More fillet knife questions.

i4Marc

i4Marc

Joined
Oct 19, 2011
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My racing buddies have been bugging me to make them fillet knives. What would an ideal fillet knife look like as far as dimensions and profile shape? Should it have a long even taper from the handle to the tip?

Can S35VN be well heat treated in a home setup? I have an Evenheat oven but the best I can do is subzero in the quench. I don't have cryo capabilities.
 
I'm also interested in this.

However, I think few more questions are in order:
a)Salt or Fresh water?
b)Type/size of fish? For example: Tuna vs pan fish?

Subbed to thread.
 
7" blade .75 to 1" wide. .065" S35VN stock. Distal taper in the last 2-3". profile taper last 3-4".Slight lift to the tip.
5" handle with a slight drop to the butt.

A good oven and dry ice slurry will do fine for HT. If you make a batch, sending them to Peter's is almost cheaper than doing it yourself. 20 for $100.
 
As for blade profile, I would look at some knives made by the guys who make them frequently and to good effect,like Phil Wilson and a few others, for profile ideas. You may find the shapes to be rather familiar. As for the steel choice, I would think that even a a high quality "cheap" steel like AEB-L properly heat treated by someone like Peters is probably going to be substantial better than what you friends are sued to hand certainly better that anything made by a fictitious guy named Bubba. :D 14C28N might be more desirable due to its increased corrosion resistance, but I haven't seen it for sale from the usual sources. Imnetion AAEB-L as Stacy fid for the simple reason that a "blank" of that i inch CPM S35VN is gong to cost you around $20-25 depending on whether you want it decarb free. The same "blank" of AEB-L will run your around $4. Something to consider if you have never made such a knife before.
 
Ok, good info. I have to finish some other projects before I get to this but I'm taking notes!
 
Jim is correct that AEB-L would certainly make a good fillet knife, but if used a lot it would need regular sharpening. It is a fraction the price of S35VN. It is all a matter of use and value of the finished knife vs. saving $20.
 
I FFG from spine to edge, leaving about an .005" edge thickness. Then I add a secondary that is convexed in on a 220 or 400 grit belt.
 
Stacy, is the primary advantage of CPM S35VN over say CPM 154 one of increased abrasion resistance or does it take a finer edge too?
 
Thanks. From the graphs that Crucible published, i looks like CPM 154 is tougher than S30V but has less abrasion resistance and that the addition of the little bit of niobium to S35VN closes up that toughness "gap" a fair bit while retaining the better abrasion resistance of S30V. .I guess that I will have to give both a try and see what i like better. :thumbup:
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I think it is about the same in sharpness. The edge seems to last longer.
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