Recommendation? Best Folding Knife for Filleting Fish and EDC??

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Backpacker1020

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Apr 22, 2019
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Hello all! Looking for expert advice on a unique question.

I’m a backpacker, hiker, fisherman, camper, etc. I currently have a Morakniv fixed blade knife for use while camping for fire starting and other general bushcraft purposes. I enjoy catching and cooking my freshwater fish that I catch and want to know what folding knife would be best at that. Im not looking to buy a fillet knife because they can’t be used for much else besides cleaning fish and I want a folding knife that can fillet and be used for other things (ideally EDC). My budget is sub $80 and I’ve considered the Spyderco Delica or Endura. Any help is appreciated thanks!!
 
Plastic handled Opinel?
Bick 110LT? (if you want a locking blade)
Case, or Rough Rider large (5 inch closed) toothpick?
(Rough Rider makes a very nice two blade toothpick, one blade being a scaler)
Marbles MR139? (single blade, scaler is on the spine.)
 
CRKT Jumbones popped into my head reading this, they also make a smaller 'crossbones'
Don't own either but the blade shape seems to fit ' fish fillet' and its a nice looking flipper knife
 
Danke42 said:
If you can find it the Spyderco Catcherman. They turn up in the exchange here regularly.

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This one looks really good, I’ll keep my eye out for it. It appears however that re sale on this one can get kinda pricy. I’m still open for other suggestions as well but will consider this if I find it for a good deal.
 
afishhunter said:
Plastic handled Opinel?
Bick 110LT? (if you want a locking blade)
Case, or Rough Rider large (5 inch closed) toothpick?
(Rough Rider makes a very nice two blade toothpick, one blade being a scaler)
Marbles MR139? (single blade, scaler is on the spine.)
Click to expand...
Why the plastic handle one? Any particular reason? The Opinel does look good though. So does the Buck. Not a huge fan of the Rough Rider or Marbles though.
 
Backpacker1020 said:
Why the plastic handle one? Any particular reason? The Opinel does look good though. So does the Buck. Not a huge fan of the Rough Rider or Marbles though.
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The "plastic" handle on the Opinel can't swell like the wood handles can/do if you don't soak the pivot end in something like food grade mineral oil.
I don't know if you would want to mess with it.
Also, some think a wood handle is "unsanitary" on a knife (or anything else made of wood) used for or around food.

On the down side, you can only get the "plastic" handle with a stainless steel blade.
(I prefer their carbon steel)
 
You can waterproof Opinel handles by melting in a coat of wax (Jonson Floor Wax works well). Fill the blade slot, heat with a hair dryer until it runs, work it in. Bucklites would be a good choice, too. I like the smaller 112, which you can get in S30V as well as 420HC.
 
Backpacker1020 said:
Hello all! Looking for expert advice on a unique question.

I’m a backpacker, hiker, fisherman, camper, etc. I currently have a Morakniv fixed blade knife for use while camping for fire starting and other general bushcraft purposes. I enjoy catching and cooking my freshwater fish that I catch and want to know what folding knife would be best at that. Im not looking to buy a fillet knife because they can’t be used for much else besides cleaning fish and I want a folding knife that can fillet and be used for other things (ideally EDC). My budget is sub $80 and I’ve considered the Spyderco Delica or Endura. Any help is appreciated thanks!!
Click to expand...

Spyderco catcherman. If you can find one.

I would say a Spyderco Pacific salt serrated it probably the best available option.
 
I would use the mora for food prep since you already have that. A folder can hide all the nasty grease, oils, particles and create a bacterial breeding ground. And with how greasy and oily fish is I would only do it as a one time thing before I get home to thoughly clean and ultrasonic cleaner the knife.

A fixed blade though is far easier to clean and you won't have to worry about a pivot or other places in the handle to clean.

A cheap paring knife with a sheath would work for this as well if you want a dedicated food knife
 
Backpacker1020 said:
Hello all! Looking for expert advice on a unique question.

I’m a backpacker, hiker, fisherman, camper, etc. I currently have a Morakniv fixed blade knife for use while camping for fire starting and other general bushcraft purposes. I enjoy catching and cooking my freshwater fish that I catch and want to know what folding knife would be best at that. Im not looking to buy a fillet knife because they can’t be used for much else besides cleaning fish and I want a folding knife that can fillet and be used for other things (ideally EDC). My budget is sub $80 and I’ve considered the Spyderco Delica or Endura. Any help is appreciated thanks!!
Click to expand...
Endura wold work fine if you keep it rinsed and dry but the salt would be worry free.
JoOS8a9.jpg
 
Just a question. How big of fish do you plan on filleting regularly? Because any comercial filleting knife out there is going to have a much bigger blade than the folders suggested here... and for a good reason!

Other than a propper filleting knife (long, thin, flexible, upswept blade) anything would do to sepparate the meat from the bones and/or the skin.
 
Get a cheap 7" Dexter fillet knife. Heck even a 6" rapala. They can be used for all of your food prep and ALSO clean fish like a boss!

If you don't fillet and just gut and gill and cook whole, anything will work (and a Mora would be awesome)... But if you're filleting, respect the fish and use the proper knife to get as much meat as possible off the carcass.

Mora makes a small little fillet knife too.

I hate fishy, scaley folders .Just not the right tool for the job.
 
I think the thin series opinels would be okay, but may need a little modication. Water proofing would be good for the wood handles. I think adding a little grip to the handle would help as well, seeing as it will be used on fish.

I think the spyderco endura would fall in pretty well, though the stiffer blade would be a little deterrent over the flexible blade of the opinel. The pacific salt is probably better since the H1 steel can't stain, but the price is a little higher. The lack of staining helps with both cleaning and reducing fears of getting it wet. You may need to go used on that one though as they're just above your limit I think.

Queen used to make a fisherman's barlow that would be reasonably well suited to this but I'm not sure if other brands make something like this. I had one and it was decent, but it was far too big for my uses so I sold it.

I think getting an inexpensive fixed blade and a nice pocket sheath is a better way to go but I understand the desire for a folder for diverse uses. The mora companion, or any of them with a scandi grind, are not what I would want for a fillet knife. Bird and trout knives work pretty well for such a use but most knives outside of a fillet knife will not have the flexible blade that aids in filleting.

Buck 110 lightweight could be an interesting model to look at as well. With your budget, I really want to say that you should try a few different designs and see what tickles your fancy, and then get something nicer later. Maybe get an EDC folder and a fixed fillet and still stay under your budget. Not to knock other US brands, Buck has been doing a lot of nice work with US made budget folders that I think are at least worth a look.
 
Once on a fishing trip we ended up with a big mess of crappie and short on filet knives. I pulled the ffg Spyderco Police model out of my back pocket and gave it a try. Not as flexible as I’d like, but it worked in a pinch
 
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