Worthy Filleting Knife/Knives

[Volvo]

Knives ??, i have a swag of Fishing/Filletting knves ive accumilated over the years or when i find a new variety on special to one day test ..
Of late one variety called "Silver Stag Knives " from the "Deer Meat for Dinner" Vids on youtube made me wander if their Filleter would be worthy of adding to the collection and once doing a bit of investigating i then come across other varieties
Like The Northarm Filleters which have rave reviews .
Bubba Blades
Kermode
& Demascus
Among a few others .
Over the years ive learnt that Stainles Only Blades sharpen easy and blunt just as easy
With Stainless and mix of carbon Steel being of quallity and edge retention.
Most of the local brand knives i have had experince of using or owning but would like to get into a blade that holds its edge for at least a whole session without having to take to a steel or stone for the next session of filleting/cleaning.
So who owns what and at what cost ??.
One that i am keenly looking at is the Northarm Filleter , though will come at a cost if worthy??..

[NAGG]

Knives are always a good topic & a lot of what you have said is spot on

I've had a lot of knives for fishing - & spent some reasonable coin only to be disappointed (Swibo comes to mind)

Currently my roll contains Dexter , F Dick & 2 x Victorinox . ..... All are pretty good but if I had to go out on a limb & hang my hat on one - Dexter . I know a lot of commercial guys use them as well as butchers. ( you should be able to buy all of these for under $60 each)

I do carry a couple of Victory's on the boat for bait ...... These are doing a bloody good job & good value when on special at Anaconda ($35ish)

I did like Frost knives but the grip would end up going tacky well before the blade did ....... I actually had one for over 25 years.

One thing stands true with all of them ..... they need to be washed in fresh water & dried.

Chris

[tunaticer]

Using a steel is good practice during a session, regardless of the blade material...it protects the edge from bad decay and bending that fine edge.
It takes ten seconds to slip the steel past 5 times a side, really nothing that will slow you down.

As far as knives go, getting the right shape and flex is entirely personal preference.....ignore the name and study the blade.

I have probably 20 or so knives sitting at my filleting station.....i reach for maybe 5 of those a year.

Price does not come into the quality of the knife, it really does not.

I have a 10 inch cheap soft stainless knife, rather stiff that I use on larger fish....i spend about 20 minutes once a year to hone it again, after that it gets 5 slips of the ceramic steel before and during the sessions. Can shave with it towards the end of the year still.

I also have a Gerber filleter....it's a reasonable knife to use, very sharp and very hard to hone correctly before use being so damn hard, but i get three years on that knife between hones.

My favorite whiting knife cost a whole $2.50 30 years ago and it has seen a lot of use and holds the edge very well.....prick to hone being so flexible and narrow but I still reach for it for every whiting.

Out of all of my expensive knives I rate Kershaw above the rest.....don't know if they are still made though.

I do not use scabbards for those knives....the only knives with scabbards are in my boat or hunting rolls. Keeping a blade enclosed will inevitably find moisture in there one day to deteriorate the blade and 6 months later you will notice it.

[Volvo]

Among my good knives or what i think are good a close second to these are some knives i purchsed from KMart for $5 each brought out by Wilson.
After sharpening the first i went back n bought the lot on shelf for pressies for kin n friends .
9" blade keeps its edge to at least the end of the task n then strop the edge back where it should be.
Think the need for more or better is part of the tackle disease .
Still need that blade that keeps its edge retention fer yonks without steeling or stropping reguly.

[Dignity]

I had a knife from KMart given to me as a gift many, many years ago and it was a Rex Hunt special. Kept its edge really well and lasted about 18 years before it snapped at the hilt. That was probably its major downfall as the guard or whatever it was called allowed water to get in behind. A Kershaw which I used almost exclusively for skinning was similar, also eventually snapped. I've had many dearer knives over the years but these 2 were always the goto ones.

I've noticed that many anglers use the same knife for both filleting and skinning yet I usually find the knife I use for filleting is usually awkward to use for skinning, is it just me.

[Volvo]

I had a knife from KMart given to me as a gift many, many years ago and it was a Rex Hunt special. Kept its edge really well and lasted about 18 years before it snapped at the hilt. That was probably its major downfall as the guard or whatever it was called allowed water to get in behind. A Kershaw which I used almost exclusively for skinning was similar, also eventually snapped. I've had many dearer knives over the years but these 2 were always the goto ones.

I've noticed that many anglers use the same knife for both filleting and skinning yet I usually find the knife I use for filleting is usually awkward to use for skinning, is it just me.

Suppose each of us are different , i use different knife for Filletting as i do for skinning as i do for gut cleaning , My Whiting filleting knives again are differnt form my skinning regular knives with a skinning knife i use mostly for say Lipper , Reds and nannys is a bread knife , long flat blade that was given to my by a friend after an outing with him,
I Filletted and he skinned and when i commented on the knife he was using and how easy it made the job look of skinning he gave it to me which offcourse i didnt refuse .
That knife has been with me for well over forty years now and still as good as the first day it landed on my lap.

[NAGG]

Doesn't it depend on what you are filleting or skinning ?

I can happily use the same knife on a snapper or whiting

but I wouldn't use the same on a threadie ....

I'll still lean toward a thin flexible long sharp blade most times ...... for filleting & skinning

Chris

[Lovey80]

Using a steel is good practice during a session, regardless of the blade material...it protects the edge from bad decay and bending that fine edge.
It takes ten seconds to slip the steel past 5 times a side, really nothing that will slow you down.

As far as knives go, getting the right shape and flex is entirely personal preference.....ignore the name and study the blade.

I have probably 20 or so knives sitting at my filleting station.....i reach for maybe 5 of those a year.

Price does not come into the quality of the knife, it really does not.

I have a 10 inch cheap soft stainless knife, rather stiff that I use on larger fish....i spend about 20 minutes once a year to hone it again, after that it gets 5 slips of the ceramic steel before and during the sessions. Can shave with it towards the end of the year still.

I also have a Gerber filleter....it's a reasonable knife to use, very sharp and very hard to hone correctly before use being so damn hard, but i get three years on that knife between hones.

My favorite whiting knife cost a whole $2.50 30 years ago and it has seen a lot of use and holds the edge very well.....prick to hone being so flexible and narrow but I still reach for it for every whiting.

Out of all of my expensive knives I rate Kershaw above the rest.....don't know if they are still made though.

I do not use scabbards for those knives....the only knives with scabbards are in my boat or hunting rolls. Keeping a blade enclosed will inevitably find moisture in there one day to deteriorate the blade and 6 months later you will notice it.

interested to see a pic of your whiting knife.

[chris69]

Spend the money and buy a good brand and get a good steel as already mentioned Victorinox is the standard 9inch and 12 inch for skinning.

[NAGG]

I do have a cheapie (Ecooda) that I use at home for preparing sashimi - it doesnt take much to sharpen up & the 6 inch blade is ideal for skinning a salmon fillet .

Chris

[The Mad Cat]

I purchased a Bubba cordless knife just for slabbing the fillets off bait fish on the boat, thought it would make it easier and safer on a moving boat. It works that well I don't take it on the boat. I only use it at home as my only fillet/skinning knife. If I had not used it myself I would not have believed how good a job it does and how effortless it is to use. While speed is not my concern it is nice to knock the filleting over especially with 20 or more good size reef fish to do on a hot NQ afternoon in a little over half the time that I would normally take.

TMC

[alleycat]

I have been in meat industry 45 years now, a knife now matter how well stoned a knife is it is near useless unless it has been steeled, and my fillet knife of choice is a worn down victorinox or victory 6 inch boning knife..