I am need of a new filet knife as fishing season approaches and I really dont want the Wally world junk, but I look online and most are of course, made in china. I really wanted a nice Schrade knife, but found out since 2004 Schrade knives are made in the land of the great wall. So who makes a good quality filet knife that's American made?

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Vaya con Dios

So far a Rapala electric has worked pretty good. You can even get rechargeable. Easy to clean and easy to hold onto, I've used one to clean black drum which is similar to cleaning a rhino.

If you can't find an Uncle Henry (Schrade) unsold, Buck may still have theirs, with a reddish brown Kraton handle.

Rapala knives are made in Finland, and aren't the quality of the Schrade or Buck.

If you feel rich (some here may), Fallkniven has a stiff-bladed fillet knife that will also do many other camp chores. I think they meant it to work on big pike and other large fish. I don't recall the price, but none of their stuff is cheap. Still, what they offer is usually the best made and best designed that you'll get without going to an even more expensive custom cutler. They have US dealers, and costs are usually less than those shown on their site, which is priced in Swedish kroner.

Their knives are designed by the Swedish owner and made to order in small specialty shops in Seki City, Japan. They represent excellent craftsmanship and materials. www.fallkniven.com

Puma also makes a good fillet knife, but it's German, not US made. And the cost is also high.

Frankly, I'd look for a good used Uncle Henry on E-Bay or hope that someone reading this will sell you one. And see if any Online dealers may have one not yet sold. The Uncle Henry has fake stag handlles and is a nice looking knife. I think they offered seven and nine inch blades, and a stiffer one with about a four-inch blade that's also a good small game knife. Good knives! I hope you locate one at a nice price.

Based on the size of fish that I usually catch I use a chain saw or an old flensing knife. Actually I use a Rapala. Works pretty good. I did manage to gut my first deer with a 6" rapala.

I found this Forschner filet knife at a local flea market. It had a broken wood handle and cost me $3. I replaced the wood handle with a piece of fluted buffalo and now I have $13 invested in my partially US made filet knife.

The above knife is a Randall Model 10 (I modified the handle shape). It is 100% US made but it will set you back over $250. I have used both of these knives with very similar results in terms of how many fish they can handle without needing resharpening. The Forschner is easier to sharpen and is more flexible. The Randall handles small bones and tough cutting jobs better. How a knife is made, heat-treated and sharpened is much more important to me than how much it costs, where it was made or by whom.
Mark

I had a Randall like that. It was a good knife that indeed handles bone well. Wish that I'd held onto it.

BTW, I just checked the Fallkniven site. They may no longer offer that nice fillet model. Mine isn't for sale.

A Rapala that I have had since time began.

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Still Running Against the Wind

David-


Check Smoky Mountain Knife Works, a huge dealer. They may have some old stock Schrades.

I have about four sizes of the Rapala and any one of those serves me well, depending on the size of the catch....

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Ogy

google Schrade filet knife 167 us made

I found a us made for $49.99 and a blade blank for $25 if you know how to put scales on a knife. It does not have a bolster.

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Corripe Cervisiam

Go to a large gun and knife show. Maybe more than one. And a few flea markets. You'll find a nice one at a fair price.

I wish I could tell you fish tremble at my name. In fact, I'm very skilled at drowning minnows.

I share the OPs bias against asian knives. At a show last year I found a Blackton knife, made in Michigan, or maybe Florida. The guy lived both places. You can find a nice nearly unused knife at fair prices. The unused part comes from the prior owners fishing skills, like mine. About all I fillet are watermelons.

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Dick Burg

Get a good sized piece of plywood and lay it on the ground in your driveway. Then place the fish on it and proceed to run over it with your truck/car/yugo and you'll have some thin fish without all the trouble!

It does give it that asphalt and nylon taste though.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

I've got an old Rapala in my tackle box. It's OK but hard to keep sharp.I never catch fish large enough to use it much.

I never let that bother me when it come's to panfish. One time I was out fishing with a friend who seen me keeping even the smallest bluegills that I was catching so he started in to raggin' on me.

That night he came over and had a fish dinner with us, which included those small bluegill's that I had filleted. He couldn't believe how good "Bluegill Potato Chips" tasted and the next time we went out fishing he was doing the same thing he had ragged me for doing.

On small bluegill's I can scale them with just a few passes using a butter knife on each side. After I get them all scaled I swap out my newspaper for fresh, dry, pages then filet them.

I found that if I keep my newspaper as dry as possible I can take the filet after it's removed from the backbone, lay it on the paper and it kinda "sticks" allowing me to easily remove the rib bones before sticking the tip of my knife in the meat, pulling it up from the paper then flipping it in the "done bowl."

Eventually our local newspaper switched ink types and the newer version didn't grab the skin like the older ink did so I wasn't able to remove the rib bones one-handed like I had previously. For my method to work I have to use the pages with print on them since pages with color photos tend to be slippery so don't have the gripping power of the printed text.

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Ogy

i find for my needs the one my FIL has works best for me...
i try to keep my filet to mignon....

i can hardly cut cheese right if you ask swmbo

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is it just me?

Look at Dexter Russell. Very popular among offshore guys and pros, as well as butchers.

If you are ever around docks with serious offshore guys, this is the brand you'll mostly see. There's a reason for that--they work, have great handles, hold an edge, and are not expensive.

Plain jane, but pretty is as pretty does when it comes to a knife like that.

Well I looked around and found a very nice Rapala 10 3/4 inch overall filet knife for alot less than a new made in china schrade. I forgot that I used to own a nice Puukko knife from Finland and how good of quality that knife was. This one looks like it will do well and I can't wait to give it a try on some of the panfish here in some of the smaller ponds and streams up here.

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Vaya con Dios

When I fished I used a Rapala all the time until my brother used it to cut cardboard that some furniture came in. It just ruined the blade. Don

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"Don't worry be happy"

I have an old Rapala that my wife's Uncle Jack gave me about thirty years ago. No telling how long he had it.

Jack, God bless him, left most of his hair and some of his sanity in a helmet liner on New Guinea and Roi-Namur but he was a good man and a great guy.

Russ

Listen up folks, Mr. Brown knows of which he speaks.

Most, if not all the profesional fishermen up & packers up here use Dexter Russel & they work. My personal favorite is the S133-8 8" stain free fillet blade with white delron handle.

Jim

You just might be better off buying a used American made High carbon steel knife (used) and bringing it back to 90 + % condition (or close). If you order a highly sought after knife such as a Randall you will be on a long waiting line and pay a huge premium.

I have recently restored 3 old (50 or so years old) knives a few of my friends found at garage and tag sales for only a few bucks. I cleaned them up, re-shaped them where necessary and sharpened them to better than new blades are. They are not the prettiest knives in the world but I would put them up against anything for the ability to perform cutting. Seems they don't make blades out of that kind of steel anymore because most people are more concerned about them not rusting, pitting and getting discolored than the actual edge and cutting qualities of the knife.

I have some very old knives that at the time were probably considered "cheap" knives, but compared to today's standards, they have incredible blades & cutting characteristics about them.

Chief38

Dexter/Russel. Period. End of Story. Cheap-good and the white handles match our Delcambre Reboks (white shrimp'n boots)

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Forum consigliere

Here's a 3rd vote for Dexter Russell. This is the company that makes the knives that are used almost exclusively by the professional fishing fraternity on the NC coast. Make from stainless steel, they have the most non-slip handle I have ever seen. They can be autoclaved(steam cleaned) for sanitary reasons, and hold an edge very well. I have a complete set of them in my kitchen and have used them for decades. None better!

White deck boots around here are for... well... I AM in SoCal... not that there is anything WRONG with that...

I have a couple Rapalas, a 10" Forschner and a 15" breaking knife of undetermined origin...

Here is another vote for D Russell. I bought my first and last D Russell fillet knife (Nife?) at a flea market about ten years ago. Asking price for the D Russell was $15, bought the knife (Knive?) for $10.

( Sorry, I Couldn't resist)

Class III

Edit: As a CLOSE second, toss up between first and second place. Take a look at Knives of Alaska. I bought one of there Steelheader fillet knives made with D2 steel a LONG time ago (Before anyone EVER herd of KOA). I loaned it to a buddy and never saw it again. I'm not sure if they still make the Steelheader in D2. If they do BUY ONE, NOW. The only problem with D2 is that it is NOT STAINLESS, AKA don't use it on saltwater fish without a good soap and water washing after use and don't put it up wet.

Just checked, no longer available in D2, only available in 440.

Is this the Dexter/Russell company that made/makes the Green River knives? If they're stainless and have white Delrin handles, I've never seen one. But they sound good.

Can anyone post a photo or link? How are the prices?

I'm partial to my USA forged blade Case fillet knife.
I bought mine way back, but they are still available for around $50.
These are not the stamped cheapies that you get for around $20.

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Science plus Art

Cajun,
Thanks for that tip. I checked those out, they look good and they are in my price range. I worked the scallop boats out of Port Canaveral, Florida a long time back and those white boots were my at work footwear.

I have one made by Chicago Cutlery. I have had it for years and it's held up very good.

As per usual, Google is your best friend for finding information. Google DexterRussell, click on shop in the menu, click on Sani-safe in the drop-down menu, and scroll down. They have more filet knives than Carter's got Lil Liver Pills.

You forgot to use the Cedar cooking plank under the fish. Then you just pop it in the oven. Works best with Salmon.

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Still Running Against the Wind

There are two brands I would consider Dexter Russell and RH Forschner. When I worked in professional kitchens the Dexter and Forschner knives were the house blades. They are tough knives that work well. There are other good ones out there but they can get very expensive. There is no way I'm going to put my $80 Wusthof fillet knife in my tackle box but there is a $20 Foschner in there.

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Regards,
Guy-Harold Smith II

I use Dexter Russel too, they are US made, not expensive hold an edge, and are easy to clean. I like the 8" straight blade. you can "fillet a fillet" for real crispy fish chips, Stand around the fryer and eat them as they come out of the pot!
I take blood thinners so wear a Rapala cut proof glove when filleting.
Good luck fishing!
Steve W

I use the inexpensive DexterRussells in my restaurants because the prep cooks that work for me tend to abuse knives. I will not buy them quality knives to open cans with! They make a solid low-cost but perfectly functional knife.

I don't personally like them and the similar models because the handle is slippery when wet or bloody. I prefer Cold Steel kitchen series handles that are quite grippy like Pachmyars. They are only a little more and are a better knife. They have maybe 8 different models including a boner/filet knife. Easier than the DR's to keep sharp too.

For a little more, look at Wusthof. Made in Solingen from either forged or stamped blades depending on the line. Literally hundreds of models to choose from, high quality professional chef level knives. I own the Classic line with full-tang, forged blades, etc. and they are wonderful, but can get pricey. The stamped blade lines like the Pro are the same steel, still made in Solingen, but they have a rubber handle and non-slip shape that I like very much. They are also much less than the forged models. Functionally, I can't tell the difference in the two. I own the Pro series also, and when I reach for a knife in my roll that is invariably what I reach for.

Get a Wusthof sharpener also.

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I hope I copied that right

I have an old Kershaw sheath knife set with three interchangable blades, one of which is a fillet blade, that gets used for most of our camping/fishing chores. Thinking back it just dawned on me that I'll have had it 30 years this summer, so it may be a keeper.

Send it to Seattle Edge (you can find him over at the sigforum). He gets rave reviews over his work. Someone who knows his business can recover a bad blade.

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Dick Burg

I've got the fish, you supply the pan

my pan fish

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Now I see why you want others to supply the pan!

Pans that big are hard to come by.......

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Ogy

Nice flounder-we throw them back when they're that small

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Forum consigliere

Is that a halibut?

I usually use my US made Schrade Steelhead. Bought it on clearance at walmart about the time schrade dropped their US operations. Have a Rapala also. They do pretty well for me.

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Copyright MCMLXII ©

Take a look at this knives from the Ask the Meatman site: Butcher Knives. Used By Professional Meatcutters.

I bought his 3 knife set and they came to scary sharp. So far, I've only used the boning knife and it's an excellent blade, very close in size and shape to a filet knife. According to their site, and a e-mail I got direct from the owner after I ordered them, they have been using these knives for 33 years.

They had excellent service also.

Good luck!

Yes Sir, 204 lb 73" long.

I caught that one on fairly light gear while trolling for salmon.
I was using a down-rigger 8' rod, Penn 320 reel, 40lb mono line & 25lb leader with a plug-cut hearing.

Took me 2 1/2 hours to get it in so I could shoot it. A fish like that will really put your fillet knife to the test.

Jim

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I have been using the Cutco Fisherman's Solution filet knife for many years. It has an adjustable blade and nice grip and sheath. I keep one in my boat and another up at my hunt camp where I use it to skin wild hogs and deer. Excellent blade that stays sharp for a long time and you can order extra blades for it.

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"Life is short, hunt hard"

I'm hardly surprised that you like that! It's a Victorinox!

I have some of their sandwich and paring knives.