Is there a real advantage to high end knives for fish fillet?

I was a mate on a charter boat through most of high school, cleaned more fish than I can count. Any Sharp filet knife should do the job. I primarily used a Chicago cutlery filet knife that I still have to this day 45 years later.
 
For me, the ergos and edge retention makes a handmade fillet worth the extra cost. I've got a Big Chris 7" fillet knife, it's flexible enough to make the initial cut and stiff enough to keep good control when cutting through the rib cage.
It's in S30V and the edge holds up well. If I have a few fish to clean, I'll use it over an electric/battery knife simply because I'm lazy and it's easier to clean.
 
I totally forgot about the charter we hired last month the mate had a no name chef knife that had to be 30 years old, steeled down to a disfigured Frankenknife, not even a fillet blade and from his steeling method I didn't have the heart to tell him he was making it duller. But it cut through a couple of fluke and a half dozen Ling... Not well, but saved me the work and only wasted maybe a mouthful of fish.

THIS of all things is the lesson I needed that super steel is hype.

Thanks "Jacque cou BROS"
 
I agree with most here. I can't begin to count the fish I've filleted.

I use the cheap Rapalas. They work really well and are easy to touch up. I have a variety of sizes.

They work really well in the kitchen for many tasks too. And for butchering deer. In fact they are my most used blades by far.

I have broken the tangs on a couple cutting through hard blocks of cheese.
 
Of course there are advantages but if you don’t use it enough you may not know the difference. Then there is proper heat treat but that is another story.
 
I have a couple of custom filet knives that I use, and yeah, they do a great job. When I had my seafood restaurant and wholesale fish biz though, we used plain old Dexter factory filet knives, and they did a great job as well.
 
I am amused at the Benchmade Fixed blade premium. They sure are proud of their fixed blades. Most of the leather sheaths I've seen on Benchmade are not quality leather.


The price they want, I would just get a custom knife from one of the many fine custom makers here.
 
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my personal take is that a filet knife is either hardly used and not worth dropping all kinds of money on, or used all the time and gets demolished over time due to rust, etc.

Either way, it's not worth the big moneys.
 
You don’t need S45V, but a good steel will stay sharp longer if cleaning a number of fish. I wouldn’t spend $300 for a fishing knife, but I did get a Bark River Kalahari Sportsman in S35V a few years ago. I haven’t used it yet, but the new model uses CPM154 and some versions are $210. I don’t think that $90 will buy you anything over CPM154. I can recommend Fallkniven F2 and F4. They are less expensive and have Thermorun handles. The handles are not slippery even when covered with fishy blood. The good grip matters. I once dropped a Buck Pro knife with a canvas Micarta handle - when cleaning a fish. I should mention that the knife you asked about looks nearly identical to the Kalahari Sportsman.
 
I fished for Striper and fluke for years in NJ. I lost several decent knives overboard, usually friends laying them on the gunnel. In the '90 I bought quite few Dexter in different blade styles. Main one was the fillet knives. They worked great, always sharpened on ceramic sticks I kept on board. Late in the '90s I ordered a fillet knife and utility (bait) knife from Phil Wilson. Phil is a fisherman and knew exactly what I wanted. They were never handed to friends, never taken out away from the dock.

My best friend showing a young lady that fished with us how to clean Fluke, Dexter in hand:
img156.jpg
 
Advantage is, you get to say you have one...

Personally, I still have a CRKT Clark folding fillet knife in my tackle box...
 
ElementalBreakdown said:
I just saw the Benchmade "Meat Crafter" for an eye watering price of $300+.
My $15 Dexter cuts fillets (I try to use a different knife for bait but when it gets nuts anything goes).

I am actually hoping someone tells me that S45VN makes a world of difference because I like nothing more than spending more than I can afford on gear I use half a dozen times a year.
So if you have experience with both, what do you think?
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The meatcrafter is an extremely poor example for this thread. It isn't a fillet knife.

As to the actual question, we might as well ask: do we really need any high end knife for anything? Do you really need any high end gear when less expensive stuff will do the job just fine? Why do people spend lots of money on things they actually don't need?

This is a knife forum full of enthusiasts. We'll justify spending serious coin on a knife for just about any task. If you have the money and you enjoy the item, spend away. Yes, you can gain some performance in various aspects by spending more, but I don't think you will experience worlds of difference.
 
craytab said:
The meatcrafter is an extremely poor example for this thread. It isn't a fillet knife.

As to the actual question, we might as well ask: do we really need any high end knife for anything? Do you really need any high end gear when less expensive stuff will do the job just fine? Why do people spend lots of money on things they actually don't need?

This is a knife forum full of enthusiasts. We'll justify spending serious coin on a knife for just about any task. If you have the money and you enjoy the item, spend away. Yes, you can gain some performance in various aspects by spending more, but I don't think you will experience worlds of difference.
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Lets not get all bogged down with facts
 
My Dexter floats, which is another point. I am not questioning why people spend the money, I was just confirming my suspicion that a Dexter, 1-2 stones to take out any blemishes, and a strop is not able to be improved upon any more than a flyswatter is.
 
ElementalBreakdown said:
My Dexter floats, which is another point. I am not questioning why people spend the money, I was just confirming my suspicion that a Dexter, 1-2 stones to take out any blemishes, and a strop is not able to be improved upon any more than a flyswatter is.
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Oh, there's improvements to be had, no doubt. But given the task specific design and the intent of a fillet knife, the questions are if they are necessary and/ or worth the cost.
 
I've made quite a few filleting and boning knives and can safely say they do the job better than a basic commercial style knife. Not by a huge margin though.

I fillet a fairly large amount of fish, and all of our meat is home precessed so get a fair amount of use. I enjoy the extra edge retention, being able to smash through a big session without a touch up is great. I like a thinner edge as well as find it makes the opening cuts easier on tough skinned fish.

I also like a little flex towards the tip for sliding over ribs etc but a fairly stiff middle section of the knife for skinning fillets cleanly, so being able to adjust grind for the right flex is great too.

I dont use flash steel, mostly nitro - v at 61 ish. Lasts an absolute age compared to a 55rc commercial style soft stainless knife.

Really like most knives, we don't need anything more/flasher than a simple well thought out commercial style knife, and it doesn't really net a better finished product but there is something just plain enjoyable about using a high quality tool
 
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