Dexter Russell fillet knife?

[Guyon]

Anyone have an opinion on these knives? Any knowledge about the type of "high carbon-stain free" steel that Dexter Russell uses?

Went down to the Gulf Coast this past weekend and left my fillet knife at home. Caught a few fish on the Perdido Pass jetties, including a nice 24" redfish. So I was off to the tackle shop to pick up a fillet knife. Found two options: a cheapo 7" "Made in China" version for $7 and the much nicer-looking Dexter Russell (Sani-Safe handle) with sheath for $27. Here's an Amazon link to the same knife: http://tinyurl.com/83rk4

Asked the shopkeeper if the Dexter Russells were worth the cash. He said that, on local commercial boats, the only fillet knife you'd find would be a Dexter Russell. The pack boasted that Dexter Russells are the #1 commercial knife.

Filleted out the redfish and a couple more fish, and the knife performed admirably. Even managed to stay sharp after I hacked through the tough scales on the redfish. (I like to leave the scales on and cook the fillets scale-side-down on a hot grill.) Overall, I was pretty pleased with the purchase.

 

[Boozoo Chavis]

Buying the Dexter Russell is definitely money well spent.

I started using Dexter Russell filet knives years ago when I noticed the overwhelming majority of the deckhands on the Texas and Florida coasts were using them.

As you know, it doesn't take long to dull a filet blade when you're cleaning heavy scaled saltwater fish like Red Snapper, Sheepshead and Redfish. The thing I love about a Dexter Russell is that it not only holds it's edge pretty well but when it does start to get dull I can usually restore it to a razors edge with just 10-15 licks(each side)on a butchers steel.

 

[Guyon]

Yeah, I cleaned a sheepshead as well. Scales like armor on those sneaky beasts. Even after cutting the fillet off the fish carcass, the knife stayed sharp enough to smoothly cut the meat away from the skin and scales.

Have thought about getting a butcher's steel of some sort. Noticed online today that Dexter Russell makes a diamond coated steel.

 

[Win Heger]

When I had my boats that's the only knife I used. Friends tend to drop knives overboard so the DR's were a good good choice for me. And they work!

Win