fillet knife Thickness and steel=please

T

timfish

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Jun 4, 2022
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Hey yall---pleasehelp--
I wanna make a fillet knife---I was gonna order some steel blanks of 1095
Ive made several knives out of 1095 and really like it--I know it can rust and I take care of them--
1-PLEASE tell me what thickness of blank I need to order (Im guessing1/16)--
2-If 1095 isnt a good steel that will flex a bit--please tell me another easy steel for a newbie--

THANKS!!!
 
The amount of flex is dependent upon blade thickness (and to a very small degree, the HRC) , not the choice of steel.

While I have never owned or used a 1095 fillet knife, I suspect that it should cut like a scalpel, especially with good heat treatment. Most fillet knives are stainless for the obvious maintenance reasons, but I don't see any other disadvantages to a 1095 blade.
 
Last edited:
timfish said:
Hey yall---pleasehelp--
I wanna make a fillet knife---I was gonna order some steel blanks of 1095
Ive made several knives out of 1095 and really like it--I know it can rust and I take care of them--
1-PLEASE tell me what thickness of blank I need to order (Im guessing1/16)--
2-If 1095 isnt a good steel that will flex a bit--please tell me another easy steel for a newbie--

THANKS!!!
Click to expand...
shane45-1911 said:
The amount of flex is dependent upon blade thickness (and to a very small degree, the HRC) , not the choice of steel.

While I have never owned or used a 1095 fillet knife, I suspect that it should cut like a scalpel, especially with good heat treatment. Most fillet knives are stainless for the obvious maintenance reasons, but I don't see any other disadvantages to a 1095 blade.
Click to expand...
Thank you!!!!
45..1911
 
I recommend staying around .065” thick for fillet knives. Since you have experience with 1095, you probably already know that it requires a controlled temp and fast soak to get a good heat treat.
 
TheEdge01 said:
I recommend staying around .065” thick for fillet knives. Since you have experience with 1095, you probably already know that it requires a controlled temp and fast soak to get a good heat treat.
Click to expand...
Can 1095 this thin be heated/ quenched without warping?
 
timfish said:
Can 1095 this thin be heated/ quenched without warping?
Click to expand...
It is possible, but you will very likely end up with a warp.
Sometimes you can prevent a warp by clamping your blade between two hard flat surfaces immediately after quench, and leave it there until it cools. If that doesn’t work, you can try straightening it during your second temper by over correcting the warped section of the blade
 
I'm not a knife maker, so take it as a grain of salt. Anyway, since you are open to try something new things, I would say something along the line of 420HC grade (4116, 4110, 4034, 12C27, AEB, etc.). Not because it is stainless and the initial sharpness might not be impressive, but rather because they hold the edge slightly than plain carbon, which is more useful in application like filleting and less sharpening on thin stock knife. The steel is readily available, therefore not expensive.
 
Resurrecting this thread. I need to make a 10” fillet. All the fillet and boning knives I make are in .079” stock and it seems to be a good amount flex (grinding quite thin). I’m worried with a 10” filet .079” will be too thin? What do you think?
 
I have made 10" fillet knives in that thickness, but they do have a good bit of flex.
For ones that long 0.10" is a bit stiffer.
I make 8" long flounder fillet blades from 0.060" stock.
 
It depends on the width, too; narrow blades are easier to get to flex. I have done 1/16" stock that is a little wider (almost 1") and that tempered down the flex a good bit, especially leaving the spine full thickness; think like a thin boning knife, but the full thickness until like an inch or two from the tip. Worked great on tuna and stuff like that! Leave the spine full thickness farther down the blade towards the tip will allow for a thin edge, but stiffer spine. You may need to put something behind the blade when grinding to help keep the bevels consistent and not flex/twist against the platen and bring the bevel up past the spine. I find if I am grinding thin stock that is long, as the blade flexes closer to the tip, the grind wants to flatten out/twist slightly and grind in a distal taper where I don't want it.
 
I run them in either 1/16 or 3/32 but it largely depends on how much flex you want. I like a stiff fillet so I tend to use 3/32 with a full height grind gives me just a bit of flex.
 
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