Damascus Fillet Knife, 7 Inch Flexible Blade, Olive Wood Handle

You bring a whole snapper home, scale it in the sink and want two clean sides off it with nothing left on the frame. That is the job here. The blade is 7 inches of Damascus, pattern welded over a high carbon core, thin enough to ride the bone and come back up. The handle is olive wood, shaped for wet hands.

Specification

The blade

The steel is welded in layers over a high carbon core, then etched so a raindrop figure shows along the blade. The bevel is ground thin and taken to a fine bright edge, since a fillet blade parts skin from flesh rather than shoving through. At 7 inches it steers easily in a home sink. There is give in it. Enough to follow the ribs, enough backbone that the tip goes where you aim it. The carbon under the pattern darkens with use, and it spots if you leave it wet.

The handle

Olive wood is dense and oily by nature, so it copes with fish and salt water better than an open grain wood. Dark and pale run through the same piece, so no two sets of scales match. The tang runs the full length of the handle with the scales either side, held by brass pins peened over and sanded flush. Five inches gives room to choke up near the heel for a careful pass, then slide back for a long stroke down a side.

The leather sheath

The sheath is vegetable tanned leather, cut and hand stitched here, with a stamped basket weave face and a welted edge so the stitching sits inside where the blade cannot saw at it. A snap strap holds the knife in. It covers the blade only, so treat it as where the knife lives between jobs, in a drawer or a bag, not a rig for a belt. Leather darkens as it gets handled.

Who it suits

This is the one knife answer to a fish counter habit, for a drawer rather than a rack.

• Home cooks who buy fish whole and break it down
• Small kitchens with room for one fish knife
• People who want a Damascus pattern on a knife that gets used
• Cooks tired of a bendy blade that will not hold an edge

What comes in the box

• The Damascus fillet knife
• The hand stitched leather sheath
• A care card
• Engraving quote

Every piece is different

Every blade is forged, ground, heat treated and sharpened by hand, so runs stay small and no two finish alike. The raindrop figure lands differently on each one. The olive wood may be lighter or darker than the photographs and the grain runs its own way. Yours will not be a copy.

Looking after it

Hand wash it in warm water and dry it straight away. Do not leave it in the sink under a bowl, that is how spots start. Once it is dry, wipe a light coat of food safe mineral oil over the blade, more so if it is going in a drawer for a week. Cut on wood or plastic, never the dishwasher. More on our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per blade and you add it on this page. Around 30 characters fits, so a name, or a name and a date. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. Engraving is free on orders of 10 or more, handy for a group. The engraving page covers the rest.

Questions buyers ask

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

Will it rust? It can. The core under the pattern is carbon steel, so it darkens with use and spots if left wet. Dry it and oil it.

Is 7 inches long enough for fish from a counter? For the size most counters sell whole, yes, and a shorter blade is easier to control in a small sink.

Is this a boning knife? No. A fillet blade is longer, thinner and has give, so it follows the ribs of a fish. A boning knife is shorter and stiffer, for joints and bone in meat and poultry.

Can I wash it with the dinner dishes? Wash it by hand and dry it. It should not sit in a full sink.

Does the olive wood need anything? A little mineral oil when it looks dry brings the grain back.

For the same blade in a brighter handle, there is the Damascus fillet knife with a blue resin handle. If you break down whole chickens, the Damascus boning knife on the same olive wood pairs with it. The rest live in fillet and boning knives, olive wood handle knives and Damascus steel.