*psa* I am completely new to knives and know nothing.
What's so special about the atsu deba that makes it so much more expensive than the vast majority of the other knives?
saumilktIf I had to guess, I would say it is probably due to the thickness of the blade stock. The spine of a deba is usually very thick because it's used for prep work like cracking lobster or crabshells and such, where you pound the crap out of the knife. Here's a good reference. If you want to see a deba from a good camera angle on the spine thickness, pause at about 3:51. If you want to see it in action you can watch the rest, but don't go beyond that if you are squeamish about live food prep.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuBrYztrOOs
saumilktgenerally, deba knives are thicker than other knives. its spine is almost 3 times thicker than a yanagiba knive, therefore it uses more steel. that is why deba costs $60 more.
greyworlderGood points about the Deba,
I don't know so much about this series of videos though...they are not a great representation of Japanese cuisines and knife skills to say the least.
FuzzHe is a pretty well-known chef who was trained up the traditional way in Japan, and tends to be lauded for his knife skills (though not with the deba specifically), so I think he's probably doing alright at least. You're free to disagree of course, but the man's abilities as a sushi chef are pretty well established by sources other than myself. As an anecdote though, I have actually met him, and what you see in the videos is certainly not all he's capable of. That really wasn't why I used it though. Honestly, it was just the first video that came to mind of a person handling a deba where the knife was extremely visible.
What's so special about the atsu deba that makes it so much more expensive than the vast majority of the other knives?