Knives for Cleaning Fish

[Porthos]

I fish for trout in the eastern Sierras. For years I have used a basic fisherman's filet knife to clean the fish including cutting off the head (removal of the head at my wife's request). I struggle to keep an edge on the knife after cleaning the day's catch for my family. It dawned on my that maybe I should be using something more like a chef's knife for the head removal and the filet knife for the balance of the cleaning. Is this rational thinking or should I expect the filet knife to hold up against the fish bones. I typically clean fifteen 12- 16 0z or so trout in a session.

Porthos Powatcher

The Unrelenting Carnivore

[scubadoo97]

sounds reasonable to me. I like the flexible fillet knife when filleting or removing skin but a thicker knife would be welcomed when it comes to cutting through bone as in removing the head.

[Chad]

I fish for trout in the eastern Sierras. For years I have used a basic fisherman's filet knife to clean the fish including cutting off the head (removal of the head at my wife's request). I struggle to keep an edge on the knife after cleaning the day's catch for my family. It dawned on my that maybe I should be using something more like a chef's knife for the head removal and the filet knife for the balance of the cleaning. Is this rational thinking or should I expect the filet knife to hold up against the fish bones. I typically clean fifteen 12- 16 0z or so trout in a session.

Porthos Powatcher

The Unrelenting Carnivore

←

The Japanese know a thing or two about cleaning fish. The traditional Japanese knife for basic fish butchering is called a deba. It is a big honkin' cruiserweight knife ideally suited for cutting off fish heads and breaking down sides. The middleweight version is called a mioroshi deba and is good for smaller to midsize fishies. Both are single beveled traditional Japanese knives with rounded lightweight handles. They'll feel weird at first but do an amazing job.

On the other hand, a heavy chef's knife or western deba (sometimes called a yo-deba) might be more suited to your hands and comfort zone. Both will have a standard double beveled edge and European style handles. The heavy chef's knife will have a more obtuse edge angle and softer steel. It will withstand lots of abuse but won't match the cutting efficiency of the western deba, which will have much harder steel and a better edge. I have a Tojiro 240mm western deba (scroll down for it) and it is a beast. I use it to chop barbecue, hack through light bones and do just about anything else where I need a good edge and axe-like strength.

Splitting the difference would be a Chef's Choice 8" or 10" chef's knife. The Chef's Choice knives use higher quality and harder steel than most European style knives. They come with edges that are more obtuse than I like but you'd have to work pretty hard to damage one.

On the other hand, if you've had success with a cheap fillet knife maybe you just need to upgrade to a higher quality knife. Phil Wilson at SeaMount Knifeworks is justly famous for his fillet knives. The S30V, S60V and S90V he uses can maintain flexibility even at the upper ranges of Rockwell hardness. This might be the best solution if you don't mind spending some money.

Hope this helps,

Chad

Edited January 22, 2007 by Chad (log)

[Octaveman]

I don't fish nor would I probably ever be in a situation where I lop off heads and filet my own fish but here's what I've heard from people who do. A good heavy duty knife for breaking down (head, tail) and a good flexible filet knife for the rest of the job. As it's not necessary to get super high quality many have bought the Tosagata brand of Japanese knives for this purpose. They are double beveled, strong and quite good for the money. They have a rustic look to them that many find appealing. This Atsu Deba is used specifically for fish in Japan.

Source on the East coast

Source on the West coast

As far as a filet knife, I have no clue what to recommend as Tosagata doesn't make one. The goal is flexibility with them and I would imagine any decent brand would be fine. HERE is a website that has many to choose from.

Bob

[Porthos]

Chad,

Thanks for the info. I only do this (the fish cleaning) one week per year so I'm not looking to spend very much for a "special" knife for the job but I do have an idea...

Thanks to your eGCI article on knife sharpening I finally screwed up the courage to learn to sharpen my own knives (I'm in my early fifties). I've certainly not become an expert but I am making steady progress. I finally was willing to do a light sharpening of my JA Henkels 8" chef's knife and my 7" JA Henkels Santuko and SUCCEEDED!! BUt like so often I digress...

To apply what I learned from your article I bought a lot of 4 knives off of ebay that were in sad need of help, one being a 10" F.Dick. Following your instructions I was able to create a new edge on one of the others knives. The F.Dick has been a little more difficult to put a really good edge on but I am, when I have the time, still working on it. Thanks to your reply I now have a goal for the knife beyond just learning. It will become the knife for the head removal of the trout.

Thanks for your reply and the inspriation that has come from it.

[Chad]

Chad,

Thanks for the info.  I only do this (the fish cleaning) one week per year so I'm not looking to spend very much for a "special" knife for the job but I do have an idea...

Thanks to your eGCI article on knife sharpening I finally screwed up the courage to learn to sharpen my own knives (I'm in my early fifties).

Woohoo! That's always great to hear.

I bought a lot of 4 knives off of ebay that were in sad need of help, one being a 10" F.Dick.  <snippity doo dah>  It will become the knife for the head removal of the trout.

←

That sounds like an excellent idea. Getting a couple of beater knives to practice on was a great start. Being able to repurpose one of them for your piscatorial guillotining is even better. That 10" F. Dick sounds about ideal. Let us know how it turns out.

Take care,

Chad

Edited January 22, 2007 by Chad (log)

[budrichard]

Cleaning fish and filleting fish are two different things. A filet knife is flexible to allow it to follow the rib contour while removing the flesh from the bones, as such the knife is more delicate than a chef's knife or any of the Japanese blades I have seen. So if your cleaning fish rather than filleting fish, a knife with a sturdy blade will probably hold the edge better breaking the neck bone while a filet knife is not really meant for cutting bone.

I have heard a lot about Wilson's blade but just don't have one yet.-Dick

[Porthos]

ANOTHER IMAGE TEST

[Country Cook]

I've always wanted one of these.

http://Knifezone.ca

The D.H. Russell Trout & Bird (#2) is actually designed for what you are doing and it looks great.

Edited January 23, 2007 by Country Cook (log)

[Sam Salmon]

I've always wanted one of these.

Knifezone.ca

The D.H. Russell Trout & Bird (#2) is actually designed for what you are doing and it looks great.

←

I own one of those it's well made and suitable for the job although in no way outstanding.

It has stood up to 10+ years of use in a saltwater environment though so maybe I shouldn't be too hard on it.

It's used as a bait cutting knife not for cleaning as it's too small for anything I kill/clean.

[andiesenji]

I'm bumping this up because I came across this J. Marttiini Finnish fish knife while searching for something else in my storage room.

I don't recall when I got it but it was a very long time ago because my memory is usually pretty good, also this was in a box that hasn't been opened for 20 years or more.

 

I see quite a few on ebay but I wanted to know if anyone here has one and has used one and how they perform, hold an edge, etc., since the blade is stainless, not carbon steel.

 

[Tere]

What a beautiful thing!

 

Also I need to add sharpen knives to my to do list

[AlaMoi]

"...hold an edge..."

 

irrelevant to people who covet such knives.  every other fish they take the knife/(s) "back to the stones"

[Porthos]

23 hours ago, andiesenji said:

I'm bumping this up because I came across this J. Marttiini Finnish fish knife while searching for something else in my storage room.

 

 

 

 

 

I could not begin to count the number of trout I have cleaned over the decades with mine. Still in service.

[Smithy]

I have one also, newer than Andie's, but I wouldn't be without it.  It's a classic, and it has worked well over the years.

[Martin Fisher]

Marttiini (Rapala) fillet knives are almost as common as fish!!! 

Millions have been sold!

Rapala first introduced their Marttiini made "Fish 'n Fillet® Knives" over 50 years ago...~1964!!

They are (or were) a good economical utilitarian knife.

Edited February 4, 2016 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[andiesenji]

Thanks for the info.  I'm going to send this to my granddaughter who is an avid fisher.  She is now at Davis but there are some fine fishing spots not far from there.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I know this is unusual, but I use a boning/fillet knife for almost all prep, and enjoy it. It's one of my most pleasant kitchen tasks. It is just so precise, thin, light and sharp. I rarely find a need for another knife, and *knocks wood* I have not cut myself in many decades. It is my very favorite tool in my kitchen.

 

I do pull out a big Old Hickory high-carbon steel butcher knife (cleaver like, but with a rounded tip that comes to a point) to cleave a watermelon or large squash occasionally. To me it is a blunt instrument, as are most other knives. Over thirty years ago I used this same Old Hickory knife to chop down a Christmas tree with a 3-1/2" trunk because I was lacking a saw or an ax. It took me a while even with the vigor of youth, but I got the job done.

[paulraphael]

On February 5, 2016 at 3:34 AM, Thanks for the Crepes said:

I know this is unusual, but I use a boning/fillet knife for almost all prep, and enjoy it. 

 

On February 5, 2016 at 3:34 AM, Thanks for the Crepes said:

 

I do pull out a big Old Hickory high-carbon steel butcher knife (cleaver like, but with a rounded tip that comes to a point) to cleave a watermelon or large squash occasionally.

 

That's funny ... I use my Forschner filleting knife (cheap!) on watermelon and squash even more than on fish. The paper-thin blade is perfect for not getting wedged in the thick rinds of that stuff. Often the knife just slips through. Mine is much too small for the initial butchering of a big mellon (a thin Japanese bread knife works nicely here). But for making slices once the thing is sectioned, the fillet knife is great.

 

I consider using it for a lot of things where the food is hard and rigid, and so the main impediment is the blade getting wedged.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

@paulraphael

 

Me too. I just quartered a kabocha squash for dinner tonight with my fillet knife only. It's just not really long enough to handle a watermelon or large squash (like a Hubbard), but after I've cut the behemoth into manageable units, I always go back to the trusty fillet/boning knife. I even use it on butternut squash. I consider it my best friend in the kitchen.

 

It's the best for disjointing poultry and cutting between vertebrae and such, as well as making thin, precise slices, or curved cuts, like cutting watermelon flesh from the rind. I own a cheese slicer, the kind with the thin wire and the roller on a handle, but never use it because I can get thinner and more uniform slices with my knife.

 

Mine's a cheap one too, Pinnacle Cutlery stainless and made in Taiwan. I picked it up at Dollar General many years ago for the sum of $2.00.  The blade length is only 4-3/4" with the sharp edge being only 4". It still does 99% of what I need to do, and I find it easy to control, and therefore safer. I fervently wish I had bought more when they were on offer, just in case something happens to my little daily companion and workhorse (pony?). It still sharpens up to almost razor sharp and holds that edge respectably well. I baby it though, and no one else is allowed to touch it, much less use it.

Edited February 11, 2016 by Thanks for the Crepes (log)

[Porthos]

Threre have been many threads on eG about knives. I think some of the responses in this thread accurately prove out that the choice of knives is very personal.

 

I love using my filet knife, as mentioned above, for cleaning trout. But I can't imagine using it as an everyday knife in the kitchen. For most kitchen work anything less than a 10" chef's knife feels like a toy in my hand. But that doesn't make me right. That says the a 10" chef's knife if the right knife for me. If a filet knife feels right for you, then that indeed is the right knife for you.

 

Cook on.

[palo]

Since I don't tend to use the "rocking/chopping" method most times a filet knife often comes to hand.

 

p

[Paul Bacino]

Our go to Field knife..  for Walleye, Bass, Northern and Gills and crappie!!

 

Is  Electric Knives  like below..  You can take the plug end off and  use clips and then you can use can use your boat motor 

 

http://www.cabelas.com/product/fishing/fishing-tools/fillet-knives-fish-processing|/pc/104793480/c/104720580/sc/104320980/rapala-reg-heavy-duty-electric-fillet-knife/1679159.uts?destination=%2Fcategory%2FFillet-Knives-Fish-Processing%2F104320980.uts%3FWT.srch%3D1%26WT.tsrc%3DPPC%26rid%3D20%26WT.mc_id%3DMICROSOFT%257Cfis_Fishing%252BTools_Fillet%252BKnives%252BFish%252BProcessing%257CUSA%26WT.z_mc_id1%3D43700001510909692%26gclid%3DCIHkwJbK8MoCFcGpMgodhbkOuw%26gclsrc%3Dds

[Thanks for the Crepes]

12 hours ago, Porthos said:

Threre have been many threads on eG about knives. I think some of the responses in this thread accurately prove out that the choice of knives is very personal.

 

I love using my filet knife, as mentioned above, for cleaning trout. But I can't imagine using it as an everyday knife in the kitchen. For most kitchen work anything less than a 10" chef's knife feels like a toy in my hand. But that doesn't make me right. That says the a 10" chef's knife if the right knife for me. If a filet knife feels right for you, then that indeed is the right knife for you.

 

Cook on.

 

Porthos,

 

I agree that my choice of a fillet/boning knife for most knife work is quite unusual. I have several chef's knives, but they are unwieldy and just clumsy to me. I suspect those who favor them (the vast majority) may be bigger and stronger than me. But as you alluded to it takes all kinds to make up an interesting world, and if your results are good, who really cares how you got there? 

 

Cook on!

[chefmd]

Just found this on in a thrift shop!  Bought spoon rest, bamboo skewers, and this beauty (looks brand new) for 2.39.  OK, 2.40 since I left a penny behind in case someone needs it.