New fillet knife suggestions!

[doubleheader]

This is the neat thing about knives. They are very personal, everybody has there own opinion and preference. Back in the 80's I worked for Case Cutlery for almost 10 years. What a fun job and great place to work until it changes hands. Now it's in the hands of Zippo, and run more like a family business. Anyhow, that experience forged my opinions on knives and knife blades. A good fillet blade should be flexible, of proper length for the job, fit one's hand, and have a razor point and edge. Blade hardness is very much of personal choice. I like a somehat softer blade (high 40's as I recall on the Rockwell C scale). I assure you this blade will get every bit as sharp as a super hard blade, it just requires some touch-up after each use. I also generally prefer chrome vanadium steel rather than stainless. It tarnishes, but usually is easier to sharpen to a razor's edge. I don't like any of the automatic blade sharpening devices, but the Lansky type devices are a great help for those that can't put an edge on a blade. They require no skill and are quite efficient. Today, I still prefer the old wooden handle Rapala fillet knives. Not that the others aren't good, just my preference even though the blade is stainless.

[fishinggeek]

Though I'm sure electric and custom ones are amazing, I'm all for the cheap Rapala one. No complaints and I've used it for years. And if you lose one, it's no big deal. I figure you can get many Rapala knives for the price of a single top end one, yet the likelihood of losing each are very similar.

[mistyriver1]

Whatever knife you decide on , another suggestion I would pass along is get yourself a sharpening stone. A steel will be bring back the edge but after a while it won't work.

 

I picked up a couple of stones when I was in Tennessee last month at a knife shop. Put a little lubricating oil on the stone and run each side over it a couple of times. Knife will be as sharp as heck.

 

Good luck

Jim

[Billy Bob]

The one thing that I believe hasn't been mentioned is the size of the SHARP fillet knife.

 

I have cleaned A LOT of fish in my years and I always use a 4" knife to fillet and my partner (wife) uses a 6" blade to skin. It doesn't matter if the fish is a crappie or a 25 King Salmon the 4" blade works better than a 6" blade to fillet. However, most use the 6" which loses control and slows down the process.

 

With the 4" in blade you have MUCH more control because the tip of the blade is closer to your hand and index finger.

 

Here is a picture of one of my old knives and a new one. See how much use it has seen over the years.

Edited April 25, 2008 by Billy Bob

[The Urban Fisherman]

I lost my Knife, and My Mother-In-Law said she just picked one up in town so no need to replace mine. Well she show's up with a knife from the Dollarama!!!!! Oh man, I got half way through my first bluegill, handed her the knife and said HAVE FUN! haha

 

Either way i'm on a budget and like the wooden rapala knives, but if I had the cash I'd probably buy something a little higher end.

 

Cheers,

UF

[jace]

I have cleaned A LOT of fish in my years and I always use a 4" knife to fillet and my partner (wife) uses a 6" blade to skin. It doesn't matter if the fish is a crappie or a 25 King Salmon the 4" blade works better than a 6" blade to fillet. However, most use the 6" which loses control and slows down the process.

 

With the 4" in blade you have MUCH more control because the tip of the blade is closer to your hand and index finger.

 

 

 

I'm the exact opposite, I have a bunch of knives and none of them are short. I use 8 and 9" knives for everything including perch. I like to clean out fish in as few passes as possible, making as few cuts into the meat as i can and that's not possible for a lot of fish with a 4" knife. I used to have only 6 and 7" but then i started travelling more and getting bigger fish and it's just not practical to clean a 100# fish with a shorty knife. It wasn't long before i stopped using short knives all together.

 

 

A cheap knife is all you need if you're a weekend warrior but a good knife with a harder steel is the only one that's going to hold its edge after a long day. Cheap knives with soft steel blades need honing to bring back an edge sooner than a harder steel blade, a steel won't grind out a rounded edge. And to make the hard steel blades more flexible, they go thinner.

[Fisherman]

Well, I think there's a couple more variables involved, the average knife will do well enough under the right circumstances, but I think a lot of guys think they may be Rapala's gift to filleting. I've seen some that fall into that category and make a fish fillet look like it was done with a Husqvarna 450 2 man chainsaw, both who had unsure footing.

[holdfast]

If I was taking a pole here, The winner is the Rapala, which may very well be the cheap plastic handled one that I had bought cheap at Canadian Tire. I have a Chicago Cutlery lock blade fillet knife I picked up cheap in the States that I have never used. Ive had a Henkel and Solinger fillet knives that sharpened real good. But I always use the cheap Rapala because I seem to lose or ruin the blade due to non fish cleaning uses because it was convenient. I kind of agree with Clampet, don't try to sell me a bone or gold or platinum knife, kind of reminds me of the fish glove thread, why buy a 20 dollar fish glove when the dollar store glove will work. I guess guys get sucked into the more bearings , more expensive has to be better gimmick advertising.