10 Best Fish Fillet Knives for Easy Cooking in 2020

What Is a Fish Knife?

A good fish fillet knife has a long narrow and flexible cutting blade, its length varies from 14 to 30 cm. The most popular models are those that have a length of 16, 19 or 21 cm. The optimal length of a fish fillet knife is determined depending on the size of the carcass processed: usually, it is one and a half times the fish width itself.

Why Do You Desperately Need a Fillet Knife?

So, fillet knives are uneasy knives, multifunctional in operations, with several grips, quite traumatic. They should be able to perform a variety of operations. The main are:

• Removal of gills – cutting gills with the tip of this tool in the places of their attachment.

• Cuts of different depths and configurations – to the depth of certain bones or to the skin, or through.
• Fish breakdown – when you need to separate fillets from its spine, cutting through both rib and transverse bones.
• Removal of rib bones – pressing a blade to ribs and sliding along them.
• Cutting fish spine (when you need, for example, to separate its head).
• Removal of fish fillet from the skin.

When Is a Fillet Knife Necessary?

After a successful catch of fresh fish, as a rule, the process of its preparation follows. To maximally simplify it, you need to use a suitable quality fillet knife. Otherwise, cutting can take quite a long time, and you have to put a lot of effort.

How Does a Fillet Knife Differ from other Knives?

Fish fillet knives are the narrowest and longest. These knives are designed for cutting thin and even pieces of fish meat. A cut will be even and neat if it is made with one movement of knives, and this is possible only if a blade is long. Due to the flexibility of the blade, it is possible to remove thin skin, to separate fish fillets from bones.

What is the Minimum and Maximum Size of a Fillet Knife?

The blade length varies from 13 to 30 cm. In most knives, this value lies in the range of 15-19 cm. Products with a blade up to 20 cm are considered universal and suitable for cutting medium and large fish.

What Is a Good Material for a Fillet Knife?

Perfect material for blades of any fish fillet knives is stainless steel. It should be borne in mind that not all steel of this brand has the same properties. Therefore to acquire a truly durable product, you should primarily focus on the reputation and credibility of its manufacturer.

Why Is it Not Necessary to Wash the Fillet Knives in a Dishwasher?

Experts say that knives cannot be washed in a dishwasher. The main reason is that metal and ceramic blades can deteriorate. Whether knives are dull in the dishwasher is a moot point, but blades are deformed by heat, and it is a fact.

Why Is the Handle Important for a Knife?

Handles of modern kitchen knives are made of plastic, wood, metal or rubber. The handle surface is made to eliminate sliding off your hand. The handle needs to be “ergonomic” – it lay well in hand. But since there are many forms and sizes of hands, a knife must be selected personally for your hand.

What Is the Difference Between an Ordinary Fillet Knife and an Electrical One?

For those who constantly have to process a lot of fish, a cordless fish fillet knife will be a great help. It is worthy of mention that electric fillet knife effortlessly penetrates into a fish body, as in oil, significantly saving your time, effort and attention. More so, this is the best electric fish fillet knife to choose on the market. You’ll find the best of this kind by an instrumentality of electric fish fillet knife reviews. Finally, these cordless fish fillet knives are faster and save energy. This kind of fillet knife is different from the battery-operated fish fillet knife, which operation is closer to that of an electric fish fillet knife.

Do all Sets Come with the Fish Fillet Knife?

Talking about a fish fillet knife set, it is essential to know that it enters into standard knife sets far from always, and usually, hostesses are treated with a simple cutting blade. However, if you cut fish often and in large quantities, a special fish fillet knife becomes a necessary tool.

What is the difference between a fillet knife and a boning knife?

Boning knives are used to separate bone from the meat while fillet knives are used to separate bones and skin from the meat. Also, fillet knives are thinner and more flexible than boning knives. Thus, by their thin and flexible nature, fillet knives can maneuver easily through a body of a fish for proper cutting. Boning knives are harder and are good for cutting harder animals than fish; pork, chicken, beef and others.

How big of a fillet knife do I need?

The fact is, you don’t really need a big knife, 6 to 7 inches will handle several sizes of fish. What really matters is the edge sharpness of your blade. That is, it can be thin, but must be flexible and with flip-resistant handle. Try the best electric knife sharpeners for the perfect shape of your fillet knife.

The bulk of products have similar characteristics, so before choosing the most appropriate option, you should carefully understand differences of such knives. There are three main types of such which you shall see as you read on.

Fillet Knives for the Kitchen

These are narrow and long with a square butt. They are intended for cutting and filing of fish at home. Handles of these knives are usually made of plastic or wood. It is designed to work in a relaxed atmosphere on an even cutting board.

Field Fillet Knives

Field fillet knives, which are a large class of various knives, are sometimes called “fishing”. The range of tasks that are performed by such knives is wider. Caught fish must be opened, gutted, cleaned and then milled. Field knives are usually equipped with a rubberized grip that does not slip in a wet hand. Many models of camping knives are equipped with a sheath for carrying and storage. The blade has a butt width of 1.3 to 1.7 millimeters.

Folding Fillet Knives

Folding fillet knives make a special class. These knives are convenient because they take up little space when folded and can be used as a normal folding knife for everyday needs.

In any kitchen, your fish fillet knife set should include diverse utensils that are used in cooking and for a nice serving of dishes. Of course, knives are an integral part of the arsenal. And there can never be too much of them. Moreover, for each type of food, it is recommended to use a special knife that facilitates cutting. For example, professional fish fillet knives allow you to gut and chop fish quickly. However, choosing a worthy piece of such a kitchen assistant is not always easy.

1. Blade A standard Material and Handle Quality

If you need to choose a truly high-quality product, it is recommended to pay attention to products with handles made of horn. This option is not only extremely durable but also has an original, attractive appearance. As for the handle shape, it should be maximum convenience for a particular user. To determine the most convenient form, it is enough to test the knife in practice.

2. Extras

To buy a fillet knife means to pick up the appropriate sheath. Since products of this category have extremely sharp blades, the presence of such protection is imperative. It is necessary to pick up a sheath which will not begin to hold down movements when using. It is good that the design is in harmony with the handle appearance and the whole product.

3. Usability and Design

When choosing a fish fillet knife, you need to pay attention to flexibility. It greatly influences the process of cutting and dressing the product. As a rule, flexibility depends on the thickness of the blade. The more this indicator is, the less flexibility it possesses. Long blades should have their degree of flexibility. The blade of 10-15 cm is thin and bends well.

4. Price

Products of reputable companies like Havalon, Ka-Bar or Bubba are in rather high demand among consumers. If we talk about the price range, then a consumer has a huge breadth of products costing from $10 to 60.

5. Size

The blade length can be different and depends on how large the fish is planned to be filleted. For convenience, choose a knife whose length is at least 1.5 times greater than the width of the fish carcass.

Such a kitchen assistant as the best fillet knife for fish can be bought on average for $10-$50. Our pick is Kastking fillet knife. It is made of sharp stainless steel, a comfortable handle that does flip unnecessarily when cutting. One of its main advantages is blade flexibility. During the separation, it is necessary to twist the knife smoothly so that the pulp is separated from bones. Besides, a big plus of this overall best fish fillet knife is the flip-resistant polymer handle. It provides convenience while cooking. Therefore, MyKitchenAdvisor recommends Kastking as the overall best-selling fillet knife for 2020.