If you fish as much as I do you undoubtedly have a ridiculous amount of filet knives in your never-ending collection. If that is the case, it probably also holds true that of the umpteen knives you have in the drawer you likely continue to reach for the same 1 or 2 every time you need to clean fish. There is a reason for that, good knives are sometimes hard to find and even harder to put down.
Recently, I had the privilege to try out the new Water Collection from Benchmade. WARNING…these things are SCARY sharp out of the box and stay that way for quite some time! While fishing in Valdez for silver salmon last month I am sure I gave a few of the old timers something to talk about for a while with my “skills” at the fish cleaning station. On the first day we encountered a great push of fish with the in-coming tide, quickly had our limits and were off to clean up our bounty in short order.
I broke out the brand new, Fishcrafter, right out of the box, and proceeded to cut through the backbone on the first three salmon I threw on the table…..not on purpose. I have cleaned salmon before, a lot of salmon, but I looked like a complete noob and was for sure getting the side eye from the crowd at the cleaning station. I quickly recovered and made short work of the remaining fish, but man was I blown away by the sustained sharpness of the Fishcrafter! In all that week, I cleaned over 100 salmon, and I NEVER took that knife to a stone to touch it up, it stayed sharp the entire time.
In addition to the Fishcrafter we tried out the various other blades for different purposes throughout the week. Below is a summary of what was used and the best application we found them to serve:
This was the work horse for the week, after knocking all the salmon filets off I would quickly circle back and start taking the rib bones out for that nice finished, table ready filet. I know, I know…you can easily filet salmon WITHOUT cutting the ribs out, but this is the way I was taught 100 years ago, and you know what they say about teaching an old dog new tricks. The Fishcrafter comes in both a 9” and 7” configuration and will likely bet getting its own drawer as I see this becoming my “EDC” to the fishing cleaning table.
-Open Length: 13.94” or 11.89” depending on model
-Blade Length: 9.05” or 7” depending on model
-Blade Style: Trailing Point
-Blade Finish: Stonewash
-Weight: 2.84oz.
-MSRP: $260 for the 9” and $240 for the 7”
The Intersect is a great multi-purpose belt knife probably best suited for your cutting needs while in the process of fishing rather than afterwards at the fish cleaning station. We used this for anything everything from cutting bait, trimming tackle, bleeding fish etc. It comes with a nice compact sheath that makes it a great “quick to access” cutting tool. In a pinch this could be used to take the ribs out of filets, but I see this one as more of a utility player on the field.
-Open Length: 6.55”
-Blade Length: 2.68”
-Blade Style: Drop-Point
-Blade Finish: Stonewash
-Weight: 2.36oz.
-MSRP: $200
Another utility type tool in the Water Collection. We used this one very similarly to how we used the Intersect. This one is a bit beefier for cutting bigger bait, trimming heavier tackle and bleeding bigger fish. Also comes with a hard molded sheath that sits nicely on Grundens belt or other making for easy access and quick use.
-Open Length: 9.44”
-Blade Length: 4.32”
-Blade Style: Sheepsfoot
-Blade Finish: Stonewash
-Weight: 5.38oz.
-MSRP: $250
The final knife we used on our trip to Valdez was the EDC pocket carry. A nice addition to the lineup that can serve a multitude of uses and is good at just about everything. This comes in two different sizes and is the only no-fixed blade folder in the collection. Like the Intersect and the Undercurrent it can be used as a utility tool for any of your cutting needs while on the water or back at the dock.
-Open Length: 7.46”
-Blade Length: 3.21”
-Blade Style: Drop-Point
-Blade Finish: Stonewash
-Weight: 3.09oz.
-MSRP: $230
In summary, Benchmade has put together an impressive collection of Water cutlery to serve just about any purpose you could think of whether you are cutting rope or cutting gills. The Fishcrafter is the ultimate filet knife for bringing the sea to the table and the rest of the lineup is on deck to help you with all the needs up until that point. For more information on the Water Collection from Benchmade head on over to their site and check them out!
