Fillet Knife and sharpening

[Slackdaddy]

Soo, as far as sharpening,, Anything that is done "Freehand" I will suck at and not keep a constant angle.
I see those guys/gals on the docks cleaning peoples fish,, they don't have an elaborate sharpener? I have also never seen them use an "Electric knife"

 

[Slackdaddy]

I have the same problem with kitchen knifes. Everytime we do steak, I use my Spyderco Triangle Sharpmaker on them for several quick swipes on each side. Actually keep the Spyderco fully deployed on the kitchen counter now just for that.

There is nothing worse than trying to cut up a steak with a dull knife.

View attachment 465501

Wellll, I could think of a few thing?

 

[outrider58]

Soo, as far as sharpening,, Anything that is done "Freehand" I will suck at and not keep a constant angle.
I see those guys/gals on the docks cleaning peoples fish,, they don't have an elaborate sharpener? I have also never seen them use an "Electric knife"

Once properly sharpened, all you need is either butcher's steel rod or crock sticks to 'touch' up the edge.
I have my Buck 110 that has dressed over a hundred deer. That includes splitting the ribcage all the way up. The only time it touched a stone was the day I bought it and changed the blade angle. I clean it after every use(sometimes that would be multiple deer in the same day) and simply touch the edge up on crock sticks.

 

[alucard0822]

The Victorinox (formerly Forschner*) 6 inch Semi-Stiff, boning knife is also a pretty good boning knife that the Bearded Butchers use. They don't state what SS is used on the blade but it does the job.

Most under $100 use some form of 4cr13, basically chinese 400 series steel somewhere around 420, cheap, tough, good corrosion resistance, doesn't hold an edge well, and the edge rolls easily. Even so, a decent sharpening geometry can make it perform decently well. It does come back by steeling on a rod easily. You can sharpen to a decent edge, and provided you dont beat it up on bone, you can just steel it every so often, and rarely sharpen it. There are some decent knives that use steel from The US or Europe around 420HC spec, it's a definite step up, and harder. Even so not even close to VG10 kind of the entry to good kitchen steel. In the pocket knife world VG10 is a basic steel Spyderco made famous being it's well rounded. My VG10 stuff practically never needs to be sharpened, the edge is razor sharp for a very long time, and easily straightened out with a steel rod. If it starts getting dull, and doesn't come back as quick on the steel rod, a couple passes on my belt grinder with a leather belt strops it back. Newer powdered metalurgy steels like 4v and Magnacut have the capability to be insanely good. Problem is some makers don't use the best geometry and edge angles.

 

[Slackdaddy]

Most under $100 use some form of 4cr13, basically chinese 400 series steel somewhere around 420, cheap, tough, good corrosion resistance, doesn't hold an edge well, and the edge rolls easily. Even so, a decent sharpening geometry can make it perform decently well. It does come back by steeling on a rod easily. There are some decent knives that use steel from The US or Europe around 420HC spec, it's a definite step up, and harder. Even so not even close to VG10 kind of the entry to good kitchen steel. In the knife snow world VG10 is a basic steel less expensive Spydercos made famous. Newer powdered metalurgy steels like 4v and Magnacut have the capability to be insanely good. Problem is some makers don't use the best geometry and edge angles.

I just wanna clean a fish

 

[Slackdaddy]

Once properly sharpened, all you need is either butcher's steel rod or crock sticks to 'touch' up the edge.
I have my Buck 110 that has dressed over a hundred deer. That includes splitting the ribcage all the way up. The only time it touched a stone was the day I bought it and changed the blade angle. I clean it after every use(sometimes that would be multiple deer in the same day) and simply touch the edge up on crock sticks.

Noted,, thanks

 

[alucard0822]

I just wanna clean a fish

https://cutleryandmore.com/collections/boning-fillet-knives

I have a couple VG10 core Yaxell knives and they are fantastic and beautiful for a decent price. Get a good steel and ceramic rod and a clamp on or magnetic angle guide around 17 degrees, and enjoy. Don't touch it with any power sharpener, or without an angle guide till you get used to holding the correct angle when steeling it. Couple gentle swipes on the steel before use, clean it well by hand after, and touch up on the ceramic rod if you use it a ton and it begins to take more pressure to use. Shouldn't take more than a couple swipes on the ceramic rod after a LOT of use over months. Should last several years before it needs any more than that.

 

[remrug]

Soo, as far as sharpening,, Anything that is done "Freehand" I will suck at and not keep a constant angle.
I see those guys/gals on the docks cleaning peoples fish,, they don't have an elaborate sharpener? I have also never seen them use an "Electric knife"

I have filleted a ton of fish with a regular fillet knife until me and a friend came back with a cooler full of croakers. After an hour or so we were half done. An old guy came in with some croakers and whipped out a regular kitchen fillet knife and cleaned his in no time at all.
When he offered me his knife ,I jumped on it. I still use a regular knife if I have a few fish , but if I have a bunch of fish or big fish to fillet , I whip out my electric fillet knife.

 

[Slackdaddy]

https://cutleryandmore.com/collections/boning-fillet-knives

I have a couple VG10 core Yaxell knives and they are fantastic and beautiful for a decent price. Get a good steel and ceramic rod and a clamp on or magnetic angle guide around 17 degrees, and enjoy. Don't touch it with any power sharpener, or without an angle guide till you get used to holding the correct angle when steeling it. Couple gentle swipes on the steel before use, clean it well by hand after, and touch up on the ceramic rod if you use it a ton and it begins to take more pressure to use. Shouldn't take more than a couple swipes on the ceramic rod after a LOT of use over months. Should last several years before it needs any more than that.

I am finding a ton of "G10 Fillet knives",, problem is they are all G10 handles

 

[Slackdaddy]

I have filleted a ton of fish with a regular fillet knife until me and a friend came back with a cooler full of croakers. After an hour or so we were half done. An old guy came in with some croakers and whipped out a regular kitchen fillet knife and cleaned his in no time at all.
When he offered me his knife ,I jumped on it. I still use a regular knife if I have a few fish , but if I have a bunch of fish or big fish to fillet , I whip out my electric fillet knife.

I'll bite,, what was his knife??
What is the difference between your "Regular fillet knife" and his "Regular Kitchen fillet knife" ?

 

[outrider58]

My creature peelers

 

[remrug]

I'll bite,, what was his knife??
What is the difference between your "Regular fillet knife" and his "Regular Kitchen fillet knife" ?

Sorry for that. I meant to say a regular kitchen electric knife for carving turkeys and ham. The blade doesnt come to a point like an electric fillet knife.
I use one that is made for filleting fish. It has a pointed blades

 

[Slackdaddy]

My creature peelers

View attachment 465598

Nice,, Sourdough or french bread when your cleaning fish ??

 

[outrider58]

One good way to preserve you filet knives' edges, especially when dealing with scaly fish is, use a bread knife to make the first cut behind the gills. It will saw right through the scales. Then proceed down the spine towards the tail with your filet knife. When I go down the spine/dorsal, I like to lead with the tip of the knife under the skin and cut that skin from the inside out, instead of sawing...

You missed this part ^^^

Nice,, Sourdough or french bread when your cleaning fish ??

 

[platoonDaddy]

ACE Hardware in Crofton has a sharpener that puts on a great edge. Worth the $7

 

[Slackdaddy]

ACE Hardware in Crofton has a sharpener that puts on a great edge. Worth the $7

Does it let you set the angle ??

 

[justiw]

Spiderco sharpmaker is pretty easy to use but perhaps a little pricey. The Lansky styles are also good and easy to use. It is also possible to make one yourself pretty easily.

Sharpening by hand on flat stones followed by some light stropping is the best method. I understand some people cannot do it, or just think they can't. I suggest you try to learn.

Steel is pretty important, but not necessarily the type of steel. Heat treatment is the critical step. Most commercial blades are very soft in the 55-58 RC range, tough as nails but poor edge retention. Some higher end stuff is around 60RC, can be chippy if done poorly but otherwise good performance. Customs can eek out all the performance and go typically 61-63 RC with some even harder. Nothing will beat a good custom with a thin stock, good steel selection and HT, ground down to 0 thickness behind the edge before sharpening, and sharpened at 12-15 degrees per side. Nothing.

That said, it's a beater filet knife, so look at the Victorinox offerings, grab a sharpener you are comfortable in using and get to work.

If you want a custom, ask and I will be happy to make you one.

 

[Wsanner]

As far as a sharpener, I still use a Lansky that my grandfather gave me over 30 years ago. I haven't found a knife that it wont make a razor. Know, as far as fileting cats, get you a Mr Twister Piranah. They are cheap enough and you can replace the blades when you need to. I filet thousands a year and can knock out a fish in less than a minute. If you want to stay with a traditional knife, look at the Cuda serrated.

 

[platoonDaddy]

Does it let you set the angle ??

No, the laser does about three passes and then adjusted the angle

 

[Slackdaddy]

No, the laser does about three passes and then adjusted the angle

Ugh,,
So I would not know the angle to touch up.