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Random Quote: ever stop to think...and forget to start again?
Hello again my friends....I am in the market for a new fillet knife. I own several already but none are really worth a hoot. I can't seem to find any really decent fillet knives around. All the stores around these parts seem to carry the same crappy knives. I'm in the market for a decent fillet knife. One that will hold a good sharp edge without needing to be sharpened every other fish. I want a knife with a good SS blade that won't begin to get rust spots within a couple of months. BTW, I store my knives in their respective sheaths and before I do I clean with hot soapy water then hand dry the knives and apply a thin coat of olive or canola oil to the blade to prevent rust. What I want is some folks on here that have a particular fillet knife that they have personally owned for a long time to tell me about it, why they like that particular knife, etc. Or, just anyone that is very familiar with knives that can recommend a decent brand & particular knife. I am actually in the market for two, maybe three fillet knives. I would prefer to have two or three fillet knives with different length blades for all the different type fish I butcher...uh, I mean fillet. O.k, clue me in knife pros!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have a older buck fillet knive that holds an edge well and has not rusted yet but is a bear to sharpen so I do not use it as often anymore. I picked up a couple of the white handled fillet knives like the commercial guys use, Russell I think. They are high carbon stainless and can rust, I use mineral oil, but take and hold an edge well. one of them is serrated for cutting thru bones like red fish, etc. I pretty much stick with the old 9" standby but the majority of my fish are inshore or near shore species. I like them and because they were less than $20 I have several and do not mind if they get dinged up or broken.
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"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good
of its victim may be the most oppressive." ~ C.S.Lewis
I have two. One is a cutco fillet nife that won't hold an edge. The other is a Dexter 8" tiger edge utility knife with a white soft grip.............it will cut a tunas head off no problem. I have also sliced off Mahi skin no problem. I won't leave home without it!!! It only cost 25 bucks while the cutco cost 65.
Rust is rust, it only comes from a lack of proper care. Whatever you think you are doing right, well think again, because apparently you are not. If you want 1000% rust free, buy ceramic. They hold an incredible edge, durable beyond belief, will never rust, but they cost serious money.
Good quality expensive knives generally have Rockwell tests done on them. A Rockwell test tests the hardness of the steel that makes up the blade. The higher the Rockwell test number is the harder the blade is. The harder the steel is the harder it is to sharpen, but the steel will holds it's edge much longer. To high a number and the steel starts to become brittle. The higher the Rockwell test number is the stiffer the blade becomes.
So you have to ask yourself, what is it you want in a knife? Knives are not just knives, there is a ton of science that goes into a knife. You as the consumer just needs to know what it is they want to do with a given knife and then know how to shop specfically for that type of knife. So do you want 2 or 3 of one type of knife that will cut every size/ type fish you ever catch, or do you want different knives for different types of work you will perform? Are you willing to spend $150 a knife? Are you willing to buy a knife that you will NOT be able to sharpen.....you WILL have to ship the knife off to the factory to be sharpen once a year.
First lets examine the goal....To clean a fish and get the most meat in the process.
I defy anyone to get more meat off of a fish than I do using a Wal Mart $9.80 Black & Decker EK700 electric knife.
They were so cheap I bought two of them expecting the knife to get dull rather quickly, well, I’m still using the first knife one year later, cleaning fish about every week. I do take a swipe with a stone occasionally when I think about it.
I go first class most of the time but in this case “cheap is best”.
Not necessarily on freshwater fish or specks but on red fish and some others the electric fillet knives do not do well at all. They tend to overheat and freeze up, a few of the guys use several and just rotate them out as they over heat but a knife better fits my K.I.S.S. attitude.
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"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good
of its victim may be the most oppressive." ~ C.S.Lewis
I'll vote for the electric knife I've wore out a couple but they sure take the work out of a mess of fish. The one I'm currently using is a Mister Twister. I tried the white handle Dexter and it rusted before I could even dull it. For years I've been buying small filet knives from a bait shop in Carolina Beach. I don't know the brand but they have a green handle and come from a poultry processing plant. When they get them worn down to about the right size to use as a filet knife they sell them for usually less than $3. I buy a dozen at a time but they last really well and I wind up giving many away. I have got one Normark that's about 30 years old and made in Finland it's a pretty good knife.
saw this earlier and waited 'til I got home so I could make sure I got the name right on my favorite filet knife - Rapala, from Finland. Although inexpensive - $25 or less - I love the feel of it and I think the blade's a good middle ground between holding an edge and easy to sharpen.
Got one of those Cutco's as a gift awhile ago - they're pretty popular on our docks - but I can't learn to trust the sliding handle thingie.
Dexter Russel gets my vote, I have two. More importantly, however, is a good sharpening stone. Right now I am using a small diamond hone thing that looks like a rectangle with a "diamond" surface on one side. Truly turns the knives into razors. No knife is good unless you maintain them and sharpen them religiously.
Thanks for all the great input everyone! looks like the DEXTER RUSSEL has the majority so far. I'll look into that brand first, but will also check out some of the others mentioned here. Yay!
Fillet knife recommendations 
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