Sawby locking system, TRUBLUE FILET KNIFE

mbjannusch said:
I wonder do any of you use the fishlocker knives (539, 549, 559), because this knife folds but is substantially lighter and feels a bit cheaper than the TruBlue...IMO or do you like just a fixed blade filet knife. I actually prefer a fixed to a folder...
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For me, the choice depends entirely on where I am, what other stuff I'm carrying and how the stuff is being carried.

In the field, I strongly prefer fixed blades for actual use. I can drop a fixed blade in the mud, muck and sand and then swish it in some water and it's good as new. Opinels seem to be the most dirt & muck tolerant locking folders that I own, but all folders, my Bucks very much included, protest when I drop them, use them or even carry them in dirty or sandy conditions.

This said, I almost never take a fixed blade and almost always take folder. I won't hike, hunt or anything else with a fixed blade hanging off my belt. But for me, I just hate having anything on my belt to begin with (a YMMV thing) and I especially won't do it if I will be carrying a backpack or fanny back with a hip belt. Folders go in pockets and the big and/or heavy ones take less space in my pack than a fixed blade. Much easier to manage in the field to as their is no sheath to loose.

Fishing tackle boxes are one of the few places where I still carry a fixed blade knife. I drop it in the bottom compartment and if I need to clean a fish, I have it with me. I could see a fixed blade replacing my Buck 110 for hunting but don't feel the need for that. Either way, the hunting knife rides in my fanny pack.

All this to say that for me, carrying trumps performance (of the pivot/lock).
 
I've never had a need to carry a folding fillet knife, I suppose that if were backpacking in it would probably be choice.
But as mentioned previously its much easier to clean a fixed blade, while I don't find dropping it in the sand an issue, but cleaning the blood and guts from it would be a pain if it were a folder.
 
I agree that cleaning it may be some what of an issue, but it can't be much different than cleaning a 110 after fielding dressing an elk or deer. On a positive note fish have allot less blood than a deer.
 
mbjannusch said:
I agree that cleaning it may be some what of an issue, but it can't be much different than cleaning a 110 after fielding dressing an elk or deer. On a positive note fish have allot less blood than a deer.
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That's why I usually use a fixed blade for cleaning deer.
Not usually as much blood but if you kill enough it will be, plus with fish you have the slime you don't have with deer.
 
I remember more than 100 of the 531's were sent to retailers. Not sure how many but i think there is a zero missing from that figure. Vern was smart, he purchased a large amount of the 531 from Buck after the recall. Thats were he got the knives he needed for the club knife.
For what its worth, i dont care for the spine wack test. I have hammers to wacking stuff and blades for slicing stuff. This might just be sour grapes though because i always felt the Sawby knives were very nice and this test caused their dimise.

I always loved the Tru blue, Sawby OR midlock, I just really liked the feel of it.
The problem with every fillet made by Buck is that they hung in a display next to other fillets that cost a LOT less...and that were not made in the US. Its hard to blame a consumer though. Our knife had a rubber handle and cost a bunch more than the foreign made fillet with a nice wood handle. Thats my 2 cents anyway.
 
I love the feel of the Trublue, it feels heavy like its a quality made knife. I only have eyes for Buck so when looking for a new knife I look for Buck first. This probably isn't the case for most consumers though. I do wish that Buck would make new filet knife. Something you can get even if you dont have a BPS or Cabelas close to you. I don't :eek:
 
I can confirm your issue there Joe.
Several years ago I picked up a $5 American Angler 6" fillet knife, liked it so well I got one for the truck, one in my hunt pak, two on the boat, a couple in the drawer and a couple still in the package on a shelf just in case one gets lost. So far I've only lost one. Then had to get a 7" and 9" to go with them. (This way I should always have one near by and not have to worry about remembering it.)
I've also got a 6" plastic handle Rapalla that I love and like it better than the wood handle rapalla's. Saw them for a $3 ea for a doz. and wish I hadn't passed them up.
These are very good knives and at the time I just couldn't see spending $28 on a fillet knife when these were so good, if they were crap that would be a different story.


Truth be told though when I got a bunch of fish the American Angler electric fillet knife really shines, I can move a lot faster with it.
 
Electric filet knife, Thats almost un American...

I have a friend that lives and breaths with the electric filet knife, I just shake my head. I can't bring myself to do it, I might like it.
 
A fillet knife is a tool I enjoy using and appreciate a good sharp one.

So when I've only got a few fish that's what I use.
But when we've got a pile of fish the electic is the only way to go. I don't like the mister twister brand.
 
Ive never tried an electric knife because i am thinking it will make the fillet ragged. Does it do a nice clean cut? I guess its a mute point for me though since we dont make an electric knife. ;) I have a drawer full of fillet knives that i use for butchering deer/elk/bear and every kind of vegetable you can think of.
Come to think of it, I havent been fishing in a while and the last time i did go, I tossed everything back. Not because i am especially conservation minded but because I was too lazy to clean and cook a bunch of fish! Ha!
 
Hey Joe, yes it leaves a course textured cut but once it's battered you don't know, heck might even help the batter stick.
To me eating the fresh caught fish that evening is the icing on the cake, it just rounds out the day perfectly.
 
I think the only benefit to an electric filet knife is that you get through piles of fish in half the time. I enjoy cleaning fish, it rounds off the whole experience. I guess that's why I love filet knives so much. Here is a picture I posted before but I'll post it again just for those who didn't see it. This is a filet knife from the 1950s



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My TruBlue midlock filet knife is heavy and the gray ones are real lite... I like the blue one more... :thumbup:
 
Joe Houser said:
The problem with every fillet made by Buck is that they hung in a display next to other fillets that cost a LOT less...and that were not made in the US. Its hard to blame a consumer though. Our knife had a rubber handle and cost a bunch more than the foreign made fillet with a nice wood handle. Thats my 2 cents anyway.
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Joe, could you be more specific about which foreign brands you're thinking of?

When I think of fillet knives, I think of the ones sold under the Rapala name in the US, which I believe are made in Finland (by Marttiini, no?). To my mind, this raises 3 interesting issues.

First, there are some knives that hit iconic status. The Buck 110/112 is one example. The Rapala/Marttiini fillet knife is another. The Mora classic is another. The Opinel is yet another. And the Victorinox/Wegner Classic and Pioneer are others. These knives are recognized the world around and it's hard to imagine any competitor knocking off these designs and successfully taking away the icon status. I would think this is one of the things that Buck (or anybody else) would be up against when making a fillet knife. That's a style that's pretty well dominated by an icon, just as puukko's or red scaled camper knives have become dominated by a single iconic brand.

Second, iconic status isn't tied to high price. Rapala fillet knives, Moras, Opinels and the entry level Victorinox knives are all relatively inexpensive. I find that interesting. They are all high value knives.

Third, all of these relatively low-cost, iconic knives are being produced in Europe, with European labor and tax costs. They aren't being made in the pacific rim in countries most often associated with low cost foreign imports. I find that super interesting.

Of all of the iconic brands mentioned, the only one I care about is Buck. I guess the question for me is how does Buck leverage and sustain the iconic status of the Buck 110/112 in the face of price pressures and particularly in the face of a global free trade zone that puts more high value iconic knives in front of consumers? I would think somewhere in there is a caution against competing with other icons and making sure your own icon is ready to compete.

Can't say enough positive things about the Ecolite series. In my mind, this is a great move to extend the iconic 110/112 to lower price points. They are great value knives and are undeniably Bucks. Buck fillet knives on the other hand... Not what I think of when I think "Buck".
 
Buck has been creating filet knives in factory sense 1964, with the creation of the 121. Prior to that some of the older filet knives extend back to the 1940s. Although Buck is known world around for the 110/112, doesn't mean that those are the only knives thought of when the word Buck is mentioned. Buck has been producing fixed blade knives sense the turn of the century. I guess my point is, There is more to BUCK than the 110. If Buck stopped selling everything except the 110/112 they would be out of business in less than a year.
 
MB, no disagreement.

The Ford who is the chairman of the board at Ford wrote an interesting article a while ago. He was talking about how the new Focus was the first true "world car" for Ford. Same platform being in built in factories in all markets. He asserted this was because the same car would sell in all markets and that was because the internet was causing tastes in cars to harmonize around the globe.

It's not the 1960s and Buck fillet knives no longer just hang on racks next to others. They are on the internet and consumers are looking at knives from around the globe. That's all I was getting at. It's a harder problem now. Even more competitive.
 
I completely agree that todays market is more competitive today than in years long gone. Today the off shore market is putting the screws to American made products. Why pay more for an American made product when you can spend less than half on a product made in China. When it break you can go get another for less still than you would have spent on an American made product the first time. I think we all should remember these things when we go out and make purchases. We may spend more buying products made in the US, but it changes the matrix across the board.
 
With knives, I distinguish between Chinese/Pacrim made stuff and inexpensive stuff from Europe.

The issue with fillet knives isn't Chinese made stuff. It's Finnish stuff, as in the ubiquitous Rapala.

Of the Chinese/Pacrim made stuff, I see three major groups. The first is holding/brand management companies buying up the IP from formerly well known but now defunct US companies and getting stuff remade in China or the Pacific rim. The current incarnations of Schrade, Marbles and Camillus are in that group. The second are new brands that are trying to make a name for themselves by flooding the market with new stuff. Rough Rider and CRKT are in that camp, imo. And the third bunch is established companies that are trying to add to their bottom line by off-shoring some of their stuff while trying to keep the lights on. Kershaw, Boker, Gerber and (gulp, even) Buck have been doing that.

I don't know what the answers are here.... really don't. I do think that brand dilution is a real potential problem. What is Gerber known for at this point? What about Boker? CRKT? Dizzying amounts of knife models? Kershaw at least has a winner with the Ken Onion line like the Leek and Scallion. But beyond that?
 
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