Yoshihiro Kasumi Left-Handed Deba 180mm, Shitan Handle
Yoshihiro Cutlery sells Japanese knives made in small workshops, and its Kasumi line is the affordable end of traditional single-bevel work: white steel #2 at 62 to 63 HRC forged onto soft iron, which leaves the misty pattern the name refers to. This 180mm deba is ground for a left hand, and that is not a cosmetic change: the bevel, the hollow on the back and the tang all sit the other way round, which is why left-handed single bevels cost noticeably more than standard ones. The handle is shitan rosewood in the octagonal Japanese style with a buffalo horn collar.
A deba is a fish knife: separating heads, taking fillets off the bone. The thick spine gives weight for that and makes it clumsy on vegetables. Carbon steel rusts if left wet, so it wants wiping dry after every use, and the single bevel has to be kept on whetstones, not in a pull-through sharpener.
Pros
- Bevel, hollow and tang ground for lefties
- White steel #2 at 62 to 63 HRC
- Kasumi forging takes a very fine edge
- Octagonal shitan handle with horn collar
- Also offered in 150mm and larger sizes
Cons
- Carbon steel stains and rusts without drying
- Needs whetstone practice, no gadget sharpeners
- Left-handed grind costs more than the right-handed one
- Single bevel is no substitute for a chef's knife
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