Damascus Fillet Knife, 7.5 Inch Blade with Camel Bone Handle

Filleting a fish is a job of following, not cutting. The blade runs the ribs and the spine and lifts the flesh off whole, and a long thin blade with give does that better than anything stiff. This one is 7.5 inches of Damascus over a high carbon core, set into camel bone. It is also the knife people buy as a gift, to be kept and handed on.

Specification

The blade

The steel is Damascus, pattern welded over a high carbon core, etched so the twist pattern shows down the whole blade, with a fine bright edge. Twist comes from winding the billet before it is drawn out, so the layers rise in loops rather than lines. The grind is thin behind the edge. There is give in it. Enough to follow the ribs, enough backbone that the tip goes where you put it. The core under the pattern is carbon steel. It darkens with use and it spots if left wet.

The handle

Camel bone is dense and polishes up pale, cream through to honey, with darker grain lines that no two scales share. It does not soften or swell around water the way an open pored wood can, which matters on a knife that lives by a sink. The scales sit on a full tang, held with brass pins, so nothing is glued on to work loose. Five inches of handle gives your hand room to slide back for the long pull along the spine.

The leather sheath

The sheath is where this one does its talking. The leather is vegetable tanned and the face is hand carved with a floral and scroll pattern, cut with a swivel knife, not pressed out by a machine. A welt is sewn into the edge so the hand stitching sits clear of the steel, and a snap strap closes over the handle. It covers the blade only, for storage and carrying, not a belt rig.

Who it suits

Most of these leave here in a box with somebody else's name on the card.

• Anyone buying for a fisherman who already owns plenty of gear
• Buyers who want the sheath to be half the present
• People who want a knife handed down rather than replaced
• Cooks who fillet whole fish at home

What comes in the box

• The Damascus fillet knife
• The hand carved leather sheath
• A care card
• A free laser engraving quote on request

Every piece is different

Every blade is forged and finished here by hand, so runs stay small. The twist pattern comes out its own way on each billet and it never repeats. Camel bone is an animal material, so color and grain shift from one handle to the next. Yours will not match the photographs.

Looking after it

Hand wash it and dry it straight away. Do not leave it in a wet sink, and never the dishwasher. Heat and detergent are hard on the carbon core and the bone. Give it a light coat of food safe mineral oil before it goes back in the sheath. Cut on wood or plastic. Glass and stone will dull a thin blade faster than any fish. More in our care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per blade, added on this page. Around 30 characters fits along a blade this size, enough for a name and a year. It is done after the knife is finished. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. Free on orders of 10 or more. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

Is this a sensible gift for someone who already owns knives? That is most of who buys it. The carved sheath is what people react to first.

Does it arrive ready to give? It comes in the sheath, in the box, with a care card.

Why camel bone instead of wood? It is denser than most handle woods and it holds up around water without swelling.

Will it rust? The core under the pattern is carbon steel, so yes if it is neglected. Dry it and keep a little mineral oil on it and it darkens instead of spotting.

How much flex is in the blade? Enough give to follow the ribs, enough backbone to stay controlled.

How long does shipping take? Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.

If something rougher suits the person better, there is the Damascus fillet knife on stag antler, and for a brighter handle there is the Damascus fillet knife with a blue resin handle. The rest sits in fillet and boning knives, the other pieces on bone are in bone handle knives, and gift buyers start in gifts for him.