Custom Fillet Knife Wanted

J

Jeremy Reynolds

Joined
Jan 7, 2000
Messages
817
Does anyone know of some good custom makers that specialize in or make good fish fillet knives. I am looking for a maker that is good quailty, makes knives for hard use, and is not outragously expensive. I have read Phil Wilsom makes good stuff, but I don't know about his prices or contact information. I would like one in talonite, but I know that will probably be too pricey for me. Does anyone have any steel reccomendations for fillet knives, as this would be my first one. Thnaks in advance.
 
talonite...in my opinion...would be a poor choice for a thin fillet knife...as it can bend....Phil makes his out of 420V...excellent stuff....he is presently building a house up in the hills behind san francisco bay and dont know if hes making any knives right now. I have his contact info if you want to email me...I think his knives are around 325$.....but it would be best to ask him for the real price.

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
Sorry, no fillet knives are packed for the Texas show. I barely had enough time to get the manditory Bowie knife made up.

I did make up an interesting fillet pattern for a fellow in New Jersey last month, 15" blade with an extremely fine point. It seems that the fish of choice down there this time of year is the fluke (aka summer flounder) and they require a very long blade to reach the spine when filleting them. I made it up in 440C mirror finished to reduce salt water corrosion.


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george
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com


 
Jeremy,

The fellow that taught me to make knives has a nice fillet knife out of ATS-34 for $95.00.

Take a look at... http://www.people.virginia.edu/~rjs7m/k29.html

His name is Bob Barber - e-mail me at redbeard@virginia.edu for contact info.

Take care,
Bob


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R.J. Schmidt
http://kukri.itc.virginia.edu
 
I had a custom knifemaker friend of mine make me a set of custom fillet knives. The idea was for me and my brother to have matching fillet knives. These knives were flat ground out of 1/8" BG42, with stainless single guards and maroon micarta handles in the mortis tang construction. Both knives turned out gorgeous! What I didnt factor in was my idiot brother's lack of appreciation for fine cutlery. My brother is the kind of guy who uses knives for screwdrivers and prybars. He has been known to fillet a fish on a rock, and wonder why his knives dont hold an edge! Anyway, I fully intented to give him one of these awesome fillet knives, until his first comments upon seeing the knife. First words out of his mouth were "how come the blade dont flex much?". It was at that point I decided to keep both knives. I still have one after selling one to a good friend of mine. Point of this story? Hell, I dont know. Maybe I was recommending BG42 for a blade steel for a custom knife. Maybe I just wanted to type. Who knows?

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Danbo, soul brother of Rambo
 
Phil Wilson will make fillet knives out of 420V but also out of other less expensive steels like ATS-34, similar with handle materials. He grinds them with very thin high performance edges. The handles are very ergonomic and decently secure. He does nice leather sheath work as well.

As for Talonite and thin blades, I have a couple of Stellite 6K blades at 0.15" stock, fully flat ground down to about 0.015". I have used them on much harder things than fish with no problems. They don't have the extreme taper that a fillet blade has though and are a good deal wider.

As with everything else discuss it with whatever maker you chose they should be able to tell you based on their experience if the material is suitable or not.

-Cliff
 
Thanks for the info guys. I will look into this. The picture of the Barber fillet knife looks similar to what I have in mind. I don't know if I'm ready to lay down the cash right now, I just ordered a Busse Steel Heart II-E. SO my knife funds are going to be running low for awhile. But it never hurts to dream does it
smile.gif
Thanks again.

Jeremy
 
Melvin Dunn does fillet knives out of 440V, I think for less money than does Phil Wilson.

(Phil does nice looking handle work and knows how to heat treat the CPM's as well as anyone.)

Mel will use 420V "as he can get it". He's been using 440V for quite a while so he knows how to heat treat it.

Mel lists 3 fillet's in his catalog:
Pan Fish, 4-1/2" blade 440V, $110
Standard, 6-1/2" blade 440V, $125
Saltwater, 9" blade 440V, $150

Standard handles are pakkawood. Stag, micarta, or natural wood may be ordered (sounds like an adder).

He'll quote you on your own design also.

He charges $2 for a catalog, but I can't blame him with reasonable prices like that. He refunds your $2 if you order.

Melvin Dunn
5830 NW Carlson Rd
Rossville, KA 66533
(785) 584-6856

I think those prices are reasonable to say the least. I plan to own one of these soon but can't say I've used them. I wouldn't have posted this if I hadn't heard good things about his work though.


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rdangerer@home.com
 
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