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Uncle Henry 167UH Large Fillet Knife  Image courtesy of BTI Tools, LLC. When it comes time to fillet the catch of the day you have two viable options, use an electric knife or a fixed bladed fillet knife. Each has its place and application, but in the field where there is no electricity available the latter is about all you can use if you want to recover as much meat as possible, and you should. You could try using a boning knife, but it is simply not up to the task at hand. Ideally, a top performing fillet knife will have a flexible blade that is sharp as a razor with a blade length commensurate with the size of the fish you are cleaning. Other serious considerations should include the construction of the knife, the materials that are used in its construction, workmanship, the quality of the sheath and the price. Do not expect great results from cheaply made filet knives. You usually get what you pay for. You may not agree, but I opine that a top quality fixed blade fillet knife should have a stainless steel blade with a full tang. Because an angler's fillet knife will most likely be subjected to copious amounts of water, a wood handle may not be the best choice. Synthetic handle scales are probably better. The Uncle Henry 167UH large fillet knife meets these requirements. Its full tang blade is formed of 7Cr17MoV stainless steel and it has synthetic handle scales. 7Cr17MoV is a Chinese steel roughly equivalent to American 440A steel. Taylor Brands, who markets BTI Tools (which includes Uncle Henry brand knives), says this about 7Cr17MoV steel: "A good quality stainless steel that has a high tensile strength. This steel has excellent corrosion resistance and can be honed to a razor sharp edge." 7Cr17MoV is hardened to HCR 54-56. What they don't mention is that 7Cr17 is not a particularly hard steel and therefore that razor sharp edge will dull relatively quickly. Fortunately, it is easy to sharpen. Fillet knives typically should be sharpened frequently during extended use and after each use. The Uncle Henry 167UH comes with Staglon handle scales. "Staglon" is a proprietary lightweight and durable polymer cosmetically designed to look like stag horn. It was engineered for excellent long term wear and has proven to be excellent for knife handles. The Staglon scales are textured like stag horn and provide a secure gripping surface. The Staglon scales are secured in place with brass pins. Nickel silver bolsters at the front of the handle curve gently down to help keep fingers off of the sharp blade. A small lanyard hole is provided at the back of the handle. Specifications
 Image courtesy of BTI Tools, LLC. A brown leather belt sheath is included with the 167UH. This is a pouch type sheath, the kind usually associated with fillet knives. It is a decent quality sheath, folded over and heavily stitched. The stitching is reinforced by silver rivets at the top, middle and bottom. The relatively inexpensive Uncle Henry 167UH fillet knife performs very well. It even excels at trimming silver skin from meats. Sometimes you do get what you pay for, and sometimes even more. |