Fish Processing Blades

Isley

Isley

Joined
Feb 26, 2016
Messages
65
I've been watching a ridiculous amount of youtube videos showcasing people from around the world processing fish. It has really stood out to me that the narrow, thin fillet knife most of us consider ubiquitous with fish processing, seems to be almost exclusively a western design. It seems most of the eastern world leans toward wider, beefier knives, such as the deba, the Taiwanese tuna knife, or variations of the general chef knife profile. Certainly there are exceptions, but even with smaller fish the eastern people tend to use those stiffer wider blades. I notice they also don't tend to just slide in at the gill plate and twist to run down the spine, but rather use their very sharp wide blades to slice in from the dorsal side of the fish. I'm just curious if anyone else has noticed this, and can anyone offer any historical/cultural reasons behind the rather extreme differences, and do any of you prefer a profile other than the standard narrow fillet knife?
 
Yes. It depends on the task. They both have their uses. I prefer using a stout Makiri when fileting small fin fish because I can also use it to easily chop through frames. But if need a longer knife for greater reach a thin flexible blade can be optimal. The thin blade reduces drag by having less surface area to pull through. A Makiri reduces drag the same way a Kephart does. Like an airplane wing. It’s also stout enough to be versatile. Say to cut rope with.

You can use a 10” Chef’s knife to fillet a Rainbow trout to a large salmon from the dorsal side or from the tail. Then flip it on the board to skin the fillets. I’ve done many with a big Chef’s knife.

I never much cared for the Western flexible fillet knife because it’s not as versatile as other designs. But it is superb at that one specialized job of skinning fillets.

The Spyderco Waterway is an underrated versatile field knife. It’s not a specialized anything.
 
Last edited:
Isley said:
I've been watching a ridiculous amount of youtube videos showcasing people from around the world processing fish. It has really stood out to me that the narrow, thin fillet knife most of us consider ubiquitous with fish processing, seems to be almost exclusively a western design. It seems most of the eastern world leans toward wider, beefier knives, such as the deba, the Taiwanese tuna knife, or variations of the general chef knife profile. Certainly there are exceptions, but even with smaller fish the eastern people tend to use those stiffer wider blades. I notice they also don't tend to just slide in at the gill plate and twist to run down the spine, but rather use their very sharp wide blades to slice in from the dorsal side of the fish. I'm just curious if anyone else has noticed this, and can anyone offer any historical/cultural reasons behind the rather extreme differences, and do any of you prefer a profile other than the standard narrow fillet knife?
Click to expand...

The big difference in North American Style fileting and Eastern (at least Japanese, only because I'm not familiar with the others) is that the American style calls for the filet to be removed by way of a single long stroke along the length of the fish. This action calls for a blade that has sufficient length, sufficient strength to go through the thin pin bones, and has the flexibility to glide closely lengthwise along the backbone. And as you correctly point out often the head is not removed as the knife is inserted perpendicular to the fish from behind the gill cover. Fish in North American is predominantly fileted and the rest discarded.

In contrast, the Japanese Deba knife is first and foremost a knife designed to break down a fish. This means removing head, tail, etc. Hence the very thick spine which can be hammered by hand in the case of a very thick/hard backbone. Then, the fileting is done starting from the dorsal using short strokes tightly against the bones as if using a scalpel. The differences here are the result of a difference in the culinary culture and in the way fish is prepared and presented. The Deba is not used for slicing as it is too thick, and the long skinny Yanagiba Knife (often called a Sashimi knife) is used.

Incidentally, the large Taiwan Tuna knives and Spanish Fish knives share a similar shape. Also in the European Mediterranean countries, fish is more often prepared whole with head, rather than fileted. Unlike North America, heads and bones are often used to make stock (fumee du poison) for sauces, etc.

In terms of preference, it is solely a matter of personal taste and what one is most comfortable using. And of course what kind of cuisine you are preparing.
 
It's also a bit different here. Most of the knives I see to do medium to large fish looks like this:

51Qi0PEj3yL._AC_SL1111_.jpg

Sorry for the bad pic I stole it off the internets.
If you watch the charter boats come in, most use something like that for fish from oh, five pounds and up. Actually all fish, they just don't bother with most of the small ones.
I just came off a charter the captain used a similar knife to take a 100 lbs marlin apart.
The local fish stores use this type of blade also.
These folks who clean using this type of knife are like skilled artists mind you; it's like watching a knife ballet they way they can take apart a tuna or mahi.
I suppose in Hawaii, we being in the middle of it all, have taken techniques from both east and west; knives also. I think the influence has to be mostly Japanese as the Japanese were the 'fishermen,' often running the aku boats and sampans.
The fish cutters at the fish place will often have a collection of all kinds of knives, western and eastern, but mostly eastern.

Here's a video of the late Hari Kojima. He was on a fishing show here and he also was a 'professional' fish cutter, working at the fish place as his day job.

 
I think the kind of knife used depends on the size of the fish being cleaned. My fish are trout, bass, panfish size and my Victorinox Fibrox Filet knife does a great job for me. It is commercial quality. We have a set of Victorinox Fibrox knives that we use in the kitchen. Great knives at a very good price. Easy to clean with a good gripping handle. I know, I'm cheap but why spend money for something that doesn't work as good as these do?

 
Theres a video on youtube wth a British guy who uses an Opinel slim to fillet a fish. He makes a brain surgeon look clumsy, and he wasn't slow.
 
jideta said:
It's also a bit different here. Most of the knives I see to do medium to large fish looks like this:

View attachment 1391450

Here's a video of the late Hari Kojima. He was on a fishing show here and he also was a 'professional' fish cutter, working at the fish place as his day job.

Click to expand...

That knife looks like a Western beef/lamb/hog splitter. It works well for big fish.

Here's a Makiri Hocho being used on a 1 1/2-2lb fin fish.

 
Last edited:
The thin, semi-flexible fillet knife has a great point on it to start some cuts and is perfect for skinning a fillet, once it's off the fish.

Bigger fish, need bigger cuts and steaking a 60-200 lb fish is very different that filleting a 5 lb fish.
 
The makiri is very similar to the knife that I use. Mine is also single bevel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top