Fillet Knives........what's good?

Monofletch

Monofletch

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Joined
Jan 14, 2010
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My BK-2 won't work on bluegill:D!!

A good fillet knife will make being a Dad so much easier. Please recomend something better than my $10 Rapala!! I am sick of sharpening every 3-4 fish!!!

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One other thing....the way I fillet fish I need a blade that will bend slightly.
 
Check out the fillet knives by Ka-Bar. Very ergonomic and made in America. I have the large and am about to order the small.
Other good fillet knife production brands include: Dexter Russell (the V-Lo and Sani-Safe are both excellent), Mora, Victorinox, Knives of Alaska, Rapala/Marttiini (the ones made in Finland).
Here's that Ka-Bar I mentioned...

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And here's a Deluxe Edition Rapala I just picked up.

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Is there a certain steel I am looking for? I'm sure a 1095 HC is not ideal for this. Or does it really matter?
 
I bought a two-knife set of fillet knives a couple of years ago from Knives of Alaska. Good ergonomics, but the smaller of the two was absolutely dull right out of the box. The larger one was a razor. Doesn't reflect positively on their QC.

The best fillet knife I have ever used was also the cheapest, the standard old Rapala.
 
Maybe I'll just keep on sharpening the Rapala. Or......teach the kids how to clean the fish! It gets to a point were I just put my pole away and start the knife work. Yesterday after about 7pm I couldn't keep up with Mom and the kids! Kind of glag we ran out of crickets!!

A good thing I guess.
 
Mora makes two or three filet knives and they're maybe $20 bucks. Scandinavia lives on fish and Mora sure knows knives. Seems like a good combo. A filet knife is one Mora product I don't have but the other 30 I have are all fantastic so I would expect no less. They have stiff ones, flexible ones, long ones, and short ones as well as the kind with scalers on the back. They even have vented sheaths for easy hosing out on some of the models...sort of louvered contraptions...very inovative.
 
I have a newly aquired Mora 155. I did a lot of looking too. I have a Mora carving knife and have really been impressed with the blade - which led me to a Mora fillet knife. The Mora pictured above with the black and yellow handles is the 896. It was replaced by the 155. The 155 is basically the same thing only a different sheath, a thicker blade and a green and black handle. The Mora 896 has a blade thickness of .052" while the 155 has a blade thickness of .069". The 896 are still readily available if you prefer the thinner, more flexible blade. You can spend big bucks on a fillet knife but the Mora is very reasonable and an excellent knife. I was also drawn toward a Dexter-Russell - which you see all over the place in the resturant busines (they use a carbon blade). Good luck.
 
I actually like kitchen cutlery for this. Try an F. Dick filet knife. A little pricey but holds and edge well.
 
If you want better edge retention, Fallkniven makes boning/fishing knives in VG10.
 
Electric fillet knives make quick work of a fish. Check out a few videos on youtube and you will be convinced.
 
The best fillet knife for me in an arctic fishery was the Cold steel selection, and they are the first choice for me still. The carbonV blades would hold an edge very well, enough flex and rigidity, plus the finger grooves saved gripping the knife too much- very important when filleting over 1000# per hour. These were ~5-10#dressed arctic char for information purposes.

Although for a fish the size of your picture, I would probably choose a slipjoint or smaller paring knife, but not being familiar with that fish or your style of filleting I can only go by what I've experienced.
 
My brother bought a 10 buck ceramic paring knife from wally world, he cleans a LOT of fish, mostly bream, said he hasn't had to sharpen it yet at almost a year old.
 
I second the Rapala and the Mora. How are you sharpening the rapala? Mine stays sharp a good while. The scaler on the mora is the Cats Meow.
 
The deckhands on the open party boats out here that have to fillet 100's of fish on some trips, like Forschners.
 
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