The best filleting Knife?

[marko 0]

Lads just wondered what filleting knife you have found best for general purpose on smaller fish e.g. KG, ST, Mullet etc? I have heard the old bone handled butter knives are great for their flexibility and sharpness, also that a "Fury" is really good, what do you reckon?Cheers lads, any advice appreciated, my "Tramontina" 3ft Machete, just doesn't do the trick!

[Guest shagging]

sharpened butter knife is the go for me!

[marko 0]

shagging wrote:

sharpened butter knife is the go for me!

Cheers mate, is an OP shop the best place to pick one up from?

[afishyfish 4]

marko wrote:

Just start catching bigger fish :silly: :woohoo:

[marko 0]

Now there's an idea Fishy, but I do enjoy smoking small fish fillets like tommy, mullet and ST in my smoker, taste great that way mate. The last black marlin I caught just didn't fit in the smoker!

[afishyfish 4]

I find that while a nice sharp filletting knife with a narrow blade looks great and cuts well, the narrowness of it can be a problem while the broader blade of the older butter knife can help "lay "things better. Dunno if I'd get a machete into my luggage for the Cairns trip

[jagger 24]

marko wrote:

The last black marlin I caught just didn't fit in the smoker!

sounds like it's time for a bigger smoker then :silly: If you go to some of the slaughter houses and ask them what they do with their knives when they dispose of them you may be in luck. I got a couple of old victorinox knives form a mate that works in a abotoir that sharpen up beautifully ( as you would expect from a butcher and a world famous knife)By the time the butcher has finished with them they are a great shape and size for fish.

[brenton 637]

Agreed the old Victornox are great but on the small fish i love the old butter knives,you just have to find an old one and go for the thinnest most flexible blade.My favorite is one that is about 3/4 size of the standard available and the steel is very flexible.there is a pic in the gar filleting post. cheers brenton

[marko 0]

afishyfish wrote:

I find that while a nice sharp filletting knife with a narrow blade looks great and cuts well, the narrowness of it can be a problem while the broader blade of the older butter knife can help "lay "things better. Dunno if I'd get a machete into my luggage for the Cairns trip

Good point Fishy, saw an old guy filleting with a well used butter knife, poetry in motion mate. As to the machete going in your luggage to Queensland.... Get a bigger case!!! ... you are going to need it anyway for the mega fish you're gonna catch and bring back. One word of warning about the machete in your luggage mate, might be arrested as an S.A. terrorist! :dry: ...

[marko 0]

brenton wrote:

Agreed the old Victornox are great but on the small fish i love the old butter knives,you just have to find an old one and go for the thinnest most flexible blade.My favorite is one that is about 3/4 size of the standard available and the steel is very flexible.there is a pic in the gar filleting post. cheers brenton

Thanks mate for the advice, some of the old knives although not modern stainless steel get a fantastic edge when sharpened. Used to have a really good 2nd world war German army dagger, brilliant, unfortunately got nicked in the U.K., alas just can't trust the Poms!!! :cheer: :cheer:

[marko 0]

jagger wrote:

marko wrote:

The last black marlin I caught just didn't fit in the smoker!

sounds like it's time for a bigger smoker then :silly: If you go to some of the slaughter houses and ask them what they do with their knives when they dispose of them you may be in luck. I got a couple of old victorinox knives form a mate that works in a abotoir that sharpen up beautifully ( as you would expect from a butcher and a world famous knife)By the time the butcher has finished with them they are a great shape and size for fish.

Hmmm, the way this thread is going looks like I am going to need a semi trailer. Good tip about the slaughter house old knives, cheers

[ChuckTseeker 425]

Back in "89" when i moved to Darwin, my first attempt at filleting a nice Barra, with my South Aus filleting knife, showed me that it was absolutely useless so a quick trip into town and i bought a Victorinox Boning Knife for $19, i think you will pay around the $30 mark these days, i bought the 15cm Narrow Boning Knifei have had this knife for 21 years now and it is still as sharp and keeps it's edge as it did when i bought it, it has filleted plenty of fish of all sizes and i find i use no other knife these days for this chore, it also is used for cutting up the bait, it's the same knife you will see in many Butchers scabbardsi also have an Accusharp Knife sharpener and an Eze-Lap Diamond steel to keep it keen

[rocknev 2]

thin and flexible works well... butter knifes work fantastic...for gutting i use a 4inch ling staysharp knife.. works a treeat on cutting the backboane to get the blood out.

[marko 0]

Cheers Chuck and Nev, picking up some good tips here, when I have the new arsenal of 25 knives it will be a good excuse to fish much more in order to justify the expense.

[afishyfish 4]

Nowadays I just use one of the knives from the set of 3 that comes with a nylon cutting board in a black plastic case. ( Jarvis walker )Someone bought it for me as a xmas present and so far its done the job really well with just an occassional touch up

[SandyWhiting 0]

Shredder works just as good..

[marko 0]

Yep Fishy, a mate of mine bought me a set of Japanese Makato knives, but I'm coming to the conclusion its not the knives at fault but the useless Pommy tool on the other!!!

[marko 0]

Sandy that culinary photo you put up really did the trick, had to go and grab a couple of ham sandwiches with tomato sauce quick smart, very appetising! Have you thought of nominating for master chef?

[archerfish 685]

I've had absolutely no problems whatsoever with Dexter Russell filleting knives (in particular, their "Sani-Safe" range) - they're a joy to use and keep an excellent edge. They also do a good oyster-opening knife (also in "Sani-Safe") - once you get used to using it!See attached link:http://www.kitchenwaredirect.com.au/Brands/Dexter-Russell;jsessionid=0a010b421f4331ac424ef4a64bce80a7b9e1c4fe8cac.e3eSc38TaNqNe34Pa38Ta3aOb390Cheersarcherfish

[SandyWhiting 0]

marko wrote:

Sandy that culinary photo you put up really did the trick, had to go and grab a couple of ham sandwiches with tomato sauce quick smart, very appetising! Have you thought of nominating for master chef?

Na Ill end up shredding all my competitors

[statesquider 0]

I just use a jarvis walker one. Sharpens up well but doesn't hold an edge for too long so I just sharpen it more often than i'd like...I use an old toothbrush for scrubbing out the blood from the backbone of fish. Cleans very quickly and effectively! :woohoo:

[reelin 2]

marko wrote:

Lads just wondered what filleting knife you have found best for general purpose on smaller fish e.g. KG, ST, Mullet etc? I have heard the old bone handled butter knives are great for their flexibility and sharpness, also that a "Fury" is really good, what do you reckon?Cheers lads, any advice appreciated, my "Tramontina" 3ft Machete, just doesn't do the trick!

I think you might find that the Fury Knife is actually the Furi brand of knives 1 of the four or 5 top knives favoured by chefs- Victorinox, Global, wusthoff, Mundial and furi all have really good filleting knives! i use my victorinox boning knive like chucks apart from mine has a slight upward curve sort of a curved dagger style! I also use a diamond steel every time i use the knife as you cant substitiute for sharpness!

[archerfish 685]

ReelinYou sound like someone with an appreciation of good knives...I suggest F. Dick, Zwilling Henckel and Shun could also be added to your list - along with a newcomer, Solicut.Cheersarcherfish

[afishyfish 4]

statesquider wrote:

I use an old toothbrush for scrubbing out the blood from the backbone of fish. Cleans very quickly and effectively! :woohoo:

dont forget what brush is what when it come to teeth cleaning time :ohmy:

[archerfish 685]

Probably a bit Off Topic, but has a link to previous posts...Good old toothbrushes!Hubby: "Whenever I get mad with you, you never seem to get upset. How do you manage to control your temper?"Wife: "I just go and clean the toilet."Hubby: "How does that help?"Wife: "I use your toothbrush."

[marko 0]

reelin wrote:

marko wrote:

Lads just wondered what filleting knife you have found best for general purpose on smaller fish e.g. KG, ST, Mullet etc? I have heard the old bone handled butter knives are great for their flexibility and sharpness, also that a "Fury" is really good, what do you reckon?Cheers lads, any advice appreciated, my "Tramontina" 3ft Machete, just doesn't do the trick!

I think you might find that the Fury Knife is actually the Furi brand of knives 1 of the four or 5 top knives favoured by chefs- Victorinox, Global, wusthoff, Mundial and furi all have really good filleting knives! i use my victorinox boning knive like chucks apart from mine has a slight upward curve sort of a curved dagger style! I also use a diamond steel every time i use the knife as you cant substitiute for sharpness!

Thanks Reelin, I'm beginning to feel "reelly" dull in my knowledge of filleting and fish knives, it would be great if we could organise some fish filleting techniques at a SAFWAA meeting some time! Hmmm any of the SAFWAA committee be able to organise that for the more ignorant members like me? Good filleting technique has got to be an important aspect of fishing guys, watcha reckon?

[archerfish 685]

Australian Fisheries Academy at Port Adelaide do a course in filleting - I found it to be reasonable value for money (although to clarify, I did do it a few years ago).http://www.afa.edu.au/courses_filleting.htmlCheersarcherfish

[statesquider 0]

i've been thinking of doing that course. My filleting is always a bit rusty as i don't do it often enough unless i'm on a big fishing trip. I really should invest in a decent knife for filleting. Will take some advice from the above posts and start hunting around...

[vapor 0]

i like my swibo boning knife

[rollcast 1]

I use a shefield steel butter knife for Gar.There is a bloke that sharpens and sells them specifically for filleting.The old high carbon steel holds an edge better than modern stainless.For whiting and most other fish I use a Martini filleting Knife from Finland and am surprised no one else has mentioned them.I used to have a superb Mundial that i used on bigger fish and for skinning(I don't scale)but I accidently snapped it.High carbon may hold a better edge but it is a bit brittle.cheers rollcast

[chevin 0]

marko wrote:

Lads just wondered what filleting knife you have found best for general purpose on smaller fish e.g. KG, ST, Mullet etc? I have heard the old bone handled butter knives are great for their flexibility and sharpness, also that a "Fury" is really good, what do you reckon?Cheers lads, any advice appreciated, my "Tramontina" 3ft Machete, just doesn't do the trick!

I use a Stren filleting knife, but filleting knives are personal things. I find the Stren is everything I want, easy to keep sharp and a nice thin flexible blade. However a mate of mine hates it and will only use his own knife. It is a Fin something I think and in his hands it is every bit as good as my Stren is in my hands.

[vb4me 1]

rollcast wrote:

I use a shefield steel butter knife for Gar.There is a bloke that sharpens and sells them specifically for filleting.The old high carbon steel holds an edge better than modern stainless.For whiting and most other fish I use a Martini filleting Knife from Finland and am surprised no one else has mentioned them.I used to have a superb Mundial that i used on bigger fish and for skinning(I don't scale)but I accidently snapped it.High carbon may hold a better edge but it is a bit brittle.cheers rollcast

Ive had a Martini for about 16 years, but being young and not very well versed in all things fishing used it as a general purpose knife. It has lost its point and the blade is a bit wavy but it stays bloody sharp and cuts a damn fine fillet still although I resorted to the JW's last time I filleted as I seem to have misplaced the martini