# Fillet Knife



## DrumintheSuds (Nov 19, 2007)

It's winter and I want to buy a new fillet knife despite the fact that I have a drawer full of them. If you had to pick the perfect fillet knife for drum, sea mullet and pomp what is your can't go without for $50 or there abouts? I have owned pretty much everything but want to hear people's opinions......


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## IPNURWATER (Aug 20, 2013)

A knife is only as good as it sharpener is... but I use a mustad fillet knife bout seven inches long. Nothing special.but I also don't keep the belly meat on the drum so. I fillet around the bone less hassel


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## DrumintheSuds (Nov 19, 2007)

I have gone back and forth with Dexter Russell, Rapala and a few others but might try the Dexter Russell again. Something about that knife


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## wv_surf (Jul 12, 2013)

RADA fillet knives are very flexable and super sharp. Made in the USA with a full life time warrenty. They have a soft rubber grip. LOVE EM!


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## River (Sep 30, 2006)

I have about every brand of filet knife there is - Browning, Case, Old Timer, Buck, Dexter Russell's, Rapala's -- but my favorite filet knife is a 6" Grohmann, they are made by a fishing family in Canada that's been making knife's for generations. It will be a little over you max amount but they will hold an edge like no other - although I do like the yellow handled Browning, it costs somewhere in the $30 range and it holds a edge and works well on the bigger fish ---- River


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## DrumintheSuds (Nov 19, 2007)

wv_surf said:


> RADA fillet knives are very flexable and super sharp. Made in the USA with a full life time warrenty. They have a soft rubber grip. LOVE EM!


I have a RADA wheel sharpener. Love that thing


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## DrumintheSuds (Nov 19, 2007)

River said:


> I have about every brand of filet knife there is - Browning, Case, Old Timer, Buck, Dexter Russell's, Rapala's -- but my favorite filet knife is a 6" Grohmann, they are made by a fishing family in Canada that's been making knife's for generations. It will be a little over you max amount but they will hold an edge like no other - although I do like the yellow handled Browning, it costs somewhere in the $30 range and it holds a edge and works well on the bigger fish ---- River


Grohmann huh? How would you rate the backbone of that knife? I am looking for that perfect combo of length with enough backbone that I can navigate through a drums rib bones if I don't get around them good (which happens from time to time). For some reason as I get older I feel like I need a less flex in the blade but don't want to stray to far from fillet knife to boning knife


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## Bocefus (Apr 19, 2010)

Anyone using the Bubba Blade?


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## tomsurles (Jan 16, 2012)

Dexters are great knives but in my opinion you can't beat the rapala fillet knife for the price. They're inexpensive,quite flexible, and stay sharp. Just run it through the sharpener that comes with it after each use and that thing will keep an edge. Heard good things about the Bubba Blade too. Buck also has a fillet knofe coming out,but I can bet they wont be cheap


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## River (Sep 30, 2006)

DITS --- The Grohmann has a fairly stiff blade but has some flex, it'll go through bones if necessary -- they are very nice knifes ---- Buck has several filet knifes out already in the mid Thirty dollar range --- I have one regular Buck filet knife and the blades a little to stiff on it but it does hold a edge, I also have the Buck lockback folding filet knife and it does a nice job with the blade having a little more flex --- but I will say that working at Teaches Lair Marina for 2 years, all the guys that cleaned fish for the Charter boats used Dexter Russell's --- River


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## DrumintheSuds (Nov 19, 2007)

River said:


> DITS --- The Grohmann has a fairly stiff blade but has some flex, it'll go through bones if necessary -- they are very nice knifes ---- Buck has several filet knifes out already in the mid Thirty dollar range --- I have one regular Buck filet knife and the blades a little to stiff on it but it does hold a edge, I also have the Buck lockback folding filet knife and it does a nice job with the blade having a little more flex --- but I will say that working at Teaches Lair Marina for 2 years, all the guys that cleaned fish for the Charter boats used Dexter Russell's --- River


I love Dexters.....Have the 1378 wood handle and a few others. I am looking at the SG 133-8 soft grip but that Grohmann is a damn fine looking knife! The cost is a tad bit steep considering I have a lot of knives but I LOVE KNIVES and sometimes I don't pay attention to price


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## jlentz (Sep 11, 2005)

I use Dexters and Forshners. I think in stainless the Forshner holds a better edge but the Dexter high carbon steel holds a better edge than either but requires more care.

John


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## DrumintheSuds (Nov 19, 2007)

jlentz said:


> I use Dexters and Forshners. I think in stainless the Forshner holds a better edge but the Dexter high carbon steel holds a better edge than either but requires more care.
> 
> John


I keep a little cooking oil on my 1378 when not in use


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## Ryan Y (Dec 1, 2005)

Bocefus said:


> Anyone using the Bubba Blade?


I was going to suggest checking out the bubba blade. I must admit though. I have about 15 dexter/Russell knives of different sizes. I got my hands on a friends bubba blade and loved it. It's been hard to find a knife that is easy to clean the big hogfish. The Big Stiffie knife they have did the trick. Cut right through the bones. I can only imagine the little stiffie would do great on sheepies too.


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Dexter Russell.. I have two.. One is a 7" boning knife the other is 7" also,just not sure of numbers and such as you seem to be DNTS.. It is a shade or two stiffer than the boning knife,and will go through bone.. It holds an edge well too.. May even be the number you are talking,not sure??


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## Kenmefish (Apr 21, 2000)

Make sure you get the Dexter made in the USA. Some of the ones from amazon are made in china. Same problem with Buck and others.


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

Dexter Russell for me.


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## lil red jeep (Aug 17, 2007)

I use a couple of Dexter Russels but the Bubba Blade infomercials make a heck of a compelling case!


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## Loner (Sep 9, 2009)

..Gots about a dozen knives...and the one I reach for EVERYTIME???.....The SHARP ONE!!


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## DrumBum (Apr 25, 2013)

tomsurles said:


> in my opinion you can't beat the rapala fillet knife for the price. They're inexpensive,quite flexible, and stay sharp. Just run it through the sharpener that comes with it after each use and that thing will keep an edge.


X2... I have to say that I love my Rapala fillet knifes. They did some fine work on several drum this past fall. I use them for all of my fish and they've cut through a lot of deer meat with no problem.


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## DrumintheSuds (Nov 19, 2007)

No fillet knife is worth the price or quality if the man using it doesn't know how to use it and keep it sharp. The sharpener (tool and man doing the sharpening) is just as important if not more so. I have gone back and forth over the years from Dexter to Rapala and even Forschner and they all are fine knives for the price when kept up. I have been on the Rapala bandwagon for awhile now but the handle I am falling out of favor of after years of using it.

Might switch back to Dexter but I am open to anything new


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## Fatback (Aug 6, 2003)

I did not compose the following but thought I would add it to the conversation. the guy who wrote this is a mortician and a good fisherman.


Most sharpenings fail to produce that oh so keen edge because the knife's steel is limited or the sharpener is limited, and by that..... I mean both the object and the man. Fine edges come in threes. Hone-sharpen-finish. 



www.cadcutlery.com/fish.htm 



# 43517 Now that's a knife. It will will sharpen up, hold an edge, and allow return visits to that effort, time and time again. It is the choice of serious surgeons ( just like me ) that demand a quality blade at a reasonable price. If I owned a fish packing shed, all my exploited illegal alien women types would be using these, and I would spend my days keeping all the knives sharpened just right. You might have seen some of these in bait shops. Skinny little blades is all that is left. 





# 40715 Is the second knife that I would recommend. Using the first knife to remove the meat from the underlying skeletal system, and then using this knife to seperate the flesh from the skin. 





# 40513 Is a fantastic knife to have in the kitchen- BTW. Sneak in the back of your butchers and I bet you will see a few of them on the tables. 





www.cadcutlery.com/sharpeners.htm 



# 331 is a nice little sharpener. Reason being it has two differing abrasive steels, AND most importantly, it is error free. You will notice a segment on how to steel a Forshener. Read the part where it says- "Always maintain the same pressure and angle on both sides of the steel.". That's where it gets tricky. Most of my scientific colleagues are unable to repeat the same swipage values. 



Using the preset angle makes things quick, easy and you never ruin the knife by changing the hone. Finally, I finish with a shaped ceramic edge thingie. Those cheap ones do just fine. Wet it and stroke the knife through it with the same vertical motion, using slight pressure and finish the edge. 



Armed as thus, a man can clean lots of pompanyo and never have to stop to re-sharpen. Simply drop them in the dish washer and touch them up with the ceramic and store them safely away from the children. Every so often, you go back to the steel and sharpen, then finish. 



DO NOT stroke the blade through the sharpener with heavy pressure. Multiples strokes of light force are all that you need to do. 



So.....start with a great knife, and then cheat so that your lack of skill does not get in your way, and you have it. 



This reminds me of the man that worked in this large pickle factory. Year after year he would come home at night and he and the old woman would eat dinner, watch TV, and go to bed. One evening over dinner he blurted out that he had had this strange urge earlier that day. She inquired further, and he revealed that all day long he had been fantasizing about putting his talley whacker in the pickle slicer. Of course she took him to the doctor the next day and he began a regiment of pills and supplements to correct this mental disorder. Life resumed as normal...till one day he came home and his wife noticed he was there way too early. She asked about this and he reminded her of that fantasy. He explained that the fantasy had returned, and that that very day he decided to do it. He stuck it right in there. Well she asked what happened and he said that he had gotten fired. She said no, she wanted to know about the pickle slicer, to which he explained....Oh- she got fired, too. 



I am grateful that I never have fantasies whilest at work. Losing a job in this enviroment could be bad. I have been putting in alot of extra hours and days at work. I remember one day, an intern approached me. He seemed bewildered and asked me to come back into the preparation room. Apparently something was wrong. He exclaimed that the woman in the back had a shrimp up in her. Once we got back there he lifted the sheet and underneath was a 90 year old woman that had passed earlier that day. He pointed at her privates and asked if I could see the shrimp. I looked and saw a slight bump protruding out and through, but this is considered completely normal for a woman of that age, and I told him that. He obviously was unsatisfied with that response, and stood there staring at it. Finally, I said look it is fine, please continue. He asked me once again if I was sure about that. I told him I was and then I asked him why he wasn't. He looked at me and said he wasn't so sure because it sure tasted like shrimp. 



Have you ever wondered about watermelon rind pickles. I have. Who do YOU think eats the watermelon before they make the pickles. 



Perhaps we can revisit old memories again sometime. I have to go now. But try those knives and that sharpener, and you will never want for anything else. You might find them cheaper somewhere else, but these people were fine to deal with.


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## dsurf (Aug 5, 2003)

Cutco.......I've used Russell and several others.......Cutco is the ticket.....may cost slightly more than $50, unless you catch a sale.


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## hifu (Aug 3, 2006)

Bought a wooden handle Rapala in the 70's, and found anuder on the beach. I bought a Dexter at the rope shop bout 10 years back. One of the Rapala's lives in the truck and the Dexter is my bait knife and use it for for larger stuff like tunnie's. But 9 times out of 10 I'll grab that old Rapala out to clean everything up to about a good size pup with. Takes a likin' and keeps on tick in'.


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## don brinson (Apr 8, 2011)

I have had my cutco for around 10 years. Keeps a good edge and i like the adjustable length


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## SteveMcD (Sep 7, 2013)

I have a 7 inch Cabela's Fillet Knife from Chicago Cutlery. It has served me well for over 30 years.


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

I have a few dexters a rapala and the cutco. I like parts about all of them. I use an edgepro sharpener and it puts a ridiculous edge on all of my knives. I like the handle on the dexter cause they are easier to clean than the wood handle on the rapala but the rapala will stay sharper just a little longer than the dexter. If going through rib bones on larger fish (stripers and drum) then the dexter boning is pretty much the only option The thin blade knives do well for going around ribs but not through.


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