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Fillet knives

G

gadgetgeek

Joined
May 19, 2007
Messages
7,745
Not sure if this has been beaten to death yet, so if it is, I apologize, I've been off for a while. I feel I need a fillet knife, but I'm wondering what I should be looking for. if a thin blade is all thats needed, whats to stop me from a Opinel #8 or 9? is the flex all that important? or just a nice to have? I've already got my main knives, so this one will be fully specialized, no need to compromise on that. I have no concerns over steel type, carbon or stainless. I primarily catch smallish fish, no big off shore trophies so what length am I really going to need?
Also, what features do you guys love/hate when it comes to fillet knives? what should I be looking for?
finally, price is pretty open, I spend what I need to to get the right gear, and value is relative.

Thanks gang,
 
Personally I don't like the taste a carbon blade leaves on fish so I use stainless :thumbup:

Since it sounds like you don't need a large fillet knife, I would suggest something in the 10 -12.54 cm range (4 - 5 inches).

I've been pretty impressed with the new 2.5 mm thick Fallkniven F2 in laminated VG10, that will take a wicked edge & keep it for a fair while (see pic below) :thumbup:

Largestoftheday1.jpg




Kind regards
Mick
 
I use a mora #776 fillet knife for trout, perch pike and everything else. Its a great knife, very easy to clean, easy to sharpen, lots of flex and the guard potects your fingers on those slimey pike.

If your fishing strictly for panfish I would suggest the mora #755 since the blade is a little smaller. Moras are also cheap to replace should you need to. The price to quality ratio is unlike any fillet knife around here.

Flex is improtant if you are cutting the scales off rather than scraping them away. The more flex you get on the blade the more meat you end up with. I prefer a stainless blade since I throw it in my tackle box and frankly it gets neglected unless im cleaning fish. Really you can use any knife you want. Fixed blades are alot easier to clean afterwards. Depending on the fish a guard is also very important.
 
i really like the folding fillet knives made by benchmade. great knives for a decent price.
 
Rapala fillet knives are excellent choices. Look them up.

They have many different models, even a folding fillet knife. Im no expert but I've used a Rapala and it's a solid performer with good price point.
 
I have several good filet knifes. www.leechlakeknife.com makes one that works quite well. The developer was in the metals business and he won't disclose the exact composition of the steel, but it holds a good edge from my experience. Also very flexible and corrosion resistant.

The filet technique of the Leech Lake owner is what makes his knives perform.

DancesWithKnives
 
so far my Austrailain fishing has been for dart, whiting and tarwhine, and in canada it mostly trout and walleye.
so flex is good, how about belly, I notice that the falkniven seems deeper than some, does that make much difference, or is it purely operator preference?
 
Kind of hard to beat the Rapala filet knife at the price point. Cheap and higly effective.

Like udtJim said, 7" is a good all around length.
 
I really like my Knives of Alaska Steelheader. It is my go to fillet knife.
My next one will be one of these though. I just love the look and feel.
120.jpg
 
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I can see the appeal of the Rapalas, my buddy had the "hunting" knife, and its not that bad. but I'd like something that fits with the RAT ideology of knives, if that makes any sense. I'm looking for one to last forever, and while the rapala's may do that, I wanted to get a non-marketing opinion first. as it stands it'll be a few months down the road yet, so I have time to look.
 
Rapala's are exactly that, no frills working knives with no exotic steel, no obscure marketing words insinuating about their superiority, no fancy file work or polished scales. and I'd say the RAT Idealogy fits well with the Rapala knives considering Jeff Randall speaks highly of basic working machetes costing few dollars. You could ask jeff also what he favors for processing fish.
 
I have kind of a problem when it comes to fillet knives. I have a whole toolbox full of 'em. My favorites are marked below with a dot. From L to R, they are:

Dexter Russell V-Lo
Dexter Russell Sani-Safe
Knives of Alaska Coho
Knives of Alaska Steelheader
Rapala 7" (rubberized grip)

A very useful knife, if you're cleaning fish with tough scales (redfish for example) is the rightmost white-handled Dexter Russell. That one has a fully serrated blade.

If you want "RAT ideology" (which I assume to mean no BS), then get a Dexter Russell. There's a reason you see them with such frequency on charter boats. They're well-designed for the task of processing fish, and the high carbon stainless holds an edge. They're made in various sizes too. The V-Lo adds ergonomics to the mix. The V-Lo and the Rapala are probably my favorite two fillet knives pictured below.

Fillet1.jpg
 
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THe Buck silver creek is a great one, and pretty cheap.
Condor is coming out with one as well

Has anyone used that folding fur and fin by CRKT? it looks marvelous
 
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