Here is another "kit" fillet knife that I made recently. A friend of mine bought it as a Christmas gift to himself. The blade is 1/16 inch thick by 5.5 inches long. The overall length is 10.25 inches. It is made from AUS 8A Stainless Steel. This is a Japanese steel with vanadium and chromium. This makes for a flexible blade that is easy to sharpen while still offering good edge holding capabilities. Many of my friends use this blade for more than fish. It has seen service with rabbits, ducks, deer and even elk. One of them has a home in my kitchen as well. The handle is Diamond wood which is a brand of plastic impregnated and laminated wood. It polishes to a nice shine and is waterproof. The fasteners are brass and stainless steel.

Kit Knives

These are some knives that I purchased the blades already ground, heat-treated and finished. Some would call them kit knives. From time-to-time I will do this. The blades that I purchase however are not marked with my "DVW" initials.

The fillet knives have seven inch long blades of AUS-8A and are very flexible. I actually purchased them to try as boning knives. I ended up selling the first two to friends before I ever got to try one out. I have made a few more and one of them I am going to keep for myself. The top one has a canvas Micarta handle. The middle one has a wood handle. The second to the bottom one has a black paper Micarta handle and the bottom one has a Diamondwood handle.

These knifes is actually sold as a steak knife. The blade is five inches long and 1/16" thick. It is fairly stout and I thought that it would make a good boning knife. I am guessing that the steel is either 440A or AUS-6A. For the top knife I installed a black paper Micarta handle and a canvas Micarta handle on the bottom knife.