How to sharpen a fillet knife the right way

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

Hey guys! We are currently working on building an amazing all encompassing resource for those that want to learn how to catch, clean, fillet, and cook trout! There is actually so much more that we want to share with you, but we want to first gauge your interest. Leave a reply on what you would like to learn and give this comment a like. Thanks!

[@SillyOmega]

Love your video subscribed a few days ago.

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

Thanks for the sub! @@SillyOmega

[@SillyOmega]

@@RedCastleOutdoors your welcome it was good.

[@daveoppelt1340]

Best fillet knife sharpening video I've seen.

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

Awesome! Thank you Dave.

[@mr.anonomousanynonomous455]

I second that!

[@douglasswright484]

I ordered two of these based on the reviews. kzbin.infoUgkxqmKabisEv81ul5v7OhvVxxOpt2CJruI- Received them on time and they look good. I really like the handle on these knives as they feel good in my hand. I'm giving them 4 stars on look and feel, but have not had the chance to put them to the test yet. I mostly fish for catfish and can hopefully try them out in the next few days. If they hold an edge throughout a limit of catfish, they'll be worth another star.Update...I used the 9" strong and the 9" fillet on a mess of catfish. I did put a sharpening on these before I started. I want a razor edge to fillet fish but they weren't quite that sharp. The people who gave these knives crappy reviews and said they were sending them back was because they weren't razor sharp. So what, do they not have a knife sharpener?? Good grief! I mean you have to sharpen any knife from time to time.I personally like them and am pleased with them. If you're too lazy to sharpen a knife then hire someone to clean your fish lol.I've never bought a knife in my life that would shave hair right out of the box. Don't be afraid to purchase the knives. They're pretty nice in my opinion.

[@wis1024]

The 4 inch rapala is very underrated. It's great for small fish and game in general. Rabbit, squirrel, grouse, and I even know guys that use them for deer. I prefer the longer models for pike but in a pinch the 4 works just fine.

[@whiteyfisk9769]

6 inch is the most versatile.

[@06nemox]

@@whiteyfisk9769it is, but it’s not really what you want for perch and gills.

[@30roundclipazine79]

Perch, gills, crappie, walleye I usually grab the 4" rapala. For skinning walleye I'll use a 6". I've taken apart 2 deer with only a 4" rapala. Love those knives!

[@charlesscott3729]

*Awesome product! Great quality feel **enjoyable.fishing** recommend it’s light yet extremely sturdy and well built. Will definitely recommend. Already placing a second order!*

[@andyst.michael6643]

Great video. I use to be able to sharpen knives so I could slice a piece of paper. It has been a long time since I did it so I came to your video for a refresher course. Thanks. Andy

[@Redcastlecrusade]

Thank you! Sharpening a knife is a real skill. That's great that you have learned how to do it and that you found our video to freshen up.

[@fjb4932]

People that live with barking kids and crying dogs must be immune to the noise... One man's music is another man's ... ☆

[@topbrasstv8867]

This was cool I've never cleaned fish before and just earlier I saw a video on getting 5 boneless fillets from a Pike and I wanted to make sure I could cut through it nice and easy.

[@dfsdfjoidfnni1175]

Excellent product fillet knife. I use it often to remove skin from Salmon. The safety cover is approximate as it is very sharp.

[@CHAD-RYAN]

What degree angle are you putting on that? 5°?

[@suezinger8598]

I'm really pleased with this! It works like a charm kzbin.infoUgkxDcr-y2Pf6xdnrFHrSP7dl9kpKaCozcSQ Takes less time than my old electric sharpener because it can take more off the knife faster, and then it smooths out nicely with the finer grit polisher. I don't know how long it will last before the grit wears away, but I wouldn't mind having to replace it every once in a while.

[@GoSTLBlues]

great video for fillet knife sharpening

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

Thank you!

[@s.s.6812]

Great vid, I have tons of field sharpeners that I use to get my blades pretty sharp, but I need to really invest in some large stones for home use. Any recommendations for good brands that produce tri-stones?

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

The Norton brand is what we use and recommend.

[@MyREDTAIL]

I have a 9 " Filet knife that i sharpen on an Arkansas Triple stone, I use Kerosene instead of any horning Oil as it does not clo up the stone of any metal shavings got this Tip off of KZbin a while ago & it is great. The Kerosene is also good for washing don our stone of any metal that is in them also.

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

Never used Kerosene.

[@alphacapo]

Also Zippo fluid or equovalent works.

[@mrequi1]

@@alphacapo Or white gas

[@whiteyfisk9769]

Yea, i dont want kersone and lighting fluid contanimating my fish fillets, thanks though

[@shannondavis9352]

Thank you so much! I have electric sharpener but it is just wearing away the blade. I use mine for all kinds of cleaning of meat.

[@MrMZaccone]

Flattening your stones once in a while helps too.

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

Very true.

[@kdavis741]

Nice vid. Thanks for the tips.

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

You are very welcome Kevin! Thank you for watching.

[@alphacapo]

Nobody ever talks about pressure and speed. Makes a big difference. I learned from guys that worked cattle plant kill floor Who ran there knife through miles of carcasses. There's usually a guy on the floor that is a knife sharpening god. ALOT of guys never learn how to get a sharp knife. even on a job like that for years. Its an art form

[@evan4856]

I’ve used many different kinds of fillet knives, but still haven’t found a better knife than the rapala

[@CHAD-RYAN]

Have you tried the swiss victorinox flexible 8" straight fillet knife?

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

I haven't tried that one before.

[@mikelabelle420]

Wow thanks

[@abdul-hadidadkhah1459]

What rating is the medium part of your whetstone? Like, is it 2000/3000/4000?

[@maitreip1433]

Hi what grain should use to sharpen a fillet knife ?

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

I always start with the finest grain first and see if I can get the edge I want. If you start on the more course grain you may ruin the edge that the knife already has and make it more dull.

[@clintkamerzell1041]

Can a fillet knife be stropped with a good result?

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

I personally haven't tried stopping a fillet knife. I have heard that it isn't necessary to strop them. It is a technique better suited for thicker blades. I would stick to a good tri-stone to shape the blade and a round steel to finish it up.

[@wis1024]

@Jay M straight razors don't bend like a fillet knife lol

[@MyREDTAIL]

What Grade Stone,? Do you suggest that I start with for the filet knife,? Course, then Medium, then finish it off with the Fine one.? I do not have a Steel, but I use a Ceramic Rod which works great also.

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

It depends on how dull your knife is. I worked for 7 years at a trout farm and we would fillet 10's of thousands of fish a year, so we were constantly sharpening our knives. Sometimes our knifes got so dull they couldn't cut paper. In those cases we would start out with the most course stone and then work our way up to the fine stone and finish off with the steel rod. Once we had a nice edge on the blade we usually only had to use the steel rod a few times a day to keep it razor sharp.

[@ARCSTREAMS]

the ceramic sharpener that comes with the rapal are useless after a while,plus im not so sure the angle of those rods is the same as the edge on the knife,,i been using a very fine sharpening stone with machine oil on it,but its hard work as you have to go section by section while holding it at the right angle ,it takes a long time too,maybe because mine is the wrong grit? as i said its very smooth stone ,almost looks like a piece of steel with the same flat surface as steel

[@TheKellisunshyne]

Dude that stone is dished... Sharpened many knives, it has.

[@miamiwax5504]

how do u sharpen a bubba blade? they arent very flxible and the metal is very hard.

[@jonnydanger7181]

What is the substance being used on that stone?

[@ML-ks2lj]

Looks like sharpening stone oil to me, I prefer water

[@rdzed3505]

Its sharpening oil. There is a reservoir sump at the bottom of the tri stone that holds the oil. Oil is way better for steel edges. Water is fine in a pinch but sharpening oil is superior in every way.

[@jonnydanger7181]

@@rdzed3505 thanks! I have no luck trying to sharpen mine 😅

[@mrpush2532]

I appreciate the skills needed to sharpen knives, but I don't want to take the time to learn that skill. It's 2024, I can't seem to find a simple mechanical device to sharpen a knife quickly in effortlessly in just seconds. Is there one that exists?

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

It depends on how bad your knife is. If it is extremely dull your best option is to just buy a new knife. (Link in the description) If you just need to add a bit of sharpness to the edge then you can use something like the Rapala ceramic two-stage sharpener, which is easy to use.

[@MrJoshcc600]

Arent you bothered that your stone wobbles back and forth like crazy and your angle is all over then your rod angle is all over because your holding it freehand wobble all over too?

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

Not really. Neal is pretty used to it.

[@gregoryschmidt1233]

If I was giving advice to a beginner, I would advise them to start out with new equipment. That's going to give them the best chance of success with minimal frustration. That said, my dad used the same old dished-out stone on his old skinny ground-down fillet knife his entire adult life, and he always had a razor edge on it and always cut beautiful fillets. My fillets look ragged compared to his. In the end it comes down to practice and repetition. This guy knows how to get a good edge with the equipment he's got because he does it every day.

[@Erkele]

absolutely

[@johnadams7766]

a steel hones the edge. It does not sharpen it....

[@josephcunningham7568]

tonylwright yes a steel is going to get it a lot sharper but you should always finish your edge up with a strop laid on a hard surface. the steel is good enough most likely but we aren’t here to get our knives good enough we’re here to get them as sharp as we can. And a knife steel just can’t take the edge to as sharp as most of us want. It’s a hobby after all nobody needs a fillet knife to be shaving sharp but we enjoy seeing if we can get it there. And if you haven’t used a strop before just grab your leather belt and try it. Because there is no better feeling then cutting a piece of paper clean in half with an edge you made with your own two hands. Thank you for taking the time to read my comment and I hope you got something useful out of my ramblings.

[@dallas5374]

John Adams that is incorrect

[@ML-ks2lj]

The sharper the edge the more fragile it is and requires more sharpening, my filet knife gets sharpened after ever fish but I beat mine down I pretty much only fish for salmon trout perch and walleye. I cut the rib cage with the filet every time and then one or two swipe through the filet to pop the ribs out and then down the skin, unless it's salmon or trout skin stays in scales come off. Just my way that works fast for me

[@BBBYpsi]

Why not use a strop to finish it instead of making it worse with the steel. You have to be able to have perfect angle for steel or it makes it worse.

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

I guess you could use a leather strop to finish it up if you want. We have used our method for over 30 years and it doesn't make the fillet knife worse using the steel. On a busy day at the Cold Springs Trout Farm they will fillet hundreds or even thousands of fish. If the knifes are sharpened correctly using this method they keep a razor sharp edge for a long time. When the fillet knives do become dull we can use the steel for about 30 seconds or so and we are back in business again. We don't have to sharpen the fillet knives on the tri-stone again for several days or weeks depending on the amount of fish that are filleted.

[@TheRadivoje]

King K45 and some better 2000 grit and you get push cut thru wrap foil not that plast bag.

[@MDB-amandrinksbeer]

When you sharpen second side, you hold knife incorrectly every single time. It is visible at 1:19 (shadow under the blade is gap). You basically sharpening back of knife not the blade itself.

[@isaacbarker1021]

He is actually sharpening just the tip of the blade at those points. Not the back of the knife. It does appear that way, but it isn’t.

[@glytch5]

replace the stones in that thing! So freaking dished!

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

It is very old, but still works great, so I am sure that is why that haven't bought a new one.

[@MyREDTAIL]

Right " if it's not Broke"Well you know the rest of it.

[@glytch5]

it is broke though... thats the thing! You lap stones when they get that way, thats why there are so many flattening tools on the market, not to mention those stones are very cheap to slide in a new one!

[@ashbyedwards]

Crixus The Gaul, I don’t think that you “get it”. These stones hold some value that is outside of normal replace or replenish. And if these stones hold some sentimental value, while still getting the job done - it’d be mindless to replace them.

[@AndyGenova-jr9ol]

What was the angle u used hoakey vid learned more from the screaming kids

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

Between 18 and 22 degrees.

[@ThomasShue]

That stone is Jacked UP. I could never sharpen in that thing. Then using a Honing Rod, that's not a steel, after you put an edge in the knife seems silly.

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

Yeah it was pretty bad. Neal who was sharpening the knife in the video is pretty used to it and can still get a super sharp edge.

[@wis1024]

The steel takes the burr off and aligns the teeth. Most butchers do this after sharpening also. The bearded butchers have a vid doing the exact same thing. People who need a sharp knife for their job probably know more about it than you lol

[@ThomasShue]

@@wis1024 I make knives but think what you will.

[@wis1024]

@@ThomasShue lol OK

[@brentbrown705]

You should never push the sharp edge down the stone.

[@mrequi1]

There are two schools of thought in knife sharpening. The pushers and the pullers. I've tried them both and they work equally as well.

[@MyREDTAIL]

A good piece of leather will work for finishing off the Blade of any knives used like a Strop.

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

Interesting, never tried that. Thanks for the tip.

[@beno2rasho]

I was kind of scratching my head when he pulled that steel rod out.....

[@jimkess3958]

Thanks for the tip on pushing it forward. Now I just need you to start saying Rapala correctly.

[@UnBrickable_LOTR]

😂 Yeah, I blame it on the Utah accent. Will try to do better next time.

[@Favorites2499]

looks like you might need new stones.

[@RedCastleOutdoors]

Maybe, these are pretty old. They still work though.

[@charlesblum5256]

He went too quickly, never mentioned degree of angle and I couldn't understand what he was calling the sharpening rod. Sounded like steel or possibly still. Made it look too easy for beginners.

[@upperleftcoastchelseafan7718]

It's a sharpening steel. Very common name, every restaurant (except fast food) will have one or two lying around.