fillet knife.............

charlie_the_tuna · #1 05-26-2017, 07:05 PM

what do you guys use? looking for a razor's edge and something I don't have to sharpen after every fish. my fillet knife will pull double duty as an all around kitchen knife.

phatdaddy · #2 05-26-2017, 07:51 PM

Dexter-Russell. White handle series

Any knife u get, your going to have to keep an edge on it. I've found out secret is not let it get real dull. Filet a fish, stroke it a time or two on a rod and clean another one. I also use one for cutting head off, different one for skinning, different one for filleting, etc. and a hatchet for cutting backbones

Striper80 · #3 05-26-2017, 08:47 PM

I use a dexter Russell with the wood handle at home. It does fish, steak, whatever. It's steel but I polished it up then sharpened it. I keep a Cutco knife with me to fillet at the marina. I got it as a gift and it works great. I would've never bought it, bug I got it as a gift and it's great.

Destroyer · #4 05-27-2017, 10:36 AM

I probably have a dozen different fillet knives. (I'm a bit of a knife junky) But the two that I keep coming back to are a set of two Dexter-Russel white handle knives I got back in 1989. (The long bladed ones, not the short ones) I also have some high carbon steel D-R's with the wood handles that keep an edge forever, and are great but stain easily.

As previously mentioned, the real trick is to keep them razor sharp by stropping them after a few fish. Most of the fish I catch and keep are Fluke, and I clean Fluke differently than most people since I hate to waste their meat. I put each fish on a board that has one of those spring clamp devices to hold the fish by the tail. Then I use a utility knife (Stanley type, each razor sharp blade will only do a few fish so make sure you get the kind that can instantly switch out a dull blade)) to cut along the outside edge of each fish, from the gills to tail, then I use a pair of Vise Grips to grab and pull back the skin from the tail up to the head. From there it's an easy task to run my thumb down along the spine to divide the meat, and then the D-R's come out to cut the meat away from the bones. Perfect fillets each time. I know that professional mates do it a different, faster way, but that wastes a lot of meat in the process IMHO, so this is the way I fillet them.

Striper80 · #5 05-27-2017, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Destroyer

I probably have a dozen different fillet knives. (I'm a bit of a knife junky) But the two that I keep coming back to are a set of two Dexter-Russel white handle knives I got back in 1989. (The long bladed ones, not the short ones) I also have some high carbon steel D-R's with the wood handles that keep an edge forever, and are great but stain easily.

As previously mentioned, the real trick is to keep them razor sharp by stropping them after a few fish. Most of the fish I catch and keep are Fluke, and I clean Fluke differently than most people since I hate to waste their meat. I put each fish on a board that has one of those spring clamp devices to hold the fish by the tail. Then I use a utility knife (Stanley type, each razor sharp blade will only do a few fish so make sure you get the kind that can instantly switch out a dull blade)) to cut along the outside edge of each fish, from the gills to tail, then I use a pair of Vise Grips to grab and pull back the skin from the tail up to the head. From there it's an easy task to run my thumb down along the spine to divide the meat, and then the D-R's come out to cut the meat away from the bones. Perfect fillets each time. I know that professional mates do it a different, faster way, but that wastes a lot of meat in the process IMHO, so this is the way I fillet them.

My friends father used to do it like that. I remember being at the fillet table behind Atlantic highlands bait and tackle as a kid and he'd be ripping it off with pliers. We'd rent a boat from Pete and put a nice catch together. Not happening these days.

Destroyer · #6 05-28-2017, 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Striper80

My friends father used to do it like that. I remember being at the fillet table behind Atlantic highlands bait and tackle as a kid and he'd be ripping it off with pliers. We'd rent a boat from Pete and put a nice catch together. Not happening these days.

If you do it right you can rip the entire skin from tail to head off in one piece with an easy pull. The tricks are to double the skin at the tail where you grab it so it's stronger, and the other trick is to use a vise grips so the skin (which is slimy) doesn't slip out of your pliers. When the pliers slip that's when you get the rips and tears in the skin and the cussin starts......

Sad but true on the not happening comment. :(

macojoe · #7 05-28-2017, 05:37 AM

Same here used to always use the deck the Russ white handle I also used an electric knife work pretty good if you scale the fish first I learned that one from Louisiana when I was there and the guy use it the to fillet all his fish

SkunkBoat · #8 05-28-2017, 04:24 PM

The high carbon wood handled dexters can be sharpened better but you really have to take care of them. I use the stainless with white handle. For Flatfish, the 9" with the straight narrow blade is best. For stripers I like a shorter curved blade, but it has to be really sharp. You can push a curved blade and cut the skin from the inside out without trying to cut scales.
Of course never use a good fillet knife to cut bait.

spareparts · #9 05-28-2017, 09:58 PM

O have a buck specia 119 that my father bought me for my v 13th birthday way back 38 years ago. I use it exclusively for fileting fish
When I'm not using it, I have an old butchers knife and my edc benchmade griptilliam. The secret is to keep it sharp. Mi do t have my father's skill with an edge so I use the lansky set up

Blue_Runner · #10 06-09-2017, 05:17 PM

I have a couple, nothing real special. I've had one like below but I think it is the pre-rapala version b/c it holds a nice edge and I've been using it for close to 10 years on tons of fish, still going strong. I use a hone and also the supplied sharpener. I think the key is not to go too hard on the sharpener as it wears out the sharpener then you end up damaging the blade. Also have a vintage wood handle I picked up at a yardsale. Looks similar to old hickory, might be old hickory, but it has a real nice edge, but the steel likes to rust?