# Mioroshi Deba or "standard" Deba?



## dav (Mar 17, 2012)

Looking to order either of the above from Watanabe's Professional range. Understand the differences of the above knives but just wanted the pro's and con's for my personal uses from the experts.

Not a big meat eater so mainly for fish although would from time to time wish to use to break down a chicken, would the slimmer Mioroshi be suitable?

So mainly for filleting and slicing fish and trimming meat with the occassional heavier duty session.


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## euphorbioid (Mar 17, 2012)

I went through the same line of reasoning about two years ago. I am a home cook and don't need anything as heavy as a "standard" deba. I bought the pro series mioroshi deba at 180mm length from Watanabe and have been very happy with it. It's not a lightweight knife by any means and works great for disarticulating turkeys and other fowl. I recently used it to fillet some mackerel and it performed as expected. I don't plan on breaking down tuna, whales or anything else that weighs more than a couple of pounds so I'm very satisfied with my purchase. Good luck with your decision.


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## schanop (Mar 17, 2012)

If you have any plan to break down fish with with hard bones, like tai/snapper, get a deba. 180mm should be a versatile size. I am a home cook and has some thing larger, but wish I had gone smaller in the first place. KC (of ff) always suggests that you can always finest a deba, but it is more difficult to toughen up a mioroshi deba.


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## TamanegiKin (Mar 17, 2012)

Hon deba for fish and a petty or honesuki for poultry and just trimming/cleaning meat.


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## dav (Mar 18, 2012)

Great thanks for your help, am probably going with a 165mm though as due to the thickness and my limited culinary skills (great with a chisel or a plane!) I'm thinking I might find the larger knife a bit unwealdy. It will also give me an excuse to buy a small and large Deba too in time!! Most of the fish I'll be prepping will be under 5lb anyway, remember over here in the UK thats big!!


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## Citizen Snips (Mar 18, 2012)

i used a 180mm deba and found that the weight of the knife was a little more awkward for my tastes. 

i love the 210mm mioroshi. i prefer the mioroshi because i feel it is a bit more nimble, easier to control, and you can do much more with it. you can filet and slice smaller fish with it or use it to portion fish if you dont work in a sushi restaurant. also, because it is more narrow, you could use it for other tasks (i use mine for chicken and duck). it can do anything a regular deba can. ive put mine through the spine of a 55lb halibut and taken it to a bunch of rockfish with ease.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVPvqb-f12Y

i just believe the mioroshi is a much more versatile knife...there is something to be said for the heft of a traditional deba especially if you do a lot of larger fish.

side note, i would use a petty for trimming meat. thats one thing i dont do with my mioroshi


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## SumWun (Jul 7, 2013)

No doubt go for the mioroshi! I work in a sushi restaurant with one and a chefs knife and I do EVERYTHING short of actually slicing nigiri/sashimi and makis. You'll save money and space by making this choice, no doubt. Howver if this isnt your job, and you're into collecting knives, the deba would be the way to go.


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## tripleq (Jul 7, 2013)

I own a 150 pro deba and a pro 210 mioroshi, both from Watanabe (among a few others). I admit that the Mioroshi is a versatile knife but I butcher fish 1-2 times/week and if I had to chose only one to keep it would probably be the standard deba as my kit has other knives that can pick up the slack. I always go for the standard deba for fish with heavier bones like a snapper. I could probably use the mioroshi. It's all in the sharpening. Technically you could grind a deba for any task I guess. That being said I would exercise caution using any traditional deba for 'heavier' tasks. They are a specialized design and simply aren't meant for butchery other than fish although you might be able to get away with it in limited ways. I have a ryodeba from watanabe that I use for chicken, hard veggies, etc. Remember that a mioroshi is a bit of a compromise knife. It can do more but it doesn't surpass the knives that inspired its design. I would give the sandard deba a try first. A standard deba can take apart any fish. Mioroshi...not so much. Good luck!!!


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