Fillet knives

[Neil McCauley]

What does everyone use?

Also, do you sharpen them yourself?

[Choporoz]

I've got a few.  None very high end.  An old Normark is my favorite.  Never saw the need for more expensive knives.  Keeping an edge isn't difficult.  Can't imagine what the alternative is to 'sharpening them myself'...????  Pay someone to do it?  Or have my wife do it, perhaps.  It isn't hard....it is satisfying to put an edge...and it needs it frequently enough that it'd be silly not to do it myself.

[scaleface]

I have several . Rapalas , Cut Co , and a Browning . The Browning is my favorite and cost 15 dollars at Bass Pro about five years ago . I sharpen them myself .

[Kevin22]

I've used a lot of different knives. The one I have settled on is the bubba blade 9" tapered flex. The grip and overall length gives the knife tremendous leverage. The steel is chinese, but it holds a great edge. I've had it for 3 seasons now and have not sharpened it once. I hit it with a steel every few fish, just 3-4 passes across it. Conservatively, I would guess probably 1500 fish cleaned with it by going through the ribs and its still sharp. It will still cut the hair off my arm, very good edge retention. All of my fishing buddies now own one as well, and all love them. 

I used electric for 3-4 years and it was okay. Did the job but was annoying having cords hanging, and my cordless battery lasted a year so gave up on that idea. Went to the bubba and will never go back. 

Don't get the 7", its too short and stiff. And don't get the "flex" (the one that looks like a machete). 9" tapered flex is the perfect knife. From bluegills to 30" pike... it does them all. 

[Master Bait'r]

Dexters are really nice, I got a sweet 9"er on a killer discount at DSG and love it.  I would pay full price next time if I had to.      

[tholmes]

I use a couple of old Rapala knives. 

I sharpen them myself with a Lansky sharpener. Razor sharp!

Tom

[cadman]

I have two Cutco's, extremely sharp, and I send them to the company for free sharpening.

[Jig Man]

I use the cordless Rapala  with the lithium battery.  It is the best one I have ever had.  It has never run down when cleaning a double limit of white bass or crappie.  Pricey but good.

[KDW96]

I have 2 both Rapalas. One has a 6inch blade. They are very old,and i keep them razor sharp

[RFSims]

Mister Twister electric and Rapala to remove the ribs.

[Wprich]

I use a mister twister electric filet knife when I filet any fish.

[Ghostshad]

KVD Has one,the way he throws the word Super around i'd say its SuperSharp .

[J Francho]

16 minutes ago, Ghostshad said:

KVD Has one,the way he throws the word Super around i'd say its SuperSharp .

I heard it has that erratic action that fish just can't stand.

Anyway, I have a Cutco Fisherman's friend fillet knife, as well as a couple old, wood handle Rapalas.  Hands down, the best one is some Asian thing My Laos friend gave me.  Not sure what it is, but was well used, and works great.  I imagine you talk to a sushi chef, and they'll lead you in the right direction.

[Kevin22]

Sushi knives are made for cutting flesh, don't touch a bone with it! Sushi knives are ground to a VERY small angle with an extremely fine edge, very similar to a razor blade. If you watch any cooking shows you will notice something right away, if the chef uses a "sushi knife" he uses two knives. One to fillet the fish on smaller fish, and the other to cut the sushi. If he uses the same knife for both then he isn't using a sushi knife. 

Here is a crappie guide that cleans more fish in one week than all of us who commented on this thread clean in one year, combined! 

 

[S. Sass]

My current fishing partner takes all the fish and cleans them with his electric knife. So my knives stay put away. I use to offer but he takes it on himself I guess he wants them done his own way? I don't know but I sure as heck am not complaining.  

[Ghostshad]

Do you mean that hunting action,he worked so hard & long on to get it to do just exactly what he wanted it to do ?

[J Francho]

Not sure why you'd cut through bones with a fillet knife, lol.  If I have to cut through bone, I use a sharp kitchen knife.  I'll do this on large fish, like king salmon, where filleting a 24" + steak off the bone just isn't feasible.  For panfish, that isn't necessary.

[scaleface]

21 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Not sure why you'd cut through bones with a fillet knife, lol.  If I have to cut through bone, I use a sharp kitchen knife.  I'll do this on large fish, like king salmon, where filleting a 24" + steak off the bone just isn't feasible.  For panfish, that isn't necessary.

For small bass , I cut right  through the rib cage   . Larger fish I have to work around it unless I have an electric knife .

[Kevin22]

45 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Not sure why you'd cut through bones with a fillet knife, lol.  If I have to cut through bone, I use a sharp kitchen knife.  I'll do this on large fish, like king salmon, where filleting a 24" + steak off the bone just isn't feasible.  For panfish, that isn't necessary.

Because its fast and easy. Cutting around the ribs is just too slow for me. 

[J Francho]

To each their own.  I was a chef in a former life, and learned to use the right knife for the job.  I suppose you can use a filet knife to cut through bones, but you're gonna have to sharpen more frequently.  A more rigid blade works better, though that Cutco knife I have can probably cut through bones.  It isn't the best at filleting, though.  Not as flexible.

[Kevin22]

I just posted above that I have cleaned over 1500 fish with my knife, going THROUGH THE RIB BONES. And it will still shave the hair off my arm. NEVER been sharpened, just honed on a steel. Did you watch the video I posted above? I have the same knife and fillet the fish the same way. I bought this knife because I hated sharpening knives after every batch of fish. Its strong, flexible, has a great grip, long enough to have good leverage, and holds an edge. If you have ever cleaned a white bass, you know how thick the rib bones are.. This knife goes right through them with no issues. If that isn't the right knife for the job then I don't know what is! 

[J Francho]

Cool.

[gulfcaptain]

After years of working in the Southern Ca Sportfishing world, I still only will use Forschner Knives.  I use 2 different knives, a 10" and have a small 6" which is my "Tuna" knife since you don't need a big blade to quarter a tuna.  I have 2 of the 10" knives and one I've had well over probably 18 years and have cut tens of thousands of fish with it as there isn't much blade left to it.  YEs, I said tens of thousands.  I'm pretty good with those knives.

[Iluvsmallies]

Has anyone ever used the havalon knives?