Electric Knives for Filleting

[Sandman]

I just burned out another Black and Decker cleaning fish. Had to finish with the old trusty G.E. Can't seem to find a new G.E. and I go through the B&D fairly quick. Anybody use them and can recomend a brand? I also am thinking about the cordless so I can clean fish on the ice, shore or boat.

[tommyboy]

It's not cordless, but the Rapala model is a fantastic knife.  It is very reliable, and can be run from either AC or DC power (from a cigarette lighter).  The only problem is getting the cord back in the case when you are done with it.  I swear that they must have trained monkeys who package those things!

[seaweed01]

I still have an electric Mister Twister knife and its still going strong after a thousand or two  fish. Only thing Iv'e done was get a new set of blades.

[dogfish]

My old GE is a tank.  Got it from my mom and she got it some time in the early to mid 70's .  Will be a sad day when I have to replace it.  Found a brand new set of blades in a garadge sale once that fit it.  That was a good score .

[can_of_worms]

I also had an old B&D I can't find blades for it now and the new knives they sell don't work nearly as well. I am going to go with the Mister Twister, tried and true and they make blades everyday or it. I have seen some of them cut great after 10 yrs of cleaning fish.

[Sandman]

Thanks, I got to get one in the next day or two.
Thanks for the leads.

[Cider]

I've never used an electric knive for fileting fish.  I always use my Imperial Diamond Edge filet knife that my Dad gave to me.  I use it only for fish and it never really needs to be sharpened.  I like the control that I have with it.  I recently bought a Rapala filet knife because it looked more flexible than my Imperial.  I only used it once and then put it in a drawer because I didn't like it.

Is it easy to use an electric knife for this?  I would think you wouldn't have as much control and could ruin or lose a lot of meat?  What is the advantage?  Faster than a traditional filet knife?

Just curious, if your answers convince me maybe I will get a Mister Twister and give it a try...

[FishDaddy09]

I've been using an electric filet knife to clean my fish this winter, I love it!  I bought it at wal-mart $20! It's a electro-carve by Blakemore.  I got this knife because the folks at a local bait shop told me they had never had one of these knives returned for a bad motor. While they had all the other brands returned. Great so far!

[PERCH INC.]

My GE knike was the best but can't the blades out. GE stopped making them now it's a B/D burned that one out,got a sunbeam  burned that one out real fast! Bougth a GE carving set from Wal-mart works ok trgger sucks! May try the Mr. twister next.

[Chumster]

I have an American Angler electric fillet knife. I've been using it for over 8 years now and have cleaned well over 5,000 fish with it and never had a problem with my motor running hot or anything else. I have 4 sets of blades that i use, two 5's and two 8's. The 5" blades are great for perch and gills, while the 8" blades are great for crappies, eyes, catfish, and trout. It's light, easy to handle, and very reliable. I even found one for my boat that has clips to hook up to my battery. It has the cigarette lighter adapter that plugs into the clip section to hook up to the battery. It's great when you hit a cleaning station that doesn't have an electric outlet. You just take your trolling motor battery with you and get busy. And the blades sharpen really well. Hope this helps with your decision. Good luck fishing. Smitty

[Dark Cloud]

SandMan - My father got tired of burning out the triggers on diff models so he went and got a sewing machine pedal and now that turns the knife on and off. Those pedals are designed to be on and off a few gazzilion times. The triggers arent. Plus its a ton nicer on the hand to not have to hold that trigger. I believe all he did was take the knive apart and short out something in the trigger mechanism?

[seaweed01]

Cider,
If you get an electric knife and learn to use it proper, you have heard the old expression "you will never go back."
Catch a few bluegills (they are harder to clean than perch), take your time and fillet them. All the rest of the fish you fillet will be easy.

[Sandman]

My GE knike was the best but can't the blades out. GE stopped making them now it's a B/D burned that one out,got a sunbeam  burned that one out real fast! Bougth a GE carving set from Wal-mart works ok trgger sucks! May try the Mr. twister next.

If you still have the old GE, take it apart and clean it. Or a few drops of light oil wil free it up. My GE is 30 years old and still runs. The newer models are all made with junk componants so they last for the Holiday carvers only. The shape of the old model was perfect for your hand if doing a lot of cleaning.

[Sandman]

I have an American Angler electric fillet knife. I've been using it for over 8 years now and have cleaned well over 5,000 fish with it and never had a problem with my motor running hot or anything else. I have 4 sets of blades that i use, two 5's and two 8's. The 5" blades are great for perch and gills, while the 8" blades are great for crappies, eyes, catfish, and trout. It's light, easy to handle, and very reliable. I even found one for my boat that has clips to hook up to my battery. It has the cigarette lighter adapter that plugs into the clip section to hook up to the battery. It's great when you hit a cleaning station that doesn't have an electric outlet. You just take your trolling motor battery with you and get busy. And the blades sharpen really well. Hope this helps with your decision. Good luck fishing. Smitty

I'll have to check into where I can get that American Angler. Sounds like the whole package with the knife sizes and hook ups fit my needs. Mr. Twister sounds like a good option as well. Had to resort to a B&D today as we had 2 buckets of perch to fillet. It kept getting hot , I let it cool and finally it shut off. Took it back, they gave me another and we finished with our cleaning.

[grumpymoe]

this is a highly debatable topic. i posted a question when this went around on iceshanty and i dont mean to offend anyone who likes the electric. how many professional guides use electric??? i would put my filet knife up against any electric all day long.....and....it an old rapala that i keep razor sharp. grump