Sharp knives

[gpb]

I'm looking for good quality knives, filet knife and kitchen knives. I'm looking for ones that will get razor sharp and stay that way longer than a couple of strokes. Does anyone have any recommendations? I watch the butcher cut up beef with ease and I get home and have to saw through the same peice. He uses what looks like a filet knife with white polomer handles. Anyone know what knife this is? Also while we're at it what is the best method to sharpen knives??

thanks,
gpb

[Jim]

Take a look at Wohsthiemer Trident (sp?) I believe that they are German made. These knives have been rated #1 by consumer reports for several years! We looked and waited for about 5 years. We had some Chicago Cutlery that was OK, but the trident blows it far far away!!! We waited so long because we didn't want to spend the cash. Wish I would have done it years ago. I also would recomend Leech Lake Knives for a filet knife. I got one as a gift and wasn't sure that I would like it. After cleaning 80 to 100 fish last summer I decided that I liked it very much! Oh yea, after that many fish it finally needed to be touched up.

[GORD]

Ask the butcher what kind they are and where he gets his. Keep in mind tho that his knives are not magic. They need sharpening too. A good sharp knife is the result of a good quality knife being sharpened properly. Ask your butcher or someone who knows knives to take a look at the knives you have. He'll be able to tell you if they are junk or whether they just need sharpening. There are good knife sharpeners sold in tackle stores that can make even a mediocre knife cut pretty good. They cost around $10. and are easy to use. You just pull the sharpener along the blade of the knife a few times and the knife is as good as new. I own three of these shapeners of differant brands. They work great.

[Pitts]

Look at the post on sharpening and then ask yourself what do I do with my knives.
My analysis is that my kitchen knives are beat up and abused so I prefer an easy sharpening soft steel blades which chicago cutlery is and the drag sharpeners are great for a very fast and sharp enough to carve the turkey or ham chop veggies or what have you blade.

When it comes to my hunting and fillet knives I buy good quality and a harder steel so they will hold an edge longer and then I use a Lansky hone sharpening system with a peg holder for stability for the perfect edge every time which if done properly you can use to shave with any knife.
In this condition and quality of knives I have gutted, skinned, quartered 7 deer in the last 4 years without sharpening and it is still like a razor. It will take about 300 fish to dull a good fillet sharpened like this.
When the knife needs sharpening after the initial sharpening just use the finest hone if you have no nicks to put that razor edge on it again.
By far the best sharpening system that does the job perfectly.

Pitts

[LindyRigger]

I have a Buck filet knife and I love it. I had a friend who was selling knives last week give me a demonstration. He was selling Cutco knives out of Conneticut I think. Those knives were amazing and a life time guarantee and will resharpen for free. He said the knives should last about 10 years without needing to be resharpened. I found this hard to believe for the filet knife. There is a money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. The catch was that the cheapest set was around $300. I can sharpen and buy a lot of cheap knives for this price. The filet knive was about $60. This would be worth it to me if it did not need frequent sharpening. I don't think these Cutco knives are sold in stores.

LindyRigger

[REW]

My daughter sold Cutco knives a few years ago and sold me a fillet knife.
A nice feature of the cutco knife is that has an adjustable blade - that will allow you to lengthen your 6 inch knif to 9 inches.

This works great for most of the filleting is with the shorter blade - but when you get a larger fish, or need to take off the skin of a large fish - pop the clamp and slide the halde up out of the handle and relock.

Then, when it comes time to clean up - pop the clamp and take the blade completely out of the handle for cleaning.

The steel is very hard and holds a razor edge for a long long time. You do need a very good sharpening system to cut this very hard steel.

This winter at Christmas time - They were selling the knives for $29.
I picked up a couple for Christmas Presents.

Take care

REW

[Fin Addict]

I would second this call. Wusthof-Trident is an outstanding line of cutlery. Very spendy though. I was looking at a salmon knife from them last night, $140. Fillet knife in the $75 range. Their better knives are drop forged w/ very high quality steel. The steel is extremely hard so they will hold an edge much longer than most others. More difficult to sharpen though because the steel is so hard. If you are religious about touching them up after each use, they really only need serious sharpening about once every 1-2 years under pretty heavy use. Lower end knives such as Chicago Cutlery will sharpen more easily due to softer high carbon steel but they do not hold an edge for long. I have been using their fillet knife for several years now have never found one I like better.

[Hans]

I have a Boker filet knife, model 600. Holds a razor edge forever-and-ever-amen, and has an ingenious "bone breaker" auxiliary edge right at the handle which saves the main blade for flesh-only cutting. My Dad bought it in Germany, but I've seen them available here in "good" knife stores, around $70.00.

Hans

[cisco]

Take a look, too, at how often he uses the butcher's steel. It is not a knife sharpener, but it does keep a sharp edge on an already sharp knife.

Much of the problem of dull knives is the question of prevention. Don't punish the blade so long as to require extensive honing.

Incidentally, many butcher shops sell used knives. These are ones no longer suitable (for a variety of reasons) to the meat cutters, but are perfectly useful for fishermen. I've cleaned literally hundreds of Lake Michigan trout and salmon with knives purchased used from butchers. The heavier ones are especially good for steaking a big salmon. (Umm. Salmon steaks -- now I'm hungry.)

[dan(or)]

Knives! I worked my way through college on a kill floor of a beef packing house. What I learned was, it takes skill to keep a knife razor sharp. This skill starts with a wet grinding wheel, then a wet stone and finally a steel.

Yes, you can get sharp knives that have an edge that don't need sharpening because they are hard steel and have a steep grind angle.

I would recommend learning to hone and steel a knife. That is the question for the butcher.

Dan
out in Oregon Land where the water temp is 39 degrees and rising!

[Phil T.]

We have Wusthof Tridenbt in the kitchen. Myt favorite dfillet knife is a Gerber, Coho model. Actually, the cheap Normark's with the wooden handle are pretty good.
If I were to insist on matching knives for the kitchen and boat, I'd probably pick Gerber, based on my happiness with their good fillet knife and their changeable bladed folding hunting knife.

[Phil T.]

The best method for sharpening is one of those kits that holds a consistent angle between the stone and blade, like a Lansky sharpening set.
If you really mess up a Gerber, they used to regrind the blade for cheap, if you mailed it back it to Oregon.

[phil]

We have a set of Henkles(sp?) knives for the kitchen. Great knives, much the same as the Wustof(sp?) brand. Just liked the handle fit a little better. The blades are the same as the W's (German Steel). Price is comparable also - about $400 for a 9 piece set (includes a steel hone and scissors).

As far as sharpening - I have a wet wheel and a new-fangled diamond dust electric sharpening gizmo (from a quality kitchen store). Overall, the electric gizmo does a great job on anything from fillet knives to pocket knives. Fast and keeps the blade at the proper angle when sharpening.

I only use the wet wheel when I need to do some serious repair on the edge (major nicks). I still will probably run it thru the gizmo to give it a final edge.

The thing to remember is not to sharpen your knives too much. They will wear out too fast. Just pick up the honing steel every time you pick up the knife. A couple of stokes keeps the blades sharp for a long time between major sharpenings.

Sharp knives are a joy to use and much safer also!!!:-)

Just my experience,
Phil

[stubby]

www.leechlakeknife.com so ##### sharp im scared to use it! gauranteed to stay sharp for 3-400 fish! send it back and he will sharpen it free of charge. nufsaid!

[Waz]

Most commercial establishments that use knives, restaurants butcher shops.... they use a professional knife sharpening service. They will deliver a bunch of knives once a week. They pick up the old ones sharpen, and replace weekly. The knives are owned by the service. Most metropolitan areas have these type of companies. Find one near you and work out a deal with them and you can pick up and drop off when they are dull. Most of these are mom and pop shops and are very friendly.