Aogami and the soft iron cladding has a damascus finish, this range is specifically designed for working with fish and some meats. They are weighted and heavy to keep edge retention as well as provide a knife for life that can be sharpened over and over again. They are a master piece and show the history of knife making that Tojiro has to offer.