Fish filleting knives

The other day I laid my hands on some ungutted Arctic char. I found out gutting is easy with any sharp enough paring knife but filleting isn't. I would like to give filleting a try.
Having no know-how I went to youtube. Watched some instructive vids. It struck me that both upward-curved western style and Japanese style knives are being used.

I saw a cheap one from Angel Berger getting good reviews on amazon.de: https://www.amazon.de/Anglermesser-F.../dp/B001OIKP9S Is it any good? Or should I buy something better read more expensive?

What do you guys use?

I've been using "Dexter" high carbon filet knives, since I was a kid. These two have outlasted all the others I've tried, especially in edge retention.

6 inch blades:
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Did I mention...their inexpensive.! Typically under 30$

I also use a small 4" stainless blade, made by Rapala, from Finland, just for deboning/removing the rib cage from yellow perch.
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Nothing better than fresh, fish.

Finnish made Rapala filleting knives are common around here. Not being a fisherman could not say how good they are.

Bob

This is my go-to fillet knife. $15 and I simply put a handle on it. I've done a bunch of them and have one sitting on my work bench waiting for a handle now. They also work great for removing silverskin from deer back straps.

https://www.texasknife.com/vcom/prod...roducts_id=597

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Here are some I did to give you an idea of what they look like completed.

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Their not too bad, Bob. One of the better choices, for mass produced filet knives. But the edge doesn't hold up for cleaning lots of fish, like I do.

Nice looking knife, D. The handle looks comfortable, to the shape of the blade.

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Originally Posted by outback

Their not too bad. One of the better choices, for mass produced filet knives. But the edge doesn't hold up for cleaning lots of fish, like I do.

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Correct. The edge retention is fair to good, but not excellent. However, they are easier to sharpen than many other stainless factory knives that I have used. I keep a ceramic "steel" near by for touch-ups when things get serious. It's hard to beat properly heat treated high carbon steel. It holds a good edge and is easy to sharpen. As long as people know how to care for it, it is a great choice for a kitchen fillet knife (probably not a great choice to keep in the boat tackle box). Trouble is that many people will let it rust.

I guess it all hinges around what size of fish that you regularly deal with. Missing from the group shot I’d my scimitar. With the scimitar I can go down the back, to the ribs, and do fillets while leaving the belly intact, or With the round tip I can go through the ribs and follow the spine to the tail, flip them around and remove the ribs with the smaller knives. The round tip is also the bees knees when it comes to skinning halibut.
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I guess it all hinges around what size of fish that you regularly deal with. Missing from the group shot is my scimitar. With the scimitar I can go down the back, to the ribs, and do fillets while leaving the belly intact, or With the round tip I can go through the ribs and follow the spine to the tail, flip them around and remove the ribs with the smaller knives. The round tip is also the bees knees when it comes to skinning halibut.
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Originally Posted by RezDog

I guess it all hinges around what size of fish that you regularly deal with. Missing from the group shot I’d my scimitar. With the scimitar I can go down the back, to the ribs, and do fillets while leaving the belly intact, or With the round tip I can go through the ribs and follow the spine to the tail, flip them around and remove the ribs with the smaller knives. The round tip is also the bees knees when it comes to skinning halibut.
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Top knife looks suspiciously like a Rapala?

Bob

Well I can’t tell anymore. It’s very old. It is from Finland, I remember that, I’ve had it for likely 40 plus years. Has that company ways been called Rapala?

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Originally Posted by RezDog

Well I can’t tell anymore. It’s very old. It is from Finland, I remember that, I’ve had it for likely 40 plus years. Has that company ways been called Rapala?

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I don't know how long Rapala has been around but the handle design is typical for Finnish knives.

Bob

The one I posted is around that old. I've had it since my early teens. Their over 50 years in the making, by what the company says.

Rapala knives were Martini knives before Rapala bought them out in the early 2000’s. Now they are inexpensive stainless steel, but the old Martinis were carbon or carbinox, a better grade of stainless.

The old Martini’s had the brand name engraved on the blade, by hand in script. Before Martini there were Puukko knives by Frost and company, (a consortium of Finnish cutlers that made knives under the Frost -Erickson brand but signed them in the fuller), that later became Mora. Vintage Martini’s and Frost Puukko’s can bring well over a hundred dollars and those with birchbark handles and or sheaths even more to collectors, they are highly collectable.

The new Rapalas are made of inexpensive Stainless, but as said it all depends on what you are doing with it and how it is sharpened. You can certainly sharpen a stainless knife well enough to clean and filet a couple fish. But for serous work get old carbon steel. You can pick up an old Ontario or Dexter carbon steel filet knife for $5-10 at any antique swap meet or flea market. Honed on a 600-diamond plate, it will cut fish all day long, and easily touched up on a diamond plate.

New “high carbon” stainless Dexter’s are about $20. The trick to fileting is a sharp knife with a bit of give in the blade to follow the spine and ribcage down the spine.

Yes, Puukko is a typical Finnish belt knife design but in use refers to a knife.

Bob

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Originally Posted by Euclid440

Rapala knives were Martini knives before Rapala bought them out in the early 2000’s. Now they are inexpensive stainless steel, but the old Martinis were carbon or carbinox, a better grade of stainless.

The old Martini’s had the brand name engraved on the blade, by hand in script. Before Martini there were Puukko knives by Frost and company, (a consortium of Finnish cutlers that made knives under the Frost -Erickson brand but signed them in the fuller), that later became Mora. Vintage Martini’s and Frost Puukko’s can bring well over a hundred dollars and those with birchbark handles and or sheaths even more to collectors, they are highly collectable.

The new Rapalas are made of inexpensive Stainless, but as said it all depends on what you are doing with it and how it is sharpened. You can certainly sharpen a stainless knife well enough to clean and filet a couple fish. But for serous work get old carbon steel. You can pick up an old Ontario or Dexter carbon steel filet knife for $5-10 at any antique swap meet or flea market. Honed on a 600-diamond plate, it will cut fish all day long, and easily touched up on a diamond plate.

New “high carbon” stainless Dexter’s are about $20. The trick to fileting is a sharp knife with a bit of give in the blade to follow the spine and ribcage down the spine.

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Mine has the Martini signature, with original, leather sheath, and birch handle.

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But I doubt it worth that kind of cheddar.

“Puukko” knives were utility knives that were made in a variety of blade designs, but commonly were what became known as Scandi ground, work knives. Prior to Martini making fishing knives for Rapala that style of narrow, thin blade design was in use by knife makers, (though shorter blades) by the Finnish cutlers of the Frost -Erickson consortium and before.

Depending on use, Puukko knives were designed or modified/reground for specific use. A fisherman could buy or regrind a thinner pointier blade. There is no single vintage, Puukko knife blade design.

I have a collection of vintage Puukko knives by a variety of Fin, makers. Most all have a bit different blade design. The early knives were not all factory made.

I bought this one, just this morning. With a much narrower blade and of Carbon steel. The horse head is an old traditional pommel design, as is this style of leather sheath. This knife was most probably not a working knife but more of an up-scale presentation knife, where the gift of a knife is considered a high honor.

It should clean up nicely.


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Mike, that is one of the old Rapala’s made by Martini with the better blades.

The handle is Birch, the Birch bark handles were glued & stacked bark, similar to the leather stacked handles on old Kbars.

Sheath were also woven from strips of wet Birch bark. So if you see one in the wild, might be worth picking up.

One on the good ones that will take and hold an edge.

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Originally Posted by Euclid440

Mike, that is one of the old Rapala’s made by Martini with the better blades.

The handle is Birch, the Birch bark handles were glued & stacked bark, similar to the leather stacked handles on old Kbars.

Sheath were also woven from strips of wet Birch bark. So if you see one in the wild, might be worth picking up.

One on the good ones that will take and hold an edge.

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Hmmm. Don't think I've ever seen one of those. I shall look more closely, while on my hunts in the wilds.

Mine also originally had script writing on the blade. Likely the martini brand then. Second blade in my picture is a Mora, but not one of the old Mora knives. It’s probably only ten or fifteen years old. Once upon a time I had quite a few frost knives, they were all older knives and were great. None of them float though.

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Originally Posted by RezDog

Mine also originally had script writing on the blade. Likely the martini brand then. Second blade in my picture is a Mora, but not one of the old Mora knives. It’s probably only ten or fifteen years old. Once upon a time I had quite a few frost knives, they were all older knives and were great. None of them float though.

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That is from the little people that live under the water. They can't start fires to forge anything so they have magnets that they pull anything steel like knifes over the edge of the boat or down the hole of your ice fishing shack.

Yep, and now their playing with electronics. How that works for them IDK, but they've stolen 3 of my buddies phones, while in the ice house, amongst many other items.

Another on the job, abandoned junk pile item I got for free.

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That is pretty fancy leather work. Especially since it looks like it came with the knife.

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Originally Posted by planeden

That is pretty fancy leather work. Especially since it looks like it came with the knife.

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Looks like the sheath came with the knife from the examples I have seen around here. Checked the company site to make sure my memory was not faulty.

https://www.marttiini.fi/epages/Mart...kot-ja-filetit


I'd check their web site out to see the whole line they offer from quite reasonable to expensive for custom jobs.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

Looks like the sheath came with the knife from the examples I have seen around here. Checked the company site to make sure my memory was not faulty.

https://www.marttiini.fi/epages/Mart...kot-ja-filetit


I'd check their web site out to see the whole line they offer from quite reasonable to expensive for custom jobs.

Bob

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I catch my fish filleted. Funny thing, apparently I have been filleting my beef thinking I had a boning knife. I am a big fan of this Victorinox knife, though.

https://www.swissarmy.com/us/en/Prod...le/p/5.3763.20

Thinking about this thread and although I need another knife like another hole in the head I visited a store and had them open a cabinet.

Nicer sheath but a more modern plastic handle with cracks............:gaah:

Here in a vintage Frost Puukko with a stacked Birchbark handle. The birchbark handles were supposed to float.

And a Birchbark sheath.

The Martini/ Rapala sheaths were machine embossed. The old Puukko’s were hand made both the knives, and sheath. There are some good old videos of some of the old timers making knives, engraving, carving stacked birchbark handles and hand making and decorating sheaths.


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Originally Posted by RezDog

Well I can’t tell anymore. It’s very old. It is from Finland, I remember that, I’ve had it for likely 40 plus years. Has that company ways been called Rapala?

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Rapala have been going since 1936. https://www.rapala.com/eu-en/content...r-history.html