A counterbalanced eccentric shaft for a handheld dehider having a housing, a pair of cutting disks, a main drive gear operated by a motor and a pair of pushrods driven by the motor through the main drive gear to move the cutting disks in opposed cutting oscillations, the counterbalanced eccentric shaft comprising: a first cylindrical shaft portion for insertion into a first bearing in the dehider housing; a gear shaft portion for receiving the main drive gear; and an eccentric shaft portion for driving the pair of pushrods; a first counterbalance mass integrally formed as a single piece with the eccentric shaft; and a second cylindrical shaft portion for insertion into a second bearing in the dehider housing, the first and second cylindrical shafts and the gear shaft being axially aligned, and the eccentric shaft being axially offset therefrom.