IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
Ice Fishing Tips -Check your local regulations! => Equipment => Topic started by: dbike988 on Jan 09, 2012, 09:01 PM
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I have a cheapo Raapala fileet knife and it absolutely stinks! I tried filleting a walleye last night and hacked the meat so bad I almost threw the knife away. What brands or knives should I be looking at?
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its not the knife its the blade... go get one of those white and blue sharpeners and run it across it till you feel it stop biting into the blade and then try it i bet youll shave with it... i presonally use dimond stones the white and blue sharpener and a wet stone on rough and fine each knife i do takes about 30 min i like em sharp, and the one i carry everyday usually is dull within a week so i do it again.. if that dosent work for you my dad got sick of filleting 150 perch(3 guys limited out)by hand so we got him a rapala electric one from wally world and he loves it uses it for fish carving the turkey ect.
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If it is a rapala knife with a birch wood handle, it is a good knife. It just needs to be properly sharpened.
If it has a rubber or plastic handle, yep, it sucks.
You gotta get whet stones and put the proper angle on it. There is no substitute for the proper method of sharpening a knife. No matter what it costs, it will get dull. A dull knife is worthless. I can get a Swede rapala knife sharp enough to shave with pretty easily, and they hold an edge pretty good too.
Go search youtube for videos on how to sharpen a knife. Pick up the good whetstones and dig in, strop it on a belt when you are done. It takes some practice, and it may take allot of time to bring it back if the bevel is wrecked. Sharpening is something that is really worth your time to learn. You will never have to buy beer at deer camp ever again too! ;D
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hey skipper those rubber handled ones arent that bad tho for a back up one my little brother has one and its been used a few times gets dull after a few but yeah, my dads is a case and i just use that one :) holds an edge forever... sharpining takes time and patients take your stone and your knife and go sit on the couch and watch tv n do it... seen people do that (my brother)...
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As long as it says "J Marttiini Finland" on the blade, you got a good one. The "Rapala Sweden Stainless" knives are OK, but not nearly as good. The Rapala Sweden knives are usually more expensive too...
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If the beveled edge is out of whack you might want to take it to a professional sharpening service to get it back to the right angle. After that you can easily maintain the edge with a fine stone. A steel is a good investment too, often the blade isn't dull but rather rolled. When filleting a scaley fish like perch or walleye I start the downward cut angled forward to get under the scales without cutting through them. I actually now use an electric to take the fillets off and a sharp knife to skin and trim. I use my 4",6" and 9" wooden handled rapala knives for everything including processing deer, other than a sawzall and a skinning knife it's all I need.
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I think a good place for a noob sharpener to start is with a brand new knife. The bevel is already there, you just need to follow it and make it smooth.
As stevek said, a mushed up bevel can be VERY discouraging. Maybe have a pro fix it the first time. Remember that Scandinavian knives have a single bevel... 17 degrees I think. A Buck Knife will have a 17 degree angle, and a 22 degree bevel at the very edge. They cannot be sharpened the same way.
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As long as it says "J Marttiini Finland" on the blade, you got a good one. The "Rapala Sweden Stainless" knives are OK, but not nearly as good. The Rapala Sweden knives are usually more expensive too...
X2. I also like there line of super flex blades they have the dark wood handle and the coated blade. I switch both my 4 and 6 inch knifes to the super flex last year and love them
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One of these days - when I have the money - I'm going to break down and buy one of those "Leech Lake" fillet knives that everyone rants about. I'm not much good at sharpening and they say7it holds an edge for a long time. It's one of those things I just need to see for myself.
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I'm going to be ordering a Leech Lake knife soon. They are expensive but hopefully they are worth it. I have an old Rapala I inherited from my grandfather but it needs a lot of TLC and the edge completely worked. I like to have several fillet knives on hand so extras are good. The Dexter Russel makes a good inexpensive knife, I like their high carbon steel knives. They will rust but you can get a nice edge on them. The stainless fillet knives I have/used just do not seem to hold an edge like I would like.
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I've chopped a bunch of fish with those..
They have a sharpened area on the spine to do that cut behind the head. That chomp through scales and bones is what dulls your knife the fastest. The knife does not need to be that sharp to make that cut either. You sacrifice the sharp spot on the spine so you can keep your main edge super sharp longer.
I had one and I LOVED IT. A scum bag room mate stole it though.... >:(
IMO, either spend the dough on a Leech Lake, or get a Marttiini Rapala. Most of the knives in the middle price ranges are inferior to both.
I like their high carbon steel knives. They will rust but you can get a nice edge on them. The stainless fillet knives I have/used just do not seem to hold an edge like I would like.
Same here... I use carbon steel whenever I can. It is the best stuff, but I always seem to forget to oil my steel filet knives. Filet knives are the only time I stick with stainless.
Victornox and Mora also make a FINE commercial knife. You have to go looking for them though.
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i just got a buck 9 5/8 fillet knife and this thing rocks! i would have liked if it was shorter but the 6 was just too stiff for my liking.this 9 BENDS!!!! im in florida currently and ive been filleting about 10+ fish every day and havent had to sharpen it since i got it over a week ago.thing cuts like butter and the handle is awesome!!!! it does not slip at all. only cost me $30 at cabelas and is worth it.
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i just got one of thoes birch handled rap's and i am wondering how i ever filleted with out it a great knife and real comfortable also
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i just got a buck 9 5/8 fillet knife and this thing rocks! i would have liked if it was shorter but the 6 was just too stiff for my liking.this 9 BENDS!!!! im in florida currently and ive been filleting about 10+ fish every day and havent had to sharpen it since i got it over a week ago.thing cuts like butter and the handle is awesome!!!! it does not slip at all. only cost me $30 at cabelas and is worth it.
X2 Best fillet knife I have ever owned is a green rubber handled 9" blade buck knife!
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Buck has been around forever for a good reason... good stuff at a good price.
They hold an edge quite well, but they are also a pita to sharpen. I may pick one of those up to try.
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it really is a sweet knife. the blade is also molded to the hand guard so you dont get any scales between the bland and handle.just something thats always bugged me. i also might pick up a rapala thinn finn knife. after seeing commercial fishing boats use them in person man are they sweet. they had old knifes sharpened down thin though not the rapala.just wanted to clarify
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i just got a buck 9 5/8 fillet knife and this thing rocks! i would have liked if it was shorter but the 6 was just too stiff for my liking.this 9 BENDS!!!! im in florida currently and ive been filleting about 10+ fish every day and havent had to sharpen it since i got it over a week ago.thing cuts like butter and the handle is awesome!!!! it does not slip at all. only cost me $30 at cabelas and is worth it.
I just got this knife, did my first 15 gills last night with it, and it seemed to work great! Good to see other people like it.
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I just got this knife, did my first 15 gills last night with it, and it seemed to work great! Good to see other people like it.
did u do the regular saw through the ribs method or cut along them?
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I've chopped a bunch of fish with those..
They have a sharpened area on the spine to do that cut behind the head. That chomp through scales and bones is what dulls your knife the fastest. The knife does not need to be that sharp to make that cut either. You sacrifice the sharp spot on the spine so you can keep your main edge super sharp longer.
I had one and I LOVED IT. A scum bag room mate stole it though.... >:(
IMO, either spend the dough on a Leech Lake, or get a Marttiini Rapala. Most of the knives in the middle price ranges are inferior to both.
Same here... I use carbon steel whenever I can. It is the best stuff, but I always seem to forget to oil my steel filet knives. Filet knives are the only time I stick with stainless.
Victornox and Mora also make a FINE commercial knife. You have to go looking for them though.
Good to hear you liked the Leech Lake. I'm going to spend the money on one and hopefully will not have to buy another. Don C died last year so I don't if they will keep making them.
The Rapala I got from my grandfather has the Marttini blade. You should see the shape its in though. I'm going to break it down and completely refurb it.
I bought a Frost with a "Mora of Sweden" blade on it in 2010 and its a decent knife. I always liked their stainless but the knife had a rough rippled edge on it that takes a lot of working.I agree with the Victornox are nice I have a couple of their knives also and carry one everyday. The edge retention isn't the greatest but you can get them really sharp.
This is the Dexter I was eyeing up. You can get it in an 8" or 9".
http://www.knifemerchant.com/product.asp?productID=2500 (http://www.knifemerchant.com/product.asp?productID=2500)
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did u do the regular saw through the ribs method or cut along them?
Cut along them. The way I was shown to do them, I'm pretty new, haven't done many.
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Fellas who have the older rapala knives better hang on em, Newer ones not as good. I have a buck and have no complaints about it. Works great on bigger fish. Seems like I use my 12 dollar B-D walmart electric more and more though. About sharpening, Buy yourselves a lansky knife sharpening set. So easy to keep angles right and razor sharp. Also it is easier to keep knife sharp. Waiting till it is dull and useless, Touch it up after every use. A couple minutes with fine stone and she will shave again. Once dull they can be a pain to get back. Steve
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GERBER
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http://www.gerberknivesdirect.com/fillet_75231.html
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i have a rapala that i have been using for over 30 years, great knife.
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Some how I lost my other knife and had to resort to the $6 rap. I might as well used a chain saw. I'll try putting an edge on it and see if I need to through it away or not. >:(
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I bought a Frost with a "Mora of Sweden" blade on it in 2010 and its a decent knife. I always liked their stainless but the knife had a rough rippled edge on it that takes a lot of working.I agree with the Victornox are nice I have a couple of their knives also and carry one everyday. The edge retention isn't the greatest but you can get them really sharp.
http://www.knifemerchant.com/product.asp?productID=2500 (http://www.knifemerchant.com/product.asp?productID=2500)
Ohhhhh, I know all about those machine marks.... I start with a coarse stone to rub those out. The Mora Companion in carbon steel is my favorite knife for everything but cleaning fish. I have a bunch and they are all stupid sharp... If I can get that kind of edge out of a $12 knife, I guess I can deal with the tool marks on the first sharpening... :-\ I would like to try some of the higher end Scandinavian knives though..
The reason I like the Victornox knives is mostly because of the Fibrox handles. The steel is nothing fabulous, but those handles never become slippery. Even in fish slime, they still stay grippy. I have a full set of Victornox Fibrox butcher knives, I absolutely love them..
Good luck with that leech lake knife. I hope the family continues to produce them.
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Has anyone tried those Cabela's Advanced Anglers Knives? They make it sound good and they are reasonably priced, but I'd like to see if anyone has tested one.
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I disagree, if you want a real knife that you will be able to leave to your kids that you want a Forged (the way they used to make all knifes) one piece knife with high-carbon no-stain steel.
I personally use this knife:
http://www.amazon.com/Wusthof-Classic-7-Inch-Fillet-Sheath/dp/B000FJOZ7K/ref=pd_sim_sbs_k_2
I bought it for my dad and after trying one of these its hard to go back to anything else.
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ya that looks like a beast but so does the $$$ tag
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Forschner
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bless you lol
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Any one use the Lansky sharpening system to keep the edge on?
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I've filleted with many knives, as long as the edge is SHARP and the blade flexible it will work fine. Key word is SHARP. If you don't know how to sharpen a knife with a stone, then its time to learn.
electric knife is 10x easier and just as efficient, however.
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i just got done filleting some crappies just after dinner with my new leech lake knife. i couldn't believe i could have so much fun cleaning fish. after picking it up at Reeds, i emailed the web site to inquire on the sharpening process best used once it needs a touch up. Don's son Mike got back to me within the hr. to let me know that if & when it needs sharpening, crock sticks are all they need. i can't see needing to touch it up any time soon, & was impressed with the rapid response from him. needless to say, i'll be getting rid of my other knife in short order. that sharp spine is the cats a$$.
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I got my Leech Lake knife last week and its a beauty. Did not get to use it on any fish yet though.
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I have three at the camper and two at home in the garage the one in the house is the wife's until it comes time to fillet fish I grab here's and find it dull so it gets a sharping and I get yelled at for not warning her go figure.Best fillet knife old patric cudahay boneing knife.
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Check out Havalon knives. Replaceable surgical blades, and unbelievably sharp blades.
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Got to go with the leech lake knife, a bit on the expense side but well worth it.
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Well after reading all these posts # 1 if you have allot of fish to do go out and buy yourself an electric knife can't go wrong! # 2 in My opinion just doing lower #'s like 10-15 fish at a time go and get a cutco fisherman knife I love mine use it as back up for the electric keeps an edge for ever and if you do dull it send it back and they re sharppen them for free.
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i just got done filleting some crappies just after dinner with my new leech lake knife. i couldn't believe i could have so much fun cleaning fish. after picking it up at Reeds, i emailed the web site to inquire on the sharpening process best used once it needs a touch up. Don's son Mike got back to me within the hr. to let me know that if & when it needs sharpening, crock sticks are all they need. i can't see needing to touch it up any time soon, & was impressed with the rapid response from him. needless to say, i'll be getting rid of my other knife in short order. that sharp spine is the cats a$$.
Thats good to know. Sounds like the kid may be taking the biz over. I'll have to get one of those Lansky Crock Stik setups to try, they are not that expensive.
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Ive been considering a new fillet knife myself. Im ready to get a quality knife! I like the leech lake knife but 7.5" seems a little big for my bluegill fishing. I usually use a 4" or 6" knife. Any thoughts on using the leech lake on gills? Is it good and flexible enough to justify primarily cleaning bluegills with it even though its 7.5" long??? Thoughts on the longer blade for gills?
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They are really great knives... They are about right as far as walleye and pike go, but a 4'' is still pretty handy for panfish.
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Do any of you use a Kershaw knife? I have 3 of them for hunting knives but wasn't sure about the fillet knives.
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I bought a used fillet knife from a local baitshop for $4 recently and it seems pretty nice. The blade says Swedish Stainless. I wouldn't mind a little more flex but man is it sharp. All I used is one of those cheap "V" sharpeners. A few quick passes through the sharpener after each fish kept it cutting nicely. Now I just need to learn to cut fish better! ::)
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Strongly suggest an electric fillet knife. I will never go back.
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Ive been considering a new fillet knife myself. Im ready to get a quality knife! I like the leech lake knife but 7.5" seems a little big for my bluegill fishing. I usually use a 4" or 6" knife. Any thoughts on using the leech lake on gills? Is it good and flexible enough to justify primarily cleaning bluegills with it even though its 7.5" long??? Thoughts on the longer blade for gills?
Pretty sure they used to offer a 5 1/2" Leech Lake knife but I do not see it anymore. As far as 7 1/2" for pannies, yeah maybe its a little on the long side. Don't matter to me I'll use it for pannies. Honestly I've been using the electric with the narrow blade for pannies for a while now.
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I have a custom made fillet knife, an old Schrade Uncle Henry, a Rapala, two Kershaws, and a Rapala electric. They all do the job if THEY ARE SHARP. Something to think about!!!!
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I like my cutco.
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Just got a Cutco for Christmas. It's the bomb.
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just got my green handled leach lake in, its almost tooo pretty to use ;D this has to be the sharpest knife ive ever bought, usually a new knife needs to hit the stone to get it where i want it, not this one, extremely sharp out of the box, its scary sharp
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Strongly suggest an electric fillet knife. I will never go back.
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even with an electric you still need a manual knife to remove the ribs and take the rib fillets off. i started a post about manual fillet knives awhile back and had alot of replies.
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going to add that no fillet knife other than a saw blade or electric is made to cut bone.
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the harder the steel of the blade, the softer the stone is needed to sharpen it. an old carbon steel knife with a hard blade needs a ''soft'' stone. the new, made in China soft crap stainless needs a piece of carbide or super hard stone to sharpen. not joking, actual fact.
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once the blade has the correct angle on it and is sharp, all you need is a good piece of ceramic to true the edge. rapala or smith makes a nice set, cheap.
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look around, read up on the topic and learn how to sharpen/keep sharp a knife. IMO, nothing beats an old carbon steel bladed knife or the 20+year old rapala knives. kershaws are nice and EZ to work with. anything made in Tawain and/or China need to be avoided like your EZ mother-in-law.
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even with an electric you still need a manual knife to remove the ribs and take the rib fillets off. i started a post about manual fillet knives awhile back and had alot of replies.
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going to add that no fillet knife other than a saw blade or electric is made to cut bone.
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the harder the steel of the blade, the softer the stone is needed to sharpen it. an old carbon steel knife with a hard blade needs a ''soft'' stone. the new, made in China soft crap stainless needs a piece of carbide or super hard stone to sharpen. not joking, actual fact.
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once the blade has the correct angle on it and is sharp, all you need is a good piece of ceramic to true the edge. rapala or smith makes a nice set, cheap.
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look around, read up on the topic and learn how to sharpen/keep sharp a knife. IMO, nothing beats an old carbon steel bladed knife or the 20+year old rapala knives. kershaws are nice and EZ to work with. anything made in Tawain and/or China need to be avoided like your EZ mother-in-law.
I never use a "regular" knife to take out rib bones, I slide my electric knife right under them and they come off like hot butter. So I disagree with needing two knives to clean a fish. Can actually leave a thin layer of the fillet where the rib bones were.
You take one swoop on each side with an electric knife (behind head to end of tail) flip the fillet off and remove skin. If you have not removed skin wiht an electric fillet knife before you need to. It is amazing how easily the skin comes off.
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Agree, all one needs is an eletric knife. I use the same kitchen round-tipped electric which was picked up years ago for $9.99. A deft hand can fillet a perch or crappie in under a minute including the removal of rib bones from the fillet.
I did go old school on some smallmouth and used a Rapala. Took longer as I hadn't worked a fillet off of the rib bones in over 10 years lol. Itwas enjoyable but if I have bucket of perch, it's back to the electric.
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I agree to a point, only need an electric. Most fish I only use the electric, but when it comes to de-boning pike I like a non-electric. Rib bones are way easier and faster to get with an electric. But for those of you that want a good filleting knife, the Wusthof knives are hard to beat.
http://www.paulsfinest.com/Wusthof-Butcher-Series-Fish-Fillet-Knife-9-inch.html (http://www.paulsfinest.com/Wusthof-Butcher-Series-Fish-Fillet-Knife-9-inch.html)
http://www.paulsfinest.com/Wusthof-Classic-Fish-Fillet-Knife-8-inch-20-cm-Flexible.html (http://www.paulsfinest.com/Wusthof-Classic-Fish-Fillet-Knife-8-inch-20-cm-Flexible.html)
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I don't believe a $40-$80 Rapala electric are needed either. A cheap-o from a discount store works fine, jmo.
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Mines a General Electric Wally World special. Works great.
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I agree to a point, only need an electric. Most fish I only use the electric, but when it comes to de-boning pike I like a non-electric. Rib bones are way easier and faster to get with an electric. But for those of you that want a good filleting knife, the Wusthof knives are hard to beat.
http://www.paulsfinest.com/Wusthof-Butcher-Series-Fish-Fillet-Knife-9-inch.html (http://www.paulsfinest.com/Wusthof-Butcher-Series-Fish-Fillet-Knife-9-inch.html)
http://www.paulsfinest.com/Wusthof-Classic-Fish-Fillet-Knife-8-inch-20-cm-Flexible.html (http://www.paulsfinest.com/Wusthof-Classic-Fish-Fillet-Knife-8-inch-20-cm-Flexible.html)
As I typed my post about "only" needing an electric the ole boney pike was in the back of my mind. I have never done this but watched it done and figured the old school blade would be the best.
I need to put a few deboned pike under my belt. I generally throw them back because I dont want to deal with filleting and taking out all the bones. I know it is not that hard I just never done it and not exactly sure how. Once I do it for the first time I have a feeling I will kick myself for throwing back so many pike. Love the taste of Pike in the winter!!!
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For pike I'd leave the electric in the case. For getting the "Y" bones the fillet knife could even be a little dull as the bones are very fine and could easily be cut through by mistake with a super sharp knife.
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I have had a hard time with my electric rapala fillet knife. When doing a bucket of perch I missed so much meat on the first 3 I went to a regular fillet knife (rapala in the leather case with a sodden handle) and was getting a ton more new off the smallish perch I was cleaning. Any tricks for the electric knife.... I may see if newish blade is getting too dull.
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I have had a hard time with my electric rapala fillet knife. When doing a bucket of perch I missed so much meat on the first 3 I went to a regular fillet knife (rapala in the leather case with a sodden handle) and was getting a ton more new off the smallish perch I was cleaning. Any tricks for the electric knife.... I may see if newish blade is getting too dull.
Might take some time to get used to it maybe. Angle of the blade is important if you're leaving meat behind. I try to keep mine as parallel as possible to the cutting board. In my mind the speed of filleting 2 doz+ perch far outweigh the little bit which may be left, which isn't much in my case! ;D
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eagle claw 6 inch fillet knife with rubber handle....best knife i have owned for panfish cleaning ;D
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Yeah, consider myself lucky to have gotten a Martini/Finland Rapala filet knife years ago when I did. It's served me well on canoe trips Up North, and right here in my Colorado kitchen when we bring home some trout. Sure, new gear is great in lots of ways, but not when they go cheap instead of quality. It used to be that really great quality was more common at a reasonable, standard price. Now there is so much poor quality cheap stuff out there, it's let-the-buyer-beware.
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Got an Elk Ridge knife from an Army Navy Surplus store and I was pretty impressed. At only $10 it held a damn good edge and had the perfect amount of flex. The other day I picked up a Black and Decker electric carving knife from a thrift shop for a few bucks. I can now cut up double the fish in half the time!
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I have a cheapo Raapala fileet knife and it absolutely stinks! I tried filleting a walleye last night and hacked the meat so bad I almost threw the knife away. What brands or knives should I be looking at?
For bigger fish, get a Dexter Russel Sani Safe, they hold an edge pretty good and are durable.
Of course, with fillet knives you get what you pay for and if you want an heirloom quality knife that has no rival, just get a Leech Lake and don't look back.
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There are certain things in life you just don't cheap out on, fillet knives, axes, and dinner out with the wife. ;D
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There are certain things in life you just don't cheap out on, fillet knives, axes, and dinner out with the wife. ;D
I beg to disagree. You don't cheap out on your flasher, ice suit, and various other toys. Plus, I bet my Black and Decker pecker wrecker could keep up to your fancy knives! ;D
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I beg to disagree. You don't cheap out on your flasher, ice suit, and various other toys. Plus, I bet my Black and Decker pecker wrecker could keep up to your fancy knives! ;D
You could keep up, but electric knives don't produce a top notch clean and smooth fillet like a good sharp fillet knife does. You do need some skill to properly operate a real fillet knife though, which many lack ;D
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You could keep up, but electric knives don't produce a top notch clean and smooth fillet like a good sharp fillet knife does. You do need some skill to properly operate a real fillet knife though, which many lack ;D
I'd love to show you the 8 inch crappies and bluegill I just cut up! Cleaner and nicer looking than any of my other fillets...then again that isn't saying a whole lot. I'm not the best with a standard fillet knife, just not enough time behind it. Probably never will after seeing how quick and clean I can get with the electric.