What do you guys think is the best fillet knife for the money? Is there just one? Or is one the best for pan fish and one for walleye and pike? I have had a black Rapala knife since I was about 12 years old and it has not been properly taken care of and wont hold an edge so I am looking to invest in one or maybe two new fillet knifes. Preferably knifes that will hold an edge and can be sharpened easily. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Last year I did a lot of research on this topic and ended up buying this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Dexter-Russell-S133-8C-Sani-Safe-8/dp/B001ST3X06/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1419346502&sr=8-2&keywords=dexter+filet+knife
It’s a great knife for not a lot of money. Holds an edge and is not a pain in the butt to sharpen. Read the reviews for more context.
Budget?
A Wusthof Classic is on my list. Not cheap, but I have been nothing but happy with all my others.
Get an electric knife – Smoothest filets you will get. I bought a Rapala, and it shorted out on me after 3 uses. Switched over to the $25 Mr. Twister and it has worked very well. They are inexpensive and well worth the money. Buy a cheap Rapala for trimming.
WW
I haven’t heard of the Dexter Russell … I’ll have to do some diggin’ on that one. And I own 3 other Wusthof kitchen knives that I absolutely love. 70 bucks isn’t terrible if I knew for sure it was going to stay sharp and last. It’s just hard to justify it when you can buy 3 other knives for the price of the Wusthof. On the note of staying sharp … How do you guys sharpen your knives?
On the note of staying sharp … How do you guys sharpen your knives?
My kitchen knives I take to Eversharp Knives in Minneapolis. For $2 a knife and 30 minutes of time, it’s well worth it to me.
Folding knives, etc, I use a Lansky kit. It takes a while, though, and I am no pro, so when I bring in my Wusthofs, I usually have them touch up anything else I have. 
Here’s what I use to sharpen my knives. Takes some elbow grease to do this but I end up with a better longer lasting edge than having someone professionally sharpen them.
I have heard that this is a great sharpener but you need to follow the directions or you can ruin the tip by rounding it off.
Dexter Russell does make nice knifes, oldest American manufacturer.
I’ve had the dexter knife for the last 3 seasons. It’s the best knife I’ve ever cut fish with.
Filet knives feel differently to everyone. Last Sat I pulled out an expensive custom knife to work on some gills. It was handmade in norther Wi by some old timer. Beautiful knife with what was supposed to be a superior blade shape for filleting gills. I ended up going back to the el cheapo to take the fillets off then just skinning with the expensive one. There are so many variables for each individual. For example most people like a very flexible fillet knife. I do not. That’s why I don’t use the Wustoff fillet knife even after spending a lot of money on it. One thing everyone agrees on is a sharp knife. I can put an edge on mine using any method. My el cheapo knife has ceramic sticks built into the handle and they work great for touching it up while filleting. Otherwise my go-to sharpener now is the Stay-Sharp system. I have carbide sticks too that I use when traveling. I dont care for them as much because they take so much material off. I have and can use stones but only as a last resort. I just dont care for the mess or time it takes.
Well suzuki … since you don’t use the wusthof .. you feel like selling it to me for cheap??? lol
I was given the knives of alaska fisherman’s combo for christmas last year with their Coho and Steelheader knives and have to say, their steelheader knife is awesome! Holds an edge well, and it’s SUPER easy to grip even with slimy hands. I use it for everything (unfortunately since that means I’m not catching the big salmon i’d been hoping for). The only thing I don’t like is the sheath. I’ve been thinking of trying to find a good leather or kydex sheath for them. I sharpen them on my spyderco sharp maker and they’re razors.
Well suzuki … since you don’t use the wusthof .. you feel like selling it to me for cheap??? lol
LOL! I use it for other stuff. Trimming meat and such. It looks nice in the block!
Get an electric knife – Smoothest filets you will get. I bought a Rapala, and it shorted out on me after 3 uses. Switched over to the $25 Mr. Twister and it has worked very well. They are inexpensive and well worth the money. Buy a cheap Rapala for trimming.
WW
X2.
-J.
The Workshop sharpener works very well for me.
-J.
LOL! I use it for other stuff. Trimming meat and such. It looks nice in the block!
They work great for butterflying pork chops!
I use a electric knife and the cheap rapala fillet knifes with the birch handles. My worksharp keeps them like scalpels. I also have a folding Normark fillet knife I keep in my back back.
Mwal
This is a tough one because knife choice is so much down to personal preference, they type of fish you fillet, filleting methods, etc.
I have noticed that there seems to be a conflict between how flexible a knife is and how long it holds an edge. The very flexible knife I own, a Rapala Limited Edition by some Finnish cutlery maker doesn’t hold an edge very well. My other knife is a Buck, which takes a fantastic edge, but it much less flexible than the Rapala.
I’m not sure if there is middle ground here, or if greater flex means softer steel, which means less edge retention?
For sharpening, I’ve never been quite sure why people seem to agonize so much over knife sharpening? I’ve even had foodies tell me in all honesty that you can “ruin” a knife by not having a factory-authorized place sharpen it. Cobblers!
There are dozens of good ceramic sharpening systems out there. I bought one 15 years ago for less than $30. Combined with a fine wetstone and a strop, it puts a razor edge on anything. If you’re a woodworker, you should already have everything you need to sharpen plane irons and chisels, but if not stones are not very expensive. If you don’t have a leather strop, a piece of paper from a brown grocery bag held on a flat piece of glass works just fine for that final touch.
What I’ve found for all knives is that it’s vastly easier to sharpen knives if you keep them sharp in the first place. It takes 15 minutes to touch up every kitchen knife I own. It’s really easy to keep things sharp.
But if someone really dulls one, like say my mother takes my 6 inch Global chef knife and cuts something on a glass tray instead of a cutting board and dulls the royal crap out of it. In that case, it takes 15 minutes just to put an edge back on that one knife with the sharpener and a waterstone.
Grouse
I got tired of trying to keep an edge on my old Rapala, so last summer I sprung for a Leech lake. So far I like it a lot. If you decide to get one, buy a box of bandages too.
I own three different knives. A cheap Rapala, a cheap Electric Mr. Twister and a expensive Leech Lake. If I have power available, I always use the Mr. Twister. If not, I generally use the Rapala. It’ll last a few years, then throw it away. Normally I don’t use the Leech Lake. It’s nice, but doesn’t function any better than the other two.
I have a few of the Rapala models. They are cheap, but as long as you keep a good sharp edge on them, they work well. I also use the Worksharp to sharpen the knives and it does an awesome job. It comes with me on every fishing trip.
I went with custom cutlery, they make the Leech lake knives. It’s got a bit of flex to the tip then gets stiff pretty quick, holds an edge like no other. The only difference between a knife from Custom and buying a Leech Lake Knife is that the back side of the blade is not sharpened, I’m also a fan of the Onion sharpener from Work Shop
The one reason I don’t use the Leech Lake more is because it’s sharpened on both sides. Some people like that, I do not.
Hard to beat the old Rapala, tried and true… but honestly the best one is in 
my buddies hand and not mine 
rapala.jpg
Cutco pricey but worth it
Good filet knives have a 12 degree edge, very fragile. Kitchen knives go as high as 20 degrees on a cooks/french knife because they are workhorses and need to be durable. I like Dexter knives and have owned many in my cooking days although J A Henckles were my favorite brand but very pricey.A Rapala knife and a WorkSharp sharpener is as good as money can buy for a 12 degree edge. That type of edge is very vulnerable and needs maintenance. Personally, I’ll give up my electric Twister when I die. I think anyone that gives an electric an honest try will never go back.
Are the electric knives good for pan fish though? I find it hard to believe you can be precise enough to make small cuts with the blade moving back and forth. But I’m willing to be proven wrong.
I also almost exclusively use the electric. I have a cutco and a bunch of Rapalas, a buck,etc. I didn’t think panfish would be possible either, but it is fantastic for them as well. I do sometimes skin with a blade on panfish. I have the American Angler electric. Expensive but seems to work well I have heard good things about the Mr. Twister. Try electric!
Last year I got the shortest (5.5″?) Custom Cutlery fillet knife. I’d used 4″ Rapalas for panfish for years, and liked the shorter blade for precision.
I really like the Custom Cutlery knife. It’s very sharp, and holds an amazing edge. After a year I just hit a sharpening steel with it now and then and it has stayed very sharp. As I’m skinning, if I just touch newspaper with it, it slices right through it like nothing.
The blade also has more flex than the Rapalas too. I wouldn’t mind if the blade was a little narrower like the Rapalas Igrew up using, but I have no complaints about this knife. The 5.5″ length is nice too. Short enough to be precise, but long enough to skin panfish and walleyes as big as I want to keep.
Tucker
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