I originally purchased this knife as a dual core comparison to Dr. H’s Shun dual core santoku, but then discovered that debas were being used for far more than processing large fish in Japan. A slimmed down, modestly priced Kai Seki Magaroku Kinju is being used in Japan widely this way, and I’ve been able to repurpose one as a replacement for my old American Sir Lawrence.
This Xinzuo dual core gyuto deba is much closer to the original Japanese deba: 7 mm spine, high Rockwell hardness (60+), and cleaver level weight (382 gm)
I’ve now been using both the Kai Kinju, and the Xinzuo gyuto deba on meat, vegetables, and cheese, and both more than replace my American Sir Lawrence with two limitations: neither one works well with European style rock chopping nor cutting through bones.
The Xinzuo dual core, in particular, was great for slicing my tri tip–letting the knife do the work. For the finer trimming of my Choice New York strip, I preferred the Kai Xinzuo.
For activities where I want to chop, I’m still reaching for my cleaver, and I’m leaning to softer steels that are more likely to bend than chip for small bones–and my acorn squash.