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Fillet Knives
- Thread starter LexEdman
- Start date
Nathan the Machinist
KnifeMaker / Machinist / Evil Genius
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The flexibility of a steel (the amount it deflects under a given load, within the range of elastic deformation) is dictated by its thickness. This is one of those things that is counter intuitive until you test it yourself, but trust me the science is sound. The modulus of elasticity of steel is right at 30000 KSI regardless of alloy or hardness.
Go thinner to get more flexible.
Spring tempers are softer and more ductile and less notch sensitive and will take a permanent kink before breaking, but in the useful range of blade hardness the steel type doesn't make a difference.
The stiffness of a blade, when the thickness is doubled, increases 8X. And the opposite is also true.
Go thinner to get more flexible.
Spring tempers are softer and more ductile and less notch sensitive and will take a permanent kink before breaking, but in the useful range of blade hardness the steel type doesn't make a difference.
The stiffness of a blade, when the thickness is doubled, increases 8X. And the opposite is also true.
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith
ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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Try .060" . It will flex all you want. I prefer CPM-154 for fillet blade, myself.
Stacy
Stacy
I think most of the time flexibility in fillet knives is way over rated. I tend to be unable to produce pretty fillets no matter what blade I use, and both my Dad and my former Father-in-Law produce artful results with any knife it seems. My Father-in Law's favorite "fillet knife" was a fairly long thin knife from his kitchen that looked flexible, but when I tested it I found it to be surprisingly stiff. My Dad didn't seem to have a favorite fillet blade until I made him a knife for the purpose, and it was pretty stiff too. Both of these men grew up on the Gulf coast and fished a TON. While on a trip to a lake in central Mexico in the 70s as a kid, I watched the locals fillet hundreds of black bass with little more than big butcher knives sharpened on rocks.
The memory is still vivid today. It seems that unless you have already developed a distinct preference for a very flexible blade, you can learn to manage with a pretty wide range of tools.....Unless you are me and you learn to make a mess with a wide range of tools.
The memory is still vivid today. It seems that unless you have already developed a distinct preference for a very flexible blade, you can learn to manage with a pretty wide range of tools.....Unless you are me and you learn to make a mess with a wide range of tools.