The Shirasagi line comes to us from Tosa city, Kochi Prefecture, Japan – made by a group of undisclosed craftsmen, and sharpened by Myojin-san, who trained at Konosuke (based in Sakai city, Osaka Prefecture, Japan). At the price these Migaki finish knives are a must have workhorse for any kit, the white #2 steel will take an amazing edge and is incredibly easy to sharpen and polish to your liking. The dark octagonal wood handle looks great with the rustic style of the blade, making it as much a show piece as a work knife.
The Knife
These migaki variants of the Shirasagi line showcase clean work, with an understated finish that doesn't leave much to hide behind. A breeze to keep razor sharp once its set up, this knife finds a happy middle ground of size where it breaks down small lake fish like a breeze, but is capable of working on larger fish while remaining manageable in hand. Be advised this knife is not particularly sharp out of the box and will require an initial sharpening before use.
The Deba is a single bevelled knife, traditionally used for fish butchery in Japan. It excels at breaking down fish and fileting. Debas are typically heavier, have a thicker spine, taller blade height, aggressive belly, and stronger at the tip and heel, with a taper towards the tip. Single bevel knives are mainly made out of carbon steel, and can be sharpened extremely sharp, therefore are preferred by professional sushi chefs. This is a task specific knife, typically ranging between 150mm and 300mm in length.
**THIS KNIFE IS FOR RIGHT HANDED USE ONLY**
