Fillet Help

Isley

Isley

Joined
Feb 26, 2016
Messages
65
Hi, Any input appreciated
A customer has requested a fillet knife (8" blade), as a gift for another recipient. "A handle like a Bubba Blade and a blade more like a Dexter" was about the only additional input I received. I whipped together a few profile ideas (Pic included), trying to retain the better components of each, but I want to make sure I get the basic components of a good fillet knife down first and foremost as this will be my first. No time rush so I can make sure I get this right. This will be for basic NC lake fish.
1. Cutting edge heel 3/4" wide - about right?
2. More or less sweep?
3. I nixed the dorsal guard of the Bubba blade, maybe that much of a hand index would be good if one were working long hours on a dock filleting fish, but it seemed a bit much to me. ??
4. Planned to use ~.100 AEB-L RC 61-62
5. Profile it - Heat Treat It - Distal Taper - Grind to darn near sharp - Convex in to complete the grind
6. Planned to use Linen Micarta Maybe G10 for the handle, fairly heavy materials compared to that used on most industrially made fillet knives. Is the knife being so handle heavy relative to the blade going to be an issue, should I consider another material?

I find I keep just subduing the handle more and more. I cut out a template of #3 and found it fairly comfortable but a bit small, so I increased to #4 which is also slight larger in girth.

fillet_samples.png
 
Knife 1 looka like one that I would use.
Has the little ramp up for my thumb to stop it slipping along the spine of the blade.
Found over the years that's something I prefer.
Everyone is different though.
 
I would keep #1 handle but make the dorsal 3/8" high and more vertical. Put jimping on the thumb side. Remember, you need a good non-skid surface for your thumb because the fish is bloody and slimy. I would reduce the tit on the front bottom of the handle to about 3/8". I would use S35VN or M390 because fish scales are very abrasive. Micarta or G10 would both be good. I like what you have done so far.
Tim
 
Is this more like what you mean tim37a? Yeah, that lower guard does look like an utter, I'm not sure how to make that transition more eloquently, I guess I could make the ventral portion of the ricasso more acute, as in just feed directly into the handle. Thanks for the input. I have some M390 to test out AAMOF, though not this size.Fillet_sample2.png
 
I make a knife like #2/#3. I would suggest .060" steel over .100", but some folks like thicker fillet blades. Use a laminate, like Micarta or G-10 for the handle …. especially with those long drops at the ricasso and the tit behind the finger groove. They will snap off in wood. I would eliminate the little tit.
 
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First let my say all your designs look good.

The thumb ramp is nice to have, but the location fore and aft depends on the size of the person's hand.

If you are looking to reduce weight, reduce the grip material in front of the finger grove and round the edges of the front half of the grove so they don't dig into the finger. You could also add vertical flutes or scallops to reduce weight and improve grip.

If you don't like the looks of the tit sticking down behind the finger grove, simply increase the radius so it is more of a swell than a protrusion. You could increase the length of the protrusion at the botton back of the grips, this gives the little finger something distinct to rest on.

You said you cut out a template. Did you put on grips or just a profile of the blade? Remember when filleting the knife is not held upright, but laying on its side usually with the cutting edge away from you.
Hope we didn't add to the confusion too much. LOL
Jim A.
 
I think you have pretty much got it now, although I would eliminate the small tit on the bottom of the handle. I can't see that it does anything to improve the grip and I am a firm believer in simplicity. The bottom of the handle flows better without the tit. Just MHO.
 
I like 2-4 best. I don't care for the upsweep. Also the flexibility is another question. I like mine a little more on the stiff side rather than flimsy flex.
For a grind I would go with a very minor hollow vs a convex. Moves through the flesh easier.
Length is somewhat job specific.

I've cleaned hundreds of rock cod, halibut, ling cod, mostly with a Dexter/Russell. Just my personal opinion.
 
Ok, I think I have some info to work with now. Of course I'll have to see what the customer thinks ultimately, but at least I won't be too far off the mark now. Thanks guys.
 
I think they all look pretty good as well and would all make nice fillet knives. Would love to see what you ended up with when your done.
 
Isley said:
fairly heavy materials compared to that used on most industrially made fillet knives.
Click to expand...

People associate weight with quality not to mention that every commercially made fillet knife I've used felt like it had a chintzy crap handle. In my limited experience with micarta I think it'd be an ideal handle.
 
Thanks everybody,
based on customer feedback It looks like the final design will be closer to that of #4. It'll be a minute, still have to order the steel, but I'll post pictures of the final when completed. I may do two with differing degrees of flexibility based on stock thickness.
 
I suggest making 4.
Remember that the stiffness varies with the cube of the thickness. That makes it pretty sensitive.
I made 4 blades that were nominally identical within my grinding abilities. One of them turned out a lot more flexible. It isn't obviously thinner.
 
Richard is correct. The amount of distal taper, the grind, and the stock thickness don't have to be much thicker to make it stiffer. More or less distal taper is the best way to control flex.
You would be surprised at the huge flex difference in .060" stock and .090" stock.

And, for those who don't know, hardness has no effect on flex. It is totally a matter of thickness and the grind. A Rockwell 65 blade flexes identically to a Rockwell 50 blade. One will break where the other might bend, but the flex is the same. Read up on Young's Modulus for more info.
 
Yeah, I can definitely see how minor cross sectional differences could yield a large varience in flex with these thin knives. Ok, so more fillets it is. I hope, ultimately, to make a lot of fillet knives. So maybe I'll start to get a grip on the variables as I make these.
 
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