Help design our new fillet knife!

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Jan 9, 2014
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We are soon going to start designing our next knife (a fillet knife). To make the best knife possible we are gathering as much input from fisherman and chefs as we can! We are fisherman ourselves but the more input we get the better! Take a look at this post on our website to get an idea of the type of information we are looking for. You can submit your comments on our website or below.

Thanks!

Mike and John
 
We started design work on the fillet knife today! We spent the morning drawing up a few different rough 2-D profiles in CAD. This afternoon we'll mill some of these out of thin plywood to get a better idea of how they look and feel in the hand. This is part of our standard prototyping process. Next we'll discuss/apply changes and repeat the process.

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More updates coming soon!

-Mike & John
 
I wonder how good the knife would work without the finger guard or a less pronounced one?
 
Thanks for the feedback!

The knife will work fine either way, its more a question of safety ;) We will definitely have a finger guard of some sort; however after milling some of these profiles out of plywood this afternoon I agree the guard could be smaller. We will reduce it in the next rendition
 
My friends and I salmon fish Lake Michigan all spring,summer and fall and we catch tons of salmon each summer and the best knives we have used have been the Rapala 9" I'm guessing the steel is some sort of AEB-L type of steel andI am sold on it for a fillet knife.The handles however are another story that varnished wood is very slippery when it gets wet especially with fish slime.I like your bottom design with the gaurd and flare at the butt.Some sort of heavily textured or checkered plastic or kraten or some type of non slip grip would be nice.
 
How about a fish scale g10/micarta handle in theme? Very cool to see your initial thoughts and process.
 
Thanks for the input guys!

@ Scott: I did some research on the rapala knives but didn't find anything about what steel they use. In any case, we are planning to use CPM S35VN in our knife which will give it very good edge retention compared to most of the commercially available fillet knives. We will be milling some sort of grippy texture into the handle for sure, probably something similar to our osprey outdoor knife. Also, nice chinook!

@BTacblades: Like a fish scale pattern milled into the surface? That's not a bad idea, i'll look into it!

-mike
 
We've done three sets of wooden profiles with design tweaks and changes between each set. Now that we've got some profiles we're happy with we're milling some out of steel! The mill is cutting the profiles of 4 different designs and then we'll hand grind the bevels . Below is the progression from CAD -> CAM -> milling! More updates coming tomorrow after some grinding!

CAD model
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CAM, with tool paths
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Finally Milling!
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This is what I came up with. I've been sourcing some good but worn old saws to make kitchen knives.

I wanted a fillet knife after making a nice chefs knife from an old saw. I think my design not only looks good but will be practical in use too. I don't think the handle needs to be too long as I don't recall gripping the handle all that hard and only really using my first three fingers and thumb.

A good long blade for those big catches and a nice bit of belly at the tip for easier control on the finishing inches on single sweeps.

As I use saw blades not only will it be cheap but the steel is already thin and flexible! I killed my belt sander so I need to invest in proper one before I tackle any file knives or thicker steel!

Im looking forward to your finished design!
 
Heat treated the first 4 steel fillet knife prototypes on friday! Will be finish grinding a couple of them this morning before heading out for some testing :D on the Fraser river this afternoon!


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They look good.I fillet fish several times a year. Mostly 12 inch largemouth bass , crappie and bluegill.. With that size fish I cut through the ribs . So the knife needs to stay sharp and be flexible .
 
I will be on the Fraser today, knife looks good as long as its flexible, been filleting a lot of sockeye this year.

Filleted 7 sockeye last night and after fishing today will can them.

Have the blade sharpened right tight to the handle is a plus and you might consider offering an option with a blood groove spoon at the hilt. I find a teaspoon indispensable in cleaning large fish.
 
Brad "the butcher";14010884 said:
I will be on the Fraser today, knife looks good as long as its flexible, been filleting a lot of sockeye this year.

Filleted 7 sockeye last night and after fishing today will can them.

Have the blade sharpened right tight to the handle is a plus and you might consider offering an option with a blood groove spoon at the hilt. I find a teaspoon indispensable in cleaning large fish.

Thanks for the input Brad. What fillet knife are you currently using?

-mike
 
for what its worth i like a 6 inch blade..shorter knives are more usable imo for texas waters..

I'm sure 6" is the best size for the fish in your area. We do a lot of salmon filleting up in the PNW and therefore the longer blade. For smaller fish like trout I'd use the shorter blade too.
Perhaps we'll have to do another shorter fillet model in the future.
 
MMMMmmmmm salmon yummy sushi lol you guys are lucky
i just like a smaller knife i guess, have it when you need it and all that, i feel like you can make a small knife do big chores and little chores, a long knife can do big chores but its maybe not as good for smaller applications.
im kind of mean to my fillet knives useing them on the pier throwing them into my bucket tossing it around in the yak ect..have broken a few longer blades..
love the repurposed saw blade Samon, cool deal been wanting to learn this sort of thing

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heres a Texas "king"(king Macheral) :) i try to release em if there bigger than that, i will trade some of my "king" fillets for your "king"(king salmon) MMMMmmmm sushi :)

cant wait to see it finished
 
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Made some wooden handles for the knives this morning, now we're coating them with a finish to make them waterproof. The finish will dry over night and then testing can start in earnest!

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MMMMmmmmm salmon yummy sushi lol you guys are lucky
i just like a smaller knife i guess, have it when you need it and all that, i feel like you can make a small knife do big chores and little chores, a long knife can do big chores but its maybe not as good for smaller applications.
im kind of mean to my fillet knives useing them on the pier throwing them into my bucket tossing it around in the yak ect..have broken a few longer blades..
love the repurposed saw blade Samon, cool deal been wanting to learn this sort of thing

10592842_743218322402884_590691996977787033_n.jpg

heres a Texas "king"(king Macheral) :) i try to release em if there bigger than that, i will trade some of my "king" fillets for your "king"(king salmon) MMMMmmmm sushi :)

cant wait to see it finished

We have had a lot of requests for a knife between 8-9 inches (right now we're round 8.5 on our prototypes). I think a lot of guys like the extra length for the bigger Chinooks, they can get really fat! To each his own I suppose.

Nice fish! Must be fun in the kayak! Fairly toothy looking thing though :eek:
 
Those are all beautiful. I think I like the looks of the second from top the best.
 
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