why use an electric knife?

[cmb]

why do you use an electric knife?

obviously I use the old standard razor sharp filet knife, but my question is to those who don't. why don't you? my experience with electric is that it is/can be quicker, but also tends to be considerably more wastefull. how do you adress the wasted meat issue? do you filet small fish (ie perch, crappi..)with a conventional knife?

[RANGER]

cmb,

After many, many, many years of using the standard fillet knife(s) I switched to the electric knives because:

1) The biggest reason is they are about 3 times faster, maybe 4 times.

2) Once you have mastered (if that can be said) the electric it is NOT wasteful. As a matter of fact, I think it is BETTER than using a standard knife. Besides, when we use the electric it is in conjunction with a standard knife. Got to get those Walleye CHEEKS too, YUM!

3) With the electric you can use the same style of filleting on other types of fish including catfish, trout, etc. cutting right through fins, barbs.......! Then you can "touch up" these fillets with a standard knife to make them boneless as well. Again, saving TIME. (Yea, there really ARE people that eat trout - I'm not one of them)!

4) You can do a TON of fish without having to resharpen the blade(s) right in the middle of the job.


RANGER


"KEEP YOUR LINES WET, YOUR POWDER DRY and THE BEER COLD!"

[bob oh]

LAST EDITED ON May-30-01 AT 10:51AM (CST)[p]I agree with Ranger. I just don't understand this wasteful thingy - I cut walleyes right next to guys using standard knife and have the same meat as they do when we are done and I am always waiting on them to finish. Electrics are just faster and stay sharper longer, but to each his own.......
Bob

PS All the people I know on Lake Erie who clean fish for a living (which of course, is not too many ;-)use electric knives for everything - walleyes, perch, catfish, white bass etc.

[4-given]

We don't keep perch under 8", and yes, we fillet them, and crappies, and bluegills, and catfish, and salmon, with an electric knife. In experienced hands, there is very little waste. It sure saves time.

Duane

[JKJ]

I picked one up this spring. Ya, I butchered the first 2 or 3 fish, but after getting the hang of it, there is no more or less waste. Cut's cleaning time in half.

[Borch]

No waste of meat with an electric, just faster. Also, walleye cheeks are a piece of cake with the electric. Only fish I use the conventional for is northern pike. Haven't cleaned enough pike in the past 3 years to get the y bones out with the electric.

[chrism]

Hey Ranger
I am a cheek man myself! I made a "cheeker tool" that really save time - took a regular spoon, and grinded the front to a sharp edge. Now all I have to do is scoop out the cheeks like you would ice cream! Try it if you can!
cm

[eyewinder]

I'm acquainted with a fellow who has fished (and filleted) for 25-plus years with a non-electric knife, and what he does to a fish is darn near criminal -- he ends up with chunks (raggedy ones, at that) instead of fillets. Of course, in his case, it's his attitude, not the implement. He's trying to finish as quickly as possible, and really does a bad job.

I also knew a fellow at a fish camp (30 years ago) who filleted catches for 25 cents a fish and produced better fillets in less time than I can with my electric. . .and I don't feel that I do a bad job.

Everyone slips and has a bad fillet or two, whether using electricity or not (my quirk is occasionally cutting through the backbone on my initial cut). . .but most of the time a person's respect for the resource shows up at the cleaning table as well as on the water.

[RANGER]

LAST EDITED ON May-30-01 AT 11:55AM (CST)[p]LAST EDITED ON May-30-01 AT 11:48*AM (CST)

Good idea! We have taken a liking to the "watermellon/sherbet" scoopy things you use to make mellon balls etc. We sharpen the front edge with a bas_tard file. Get the ones with 2 different size scoops on either end. Different sized walleyes, different size scoops - BINGO! We scrape off the skin with the standard knife and scoop them out - freshwater scallops only BETTER, Yummmmmyyyy!!!


RANGER


"KEEP YOUR LINES WET, YOUR POWDER DRY and THE BEER COLD!"

[cmb]

thanks, I don't know if I will take the plunge, but good food for thought. On the few ocasions that I have seen people using electric at campgrounds or wherever, they seemed to be wastefull. but then it may be the people and not the knife if you get my drift. I guess it is like the conventional method, where practice and experience are key to doing a superior job, as well as a quick one.