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Imagine coming home from a fishing trip and dumping all the fish in the kitchen sink. Now you have a sink full of fish and you are tired as hell. But someone has to clean all the fish you caught, right?. How can you do it quickly and effectively? You may try to use one of the best electric fillet knives and be done with it.
Electric fillet knives have gained some popularity during the recent yeas due to their ability to make the cleaning process quick and almost painless. Not everyone likes them though. We’ve created this article for anyone struggling to find quality electric fillet knife reviews, which would help with the final purchase decision.
Top 5 Electric Fillet Knives For 2022
What are electric fillet knives?
As any other electric knife, an electric fillet knife is designed so that it automates the whole process of cutting. It is able to cut through meat and delicate bones as quickly as a hot knife through the butter. Electric knives have a motor inside which spins rapidly when electric power is applied to it. The source of the electric power can be either batteries or a plug.
When the motor starts spinning, it translates its rotary power into the blade, which starts cycling back and forth rapidly. This way, it is very easy to cut through things without any issues.
Electric fillet knives are designed in such way that they work great when slicing and cleaning fish. With enough practice, they can be much faster than traditional fillet knives. They can be an excellent choice for people who have some health issues that would prevent them using traditional knives.
Another advantage of the electric models is the price. As you may know, high quality traditional fillet knives can cost as much as couple hundred bucks. Their electric counterparts, on the other hand, are much less expensive.
How to choose the best electric fillet knife?
Just like when buying other knives, there are certain factors, which should be considered when shopping for electric fish filleting knives. We will go through some of the most important ones in the next couple of bullet points.
- Blade material – High quality stainless steel is recommended for a long life. You don’t want to get a knife with blade, which would start corroding within months of usage or one, which would bend during use.
- Variable speed – Sometimes you don’t really want to go full speed when cleaning the fish. Therefore it’s imperative to look for a model, which offers multiple cutting speeds and allows you to switch them quickly.
- Blade length – This one is up to your needs. Larger fish generally needs a larger blade. Otherwise the cleaning might be unnecessarily difficult.
What is the best electric fillet knife on the market?
It’s not easy to decide which electric fish filleting knife is the best because people will have different needs and expectations. However, we’ve selected some of the best-rated electric fillet knives currently on market, and we’re sure at least one of them will fit your personal needs.
The knives are not in particular order even though they are numbered, and there is no clear winner here. The final decision will be up to you, we can say though, that all of these knives will perform well.
1) Mister Twister 120V Electric Knife
If there is a legend among the electric knives, it has to be the Mister Twister. It’s been around for quite a while, and recently has been updated to meet today’s standards.
This is an electric knife powered by 120 V AC, with convenient blade release. The blade can be either 7.5 or 9 inches long. The blade is sharp allows cutting through the fish meat with ease and precision. When it gets dull, there is no way to sharpen it, however replacement blades are very cheap. There is also a safety lock, which prevents the motor from running unless the lock is switched off.
One of the major pros of the product is its long lifetime. One of the customers mentioned that his parents have had the knife for more than 20 years before it finally died. If there is any downside of the product, it has to be the short cord length. You can work around that limitation with an extender though.
Click here to check the knife on Amazon!
2) Rapala Lithium Ion Cordless Fillet Knife
Rapala and American Angler are probably the most popular brands of electric fillet knives. This model by Rapala has one upside that many of the other models by different companies lack – it’s a cordless electric fillet knife. When you are cleaning the fish you don’t really want to be fighting around with a cord. This is where the cordless knife shines. There is no cable, which would tangle up or get in your way. On the other hand, you have to charge the knife and that means it can run out of power in the middle of the cleaning task. It’s still possible to run the knife when it’s plugged.
The charging itself will take up to 2 hours and it will give you about 80 minutes of usage after it’s done. For most people this will be enough time, given the fact that the blade is quite aggressive and cuts through everything as if it was butter.
The blades this knife uses are 7 inches long and when they get dull you can buz new ones.
This is one of the best selling electric knives.
Click here to check the knife on Amazon!
3) American Angler Pro Electric Fillet Knife with Glove and 5 Blades
This is the ultimate set for any avid fisherman out there. It features one of the best electric fish fillet knives, 5 different blades and a protective filleting glove. To skip to our full review click here.
The knife is equipped with a powerful gear and motor system, which should provide 2X torque. It’s powered by 110V through an 8 feet long cord. The venting system is designed in such way that reduces heating of the user’s hand.
Fitted with flexible, hollow-ground blades, the knife offers great precision and maneuverability. As we mentioned before, the whole package comes with 5 different blades.
The whole package costs considerably more than other models by different manufacturers, but given the fact that it ships with 5 blades and a protective glove, we still consider it a great bargain. According to the customers, this is one of the best-built electric knives ever.
Click here to check the knife on Amazon!
4) Rapala Heavy Duty Electric Fillet Knife
This is another great Rapala product, and this time it’s a grey/black heavy-duty electric fillet knife. Unlike the previously introduced model, this one is not cordless. It has to be plugged in to operate. It is equipped with 8′ power cord which plugs into 110V outlets.
It comes packed with a 7.5-inch blade, which is suitable for most small to medium fish. Longer or shorter blades can be purchased separately. It’s very easy to cut through even the largest fish with the razor-sharp blades and variable speed. The grip is comfortable and fits in the hand like a glove.
The knife is equipped with a modern motor, which stays cool and quiet during operation. Rapala states that it’s twice as fast and thrice as powerful as the standard electric knives.
Overall, this is a reasonably priced high quality electric filleting knife, which you can use for pretty much any fish cleaning tasks. Of course, you are not limited only to fish, as it will work with any meat you throw at it.
You can read our indepth review of the Rapala Heavy Duty Knife.
Click here to check the knife on Amazon!
5) Piranha Electric Fillet Knife
The Piranha MT-1208 SW knife by Mister Twister doesn’t enjoy as positive reviews as the legendary Mister Twister knife, but it isn’t a bad knife by any means. While the blue and white model may not be as good as its green any yellow sibling, it still has a lot to offer to any avid fisherman.
The knife is designed for both saltwater and freshwater fish. It is equipped with 9-inch razor sharp stainless steel blade with hundreds of serration, which will make a quick process with anything that comes into its path.
Mister Twister claims that their motor is more powerful and offers more torque than most of their competitors. It’s difficult to check whether that claim is true or not.
If you decide to get the knife via Amazon, be sure to thoroughly check what version you are getting, as there seems to some confusion between what’s being advertised and what’s actually being sold.
Click here to check the knife on Amazon!
Final thoughts
While electric knives have gone quite a long way since their birth, we still think that a traditional knife may be a better choice for most people. Yes, it does require a bit more skill than an electric knife, but it usually can be used for precise cuts, doesn’t require any power apart from your own hands, and can survive harsher treatment. If you tend to gut and clean your fish immediately after catching them, the traditional knife seems to be the best way to go. On the other hand, should you be cleaning large volumes of fish and require to do so quickly, the electric version is probably the better choice here.
If you think anything else should be added to this guide, don’t hesitate to write a comment to this article using the form below. We appreciate every comment.