Miki Deba Shirogami 180mm (7.1″)

Miki Deba Shirogami in 180mm (7.1″) blade length is a heavy traditional Japanese knife for rougher tasks, intended for filleting fish and poultry. A proud member of the traditional Japanese trio (along with yanagiba and usuba knives). It is a medium-sized deba designed for fish lovers and professional chefs. The blade thickness is at hefty 8.2mm (0.32″), the blade length is 180mm (7.1″), so it is suitable for filleting medium-sized fish. Deba also performs well at smaller kitchen tasks, like mincing herbs or cleaning and preparing vegetables. The single bevel blade is suitable 🚨 for right-handed users only!

Miki Hamono uses the purest carbon steel available, produced by the Japanese steelmaker Hitachi. Shirogami steel #2 or “white steel 2” with a hardness of around 62-63 HRC, which is then forged welded with a second layer of softer steel. A two-layered blade construction, also known as ni-mai.

White steel can produce the highest level of sharpness and cutting ability from all Japanese steels, but it comes at a price. Very high maintenance is needed, rust resistance is very low so it will develop patina very fast, the blade has to be wiped dry after every use and oiled regularly to prevent rusting. Edge retention is a bit shorter than with some modern steels, especially compared to powder steels.

When you ask Japanese blacksmiths or sushi chefs why they all like white steel so much, you always get the identical answer: “Because it has a GREAT EDGE!”

»Great edge« in Japanese terminology translates as:

• very high hardness and toughness (not being overly brittle)
• very fine and homogeneous martensite steel structure (steel structure after heat treatment) which will after polishing produce a very fine/smooth edge
• very easy to resharpen.

🚩 Because Shirogami steel does not contain chromium, such a blade will develop some patina during use. The advantage of this steel, however, is that it has a very fine, gentle sharpness, is easy to sharpen and stays sharp for a very long time. Knife maintenance oil is recommended for the care of such blades.

The blade is polished and hand engraved with the blacksmith’s signature. The transfer between jigane and hagane has a nice kasumi finish created by whetstones. The out-of-the-box sharpness is 7/10 because Japanese chefs like to put the final edge by themselves. If you prefer, we can sharpen it for you free of charge, just let us know when placing the order (leave a note in the cart).

Handle is a simple traditional round Wa handle, made from magnolia wood. Magnolia wood is a soft, light-colored wood that needs some extra maintenance as it can stain easily, so we recommend having clean hands before using the knife. It is the preferred wood of Japanese sushi chefs due to its antiseptic properties and it is easy and cheap to rehandle as there is an abundance of magnolia handles on the market. The ferrule is made from water buffalo horn.

About Miki Hamono:
Miki Hamono is a small-scale blacksmith from the Miki area in Japan. Miki is a very famous blacksmithing area located in Hyogo prefecture in the center of Japan. They use an old Japanese forging technique that originated from making samurai swords (katanas). Miki Hamono is mostly known among Japanese sushi chefs for forging traditional single bevel shirogami (white) steel knives. Their knives are the perfect example of the Japanese traditional knives where every part of the knife is made the »right way«, like in the old days, but separates them from other similar blacksmiths by a very good price performance.