Deba Fish Knife

[Volvo]

Anybody onboard amongst their Fishing knives own a Deba ??.
Stupidity it may as i own a shyteload of Filletting knives allready arm a fully loaded long Fishing charter for a year or so lol but couldnt resist ordering one of the above see if the hype was worth the outlay ??.
Either that or a new whole set of stones for the sharpening bin 🧐.
Moreihi Stones have been keeping me awake whether worth the purchase also ??.

[Noelm]

It's a bit difficult making sense of your post, but, I don't own that brand, I tend to use cheapish knives (not junk) and replace them now and then, rather than buy expensive brands.

[Volvo]

Yeah Noel :) ,I talk giberish sometime when in haste to post lol..
Bit of a Hoarder when it comes to Rods , Reels , Filletting Knives and Sharpening Stones so tend to get a wee bit excited when i make a new purchase.
Like a Kid in a Lollyshop i guess ey ??.
Sometimes i like to share my purchases n see who else out there is a nut like me .
The Deba Knife is a Japanese Fish cutting/Cleaning/Filletting knife and one ive been spying for quite some time but with the hoards of knives i have ive refrained till now with raised eyebrows from the Missus lol..
The Stones mentioned are among some of the brands i would like to purchase and see how they perform but again for the time i am refraining ..
Till the Missus looks away :)..
Have to have something pass the time when one cant go Fishing or when one wantsa to get out of the way and have self time ..

[Noelm]

I have posted this many times before, I am pretty useless when it comes to sharpening knives, a quick run on the bench grinder or a rub on the concrete path is about my limits! I can fillet, skin and bone with the best of them, but, sharpening just escapes me, no matter how much I try.

[Volvo]

Well that reply ended up in data heaven somewhere LOL so here goes a second :).
Noel sometimes a bench grinder or concrete step may be the answer especially if your trying to process six/seven hundred kilos of Shark into Flake Fillets after volunteering to help do so.
Besser Block , Battery Operated Belt Grinder n Steel LOL.
Would like to see how some of these top end Blades made by renown Bladesmiths would Stan up aftertwo days of processing Flake LOL.

[Dignity]

Volvo, if you have too many knives I know Funchy is in need of some at his new place at 1770.

[NAGG]

What exactly are you hoping to do with a Deba that you cannot do with a normal knife or cleaver ?

Chris

[Noelm]

This might seem kind of strange, but, my wife is an expert at sharpening knives, and when I use her knives (if I'm allowed) they are almost too sharp, it's hard to explain, but there is no "feel" or something, the blade just kind of slides without effort! When I fillet Flathead, I end up with a boneless, skinless fillet, it's so simple to do, (google it) but with her knives, it never works properly, I can't really explain it! I have a couple of decent knives for fish, but, my favourite is a $5 Kmart knife, for doing Blackfish and Flathead, it's just the best, easy for an inept sharpener like me to "touch up" and is just the right size and shape (for me)

[Volvo]

Nah not strange at all Noel :) I bought near dozen of those KMart knives Red handles ones $5 each Berkley if I'm not wrong ? Gave them out as gifts?. They sharpen up like a razor but don't hold their edge too we'll.
As for how you fillet?., whatever makes you comfy n at ease doing so :).
I've filleted with a Pocket knife time or two and it did the job , slow but got there.
Chris like you might trial different lures , I like trialing different Kaniiffies , how it goes if one is slightly bent with different interests :).
One may spend a shyteload of cash on a Reel n I might do so on a Kife I've an interest with.
Dig , If Funchy is still at 1770 when I Kark it he may pick up a few bargains if any left LOL otherwise can do him a good deal re a few spares I have :).

[Noelm]

Yes, that's the Kmart knives, they are very sharp, but do go dull quick, I can fillet, skin and bone about 8 decent Blackfish (that's how many our family eats) with one "sharpen" on the grinder......but can easily do a bag limit of Flathead.

[banshee]

Yes, that's the Kmart knives, they are very sharp, but do go dull quick, I can fillet, skin and bone about 8 decent Blackfish (that's how many our family eats) with one "sharpen" on the grinder......but can easily do a bag limit of Flathead.

Maybe a paper wheel would suit you?

[Noelm]

I don't know, It's just something that eludes me, I have tried all sorts of tricks, got oil stones of varying grade, I think it's just holding the right angle all the time, even sharpening chisels is a drama for me. Now and then, I get my wife or my son to do them for me, I know it seems strange, I can build stuff, fix things, fillet fish like a champ, splice rope and god knows what else, but sharpening.......nah.

[gunna]

Bit the same Noel. My brother is a butcher and has shown me numerous times but I still struggle.

[Volvo]

Freehand sharpening is part pashion part practice n developing muscle memory fingers /hand.
Develope feedback between stone and blade.
Otherwise there are varying tools out there help in this field if one wishes or feels they are viable for the.
If your Missus is good at sharpening Noel might pay leave it at that save the hassle :).
Back to those KMart knives , good enough for an onboard knife with no big loss if you lose one here n there o erboard.
A good set of say three or four waterstones will set one back $400 if not more so one must have the passion to outlay that.
But then again you can spend four times that on a fishing reel ey.
Each to their own ey.

[Volvo]

Noel if you have the time n interest get on Yayatube n search Plateau Sharpening with Cliff Stamp.
In my books he is a legend especially with a normal oilstone , one off.
And among keen freehand sharpeners well respected.
Mind you I have tried his method of freehand sharpening and so far it eludes me .
Patience wise mostly :).

[NAGG]

Bloody knife sharpening ::) I can sharpen a knife & it seems good to me ....... then I see a couple of mates knives which are unbelievably sharp . One guy uses multiple whet stones / steel & leather strop (lots of precision & care taken) .... the edge actually looks polished . 8-)

Another mate is brutal - he gets brand new victorinox knives & puts them on a grinder to take the bevel out ....... then he proceeds to sharpen his knives ...... they look horrible because the sharpening occurs for at least 50% of the blade depth ........ but man they are sharp . Aside from fishing he does like his deer hunting & he rekons this approach gives him the best result in dressing them.

Chris

[Volvo]

Bloody knife sharpening ::) I can sharpen a knife & it seems good to me ....... then I see a couple of mates knives which are unbelievably sharp . One guy uses multiple whet stones / steel & leather strop (lots of precision & care taken) .... the edge actually looks polished . 8-)

Another mate is brutal - he gets brand new victorinox knives & puts them on a grinder to take the bevel out ....... then he proceeds to sharpen his knives ...... they look horrible because the sharpening occurs for at least 50% of the blade depth ........ but man they are sharp . Aside from fishing he does like his deer hunting & he rekons this approach gives him the best result in dressing them.

Chris

Yes Mate , each to their own and what works best for them ey. My knives mostly go through a four/five stone process depending on the quallity of the Blade. Mirror finish means its honed n polished getting rid of most the burr giving one a razor edge .
Sometimes that razor edge can work against one with certain fish other times it cuts down time dramatically especially after a long day which can be a blessing
For hunting and skinmning a wee bit of a burr left on the blade can work best.
However one feels comfy with their knives ey..

[banshee]

A grinder on anything above half decent is criminal.......Re angles etc when using a stone,if you struggle with the stone on the bench try holding the blade at 90 deg and use the stone on the angle,it's the only way I can do it.

[Volvo]

Works for some , but the best way to find and feel a blades angle is to lay the blade flat on the stone and with the blade / edge trailing slowly lift the blade till you feel the stone bighting into the blade not sliding and that should be the angle to keep on your blade.
Might take some practice but eventually you should feel it.
Edge trailing is the edge running away rather than into the stone.
You should feel the edge either slide or start to bight , meaning the stone is removing materiel.

[alleycat]

I worked in an abattoir for 45 years , don't waste your Money on expensive stones , a Norton combination stone is all we used and my knife would cut through over 500 meters of cattle hide a day , it's important to get the shoulder off your knife , I am amazed they sell knives with an almost square edge, I could stone a knife as carefully as anybody and it will bounce off hide , it's vital to steel your knife, any steel is better than no steel, 30 degrees is good .

[Volvo]

Great to see varying input ey :).

[TheRealPoMo]

I worked in an abattoir for 45 years , don't waste your Money on expensive stones , a Norton combination stone is all we used and my knife would cut through over 500 meters of cattle hide a day , it's important to get the shoulder off your knife , I am amazed they sell knives with an almost square edge, I could stone a knife as carefully as anybody and it will bounce off hide , it's vital to steel your knife, any steel is better than no steel, 30 degrees is good .What do you mean by shoulder alleycat?
The burr after using the stone or the edge that comes on a new knife?

Sent from my SM-G996B using Tapatalk

[Noelm]

I made a little wedge out of wood to sharpen chisels, I just lean it on the wedge and it keeps it at the right angle. I often use those gizmos you pull the knife through, for a lame duck like me, it's pretty good, (all the knife gurus are probably crying right now) most of my fish filleting is done at the cleaning table at the harbour, not while the fish is just caught though, fish needs to spend a bit of time in the fridge before filleting (in my opinion) and I often take a kitchen board or a piece of ply to use, the stainless benches are not knife friendly.

[alleycat]

What do you mean by shoulder alleycat?
The burr after using the stone or the edge that comes on a new knife?

Sent from my SM-G996B using Tapatalk

Hi mate , what I mean the thickness of the blade at the edge, we used mainly victory skinning knives and we hollow ground them , I could flex the edge with my thumb nail after grinding , that is how thin the blade ended up, a shoulder is when the blade is thick at the edge, our knives were scary sharp , but even a 5 buck knife can go well if not too thick and you use a steel.

[Volvo]

I worked in an abattoir for 45 years , don't waste your Money on expensive stones , a Norton combination stone is all we used and my knife would cut through over 500 meters of cattle hide a day , it's important to get the shoulder off your knife , I am amazed they sell knives with an almost square edge, I could stone a knife as carefully as anybody and it will bounce off hide , it's vital to steel your knife, any steel is better than no steel, 30 degrees is good .

Thats some skinning Allycat :) , Mate you mind my asking how long a knife would last you before having to be replaced in that game ??..
reason for asking is i have a few mates who are Butchers and they say simmilar stuff about steeling and that they replace their knives on a regular basis due to continuouse steeling.
Here is a Pic of a Steak knife mate gave me some fourty odd years ago after it had seen some work and he had to replace which i now use for my mackarel or Cod knife and it has served me nicely for those fourty odd years and will be handed on.
Mind you my knives mostly see Wetstones and homemade Denim or leatherstrops rather than Steeling though do steel on occasions depending what i am attacking lol
.126548
And good hearing others experinces regarding knife and sharpening topics ey.

[Volvo]

Good upload THREE Pics !! dunno what happened there lol..

[Dignity]

I used to be able to sharpen knives but over the years I've gotten worse at it and can barely get them sharp enough for filleting. Getting old sucks.

[Noelm]

I used to be able to sharpen knives but over the years I've gotten worse at it and can barely get them sharp enough for filleting. Getting old sucks.
I can't blame age, I could never do it.......

[alleycat]

Hi Volvo, no offence but shop butchers are hackers , their knives would bounce off a big bull or bullock , some grain fed bullocks have hide over 1 cm thick , I used victory skinning knives, it's not the steeling that wears them in our case it's the daily or more sharpening , mine would last 9 months, our steels mainly had no lines , mine was an old English steel polished glass smooth , then wiped with iodine and hung for 2 days till lightly rusted , this was then cleaned off with acid leaving very fine pitting on steel , I took mine everywhere at work , even to the toilet , if it got stolen it would have made my job hell till I fixed up another one, I want to put a photo up of my knives but can only post on here if I do it on phone and can't see how to do it .

[Volvo]

No offence at all Mate :) , why we register on Forums as such. To Share .
I have two steels , both Diamond n mostly smooth both sides.
Aaaaaaaannnd about a dozen ###### ranging from Roo Tail , Cow Hide ,Softer thinner leather and Denim as previous mentioned.
Only time I Steel a knife is under a heavy workload or on the Boat cutting up bait with cheaper knives.
All good knives are only stopped n rehoned maybe twice a year just to get that razor polished back on the bevel.
Most my knives are 3xpexted to last a lifetime if looked after. Though if they were to be used at the rate yours were I doubt that would be the case.
I also have a thing about steel n it's hardness regarding knives.
Crazy might be I know but we all have our idiocrasies ey :).

[alleycat]

No offence at all Mate :) , why we register on Forums as such. To Share .
I have two steels , both Diamond n mostly smooth both sides.
Aaaaaaaannnd about a dozen ###### ranging from Roo Tail , Cow Hide ,Softer thinner leather and Denim as previous mentioned.
Only time I Steel a knife is under a heavy workload or on the Boat cutting up bait with cheaper knives.
All good knives are only stopped n rehoned maybe twice a year just to get that razor polished back on the bevel.
Most my knives are 3xpexted to last a lifetime if looked after. Though if they were to be used at the rate yours were I doubt that would be the case.
I also have a thing about steel n it's hardness regarding knives.
Crazy might be I know but we all have our idiocrasies ey :).

Finally can post with laptop, these were my work knives in various stages of wear, retired them in 0ct 2021..
126550

[Volvo]

Similar to a Dressing knife I still have from my old hunting days as well as used when killing a beast , Pig or Lamb back on the old block back in W A.
Takes back seat now in my knife bin sadly .

[alleycat]

Once again on stones, its a waste to spend big bucks on high end stones, for all my years pushing a knife all we had was Norton or Bear combination stones, we could buy them for 20 dollars, a Victory skinning knife was 19$, give you an idea of the mark up, and this is my steel, it was worth a million to me, it was a Wilson Sycamore st made in the UK man many years ago, most likely over 100 years, ground and polished to mirror smooth with wet and dry paper then wiped with Iodine and left for 2 days to lightly rust, this is then removed with acid leaving little pits, a great steel but any steel is a million times better than none.
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[bluefin59]

Once again on stones, its a waste to spend big bucks on high end stones, for all my years pushing a knife all we had was Norton or Bear combination stones, we could buy them for 20 dollars, a Victory skinning knife was 19$, give you an idea of the mark up, and this is my steel, it was worth a million to me, it was a Wilson Sycamore st made in the UK man many years ago, most likely over 100 years, ground and polished to mirror smooth with wet and dry paper then wiped with Iodine and left for 2 days to lightly rust, this is then removed with acid leaving little pits, a great steel but any steel is a million times better than none.
126561

This is all my old man used when he was a butcher many years ago

[Volvo]

Looks a bit like what I started out with in my hunting n acreage days , n it worked.
Though must say shy away from such whenever I can nowadays.

[Noelm]

Just walking down memory lane for a second......back when I was a little kid, all Barbers had a big leather "strop" hanging from the side of the chair, I always found it fascinating watching him flip the razor back and forth touching it up, of course, these days the Barber is a "stylist" and has a man bun, ballet shoes and skinny jeans that come half way down his calf!

[alleycat]

Just walking down memory lane for a second......back when I was a little kid, all Barbers had a big leather "strop" hanging from the side of the chair, I always found it fascinating watching him flip the razor back and forth touching it up, of course, these days the Barber is a "stylist" and has a man bun, ballet shoes and skinny jeans that come half way down his calf!
I can remember watching my grandfather who was a dairy farmer shaving with a cut throat razor, a piece of newspaper on the table, a cup of hot water and brush and soap then stropping the blade, the sound that blade made coming down his face, a scraping sound i wont forget, i have that razor nlw and ive tried to use it once, i lost all feeling of where the razor was compared to my skin looking in a mirror so i stopped before the accident lol.

[Noelm]

Yeah, I think using one would be a bit of an art, I don't think I have seen an old fashioned cut throat for decades, they are all disposable now.

[alleycat]

This is mine i got from my grandfather in 1987, its a puma and comes with a little portable sharpener, it has leather on the other side, the side seen is smoth and not sure what its made off but the razor is still sharp.
126562126562

[Volvo]

Mate try making yourself a denim "Strop" , old pair of jeans will surfice . Pice glued to a slab of balsa from Bunnings and give that several swipes back n forth see how sharp it comes up :)..

[shortthenlong]

Just walking down memory lane for a second......back when I was a little kid, all Barbers had a big leather "strop" hanging from the side of the chair, I always found it fascinating watching him flip the razor back and forth touching it up, of course, these days the Barber is a "stylist" and has a man bun, ballet shoes and skinny jeans that come half way down his calf!


Your going to the wrong barber. Mine's a Samoan gent of solid proportions. Still uses are cut throat but it is a modern version with a removable blade due to health and safety rules. I've never seen a man bun, ballet shoe or skinny jean in his shop

[Noelm]

Your going to the wrong barber. Mine's a Samoan gent of solid proportions. Still uses are cut throat but it is a modern version with a removable blade due to health and safety rules. I've never seen a man bun, ballet shoe or skinny jean in his shop
Sorry, I was joking.......

[tunaticer]

I was labouring on a wetstone for a few hours three weeks ago getting my usual razor edges.
I had a particularly hard blade to do that is extra flexible....nightmare to sharpen.
I thought why not try emery tape on the bench and a poly block to work the knife under to maintain the angle....worked very very well and extremely sharp with much less effort.
Came up to a better than razor edge in about 1/4 the time I would spend on the wetstone.

I used the same method on several more knives and it is superior to using wetstones and diamond stones I think.

I am using 180 grit and 320 grit emery tape.

I think my wetstones will never come off the shelf again.

[Volvo]

Interesting to read , might have to give that a try ??, Emery 180 n 320 grit !!.? Should be interesting Mate.

[Volvo]

Might have posted this some time back yonks ago regarding a Worksharp Knife Sharpener.
Now these Sharpeners do a Scary job when it comes to Sharpening your knives.
The take approx half inch belts which range in lots of different grit belts.
Not only that but have two bevel angle guides to help one attain the angles they want.
Trust me they do an excellent job honing the blade of a Filletting Knife to any Kitchen Knife you want etc.
After having used mine quite a bit during my Caraving travels it now resides in my shed most the time , reason being they take way too much metal off the blade in the process of sharpening for my liking .
For me maybe not too much of a problem with elcheapo knives but a no no with better blades.
Just me is all.
Good if wants to do quick jobs for neighbours etc LOL.

[Volvo]

Okay thought one or two might be interested in hearing more regarding the Purchase of another Toy " The Deba Knife ".
Arrived from Japan or so was said near a week ago , tad busy to suss it out much soon as it arrived n threw it in among my other Knives to get itself acquainted with the rest of the hoard LOL.
Today having been a tad cooler I decided to get it out n see if my purchase was a waste of $$ or not ??.
Initially it was advertised as High Carbon Steel with a Rockwell Hardness of 60 to 61.
At $84 I thought it worthy of purchase fully knowing one is not purchasing a very high end Knife for that much but was still keen to try and if raised my interest more , then I could maybe think of a better Steel Deba.
Was also supposed to come razor sharp ??, which it wasn't and have never previously had a knife land razor sharp so wasnt all that bothered there as a good sharpen by myself would prove if the blade worthy or not.
Knife Steel/blade came at a length just short of six inches with the blade feeling soft from my experience with the first waterstone being a 400 grit proving such.
One lot of Passes approx 8-9 swipes had a burr already along the axis of the blade and the same amount on the flat side removing it.
Same amount on a 1000 grit forming a micro burr and then onto a 2000 grit and 5000 grit finish it off proving the Steel was nowhere near 60 or 61 hardness.
Too soft for my liking if not the softest of blades in my arsenal being a shame really as I looked forward to this particular Knife being totally different to all my others .
Though I think it might work well with Blue Salmon , Bream , Sweetlip ,even Trout ?? All being easier to clean or Fillet . Test will tell ??.
Maybe one of the Newer Silver Stag Filleters with D2 Steel might have been a better investment ??.
Silver Stag I purchased last time was n still is one of my favourites with a blade worthy of holding an edge n taking time to attain an edge.
Anyway just thought ide update.