What to do with a Christmas present...

[discomute]

My wife knew I needed a new fish filleting knife and got me this
https://www.baccarat.com.au/baccarat-damashiro-filleting-knife-20cm
Now, here is the story. When I first started fishing I bought a $20 knife from a fishing shop and have been using it ever since. It never keeps an edge and is 16cm and I have been meaning to get a new one for years. The reason that I never did is I treat the knife like crap - all my filleting is done on a boat so it get salt water on it. It comes home smelling like fish and I usually put it through the dishwasher before running it through an electric sharpener or maybe just a honing stick before putting it back in my bag. (The Victorinox ones that look decent to me are around $90. But I've always felt with a new knife will come a responsibility to treat it properly, hand wash and stone sharpen)

Well my wife went to a kitchen shop (as opposed to a fishing shop) so the first and main issue it has is there is no shealth which makes it useless as I fillet everything on a boat so I don't have to take the frames home. I may be able to get a universal one if anyone has recommendations. Also the grip is of concern although my testing has shown it has weirdly more than I'd expect.

Otherwise yes the hardness of 53 isn't ideal, that said it smashes through fishbones all the time (okay not all the time but user error is common enough) so I am thinking it might not be the worst hardness rating.

It was bought from a small shop that don't do "change of minds" despite the salesman assuring my wife it was the perfect filleting knife and the rather misleading advertising on it, I doubt I can refund it. So options are
- source a shealth (spend more money), chuck it in the boat and go back to treating the knife like crap and hopefully don't cut my hand when the grip gets slimy
- try to sell it online, probably get $10
- keep it in the kitchen for... (Help?) I have a great 16cm bunka knife I use for veggies and a 11cm petty I use for silver skin and meat prep. (Yes I tend to prefer my knives smaller for some reason) plus some global's/free ones from coles

 

[Jovidah]

I'd go for a refund, this looks like overpriced junk. A simple Mora or Martiini would be way better for less money.
No sheath, junk steel, crap hardness. This is a 3 dollar ali express knife and the salesman recommending it should be ashamed.

 

[daveb]

Tell her you love it.

Find and buy the one you like. Use the one you like on the boat. Keep the other in your kit.

Happy wife, happy life, goes a long way.

 

[Rangen]

Can't improve on daveb's tactical advice, but it hurts to see all those frames go to waste. Fish, like all meat, is better on the bone, steamed, pan-fried, whatever. And if that doesn't suit you, you could make some great stock.

 

[WildBoar]

Well if nothing else they could win an award for marketing BS. And that would make this an award-winning fillet knife

 

[Metallicats44]

“Damascus inspired” .. bravo to your wife for the effort tho

 

[discomute]

Yep I once passed on a graduate opportunity with the ACCC (the government body who regulates consumer law and misleading and deceptive conduct) and I think of it in situations like this

I think I agree that buying a proper shealth for $10-20 is throwing good money after bad. I might give a return a crack but it's highly unlikely. I can't imagine ever using it

PS wife knows I don't like it for the practical reasons, not how much of a scam it really is

PPS. Living in the tropics the fish I catch and eat are at least 60cm/24 inches. You're not cooking them in any pans. And the frames are a real pain to deal with as they stink. Even freezing first and binning the night before collection is difficult due to space in freezer. Ironically the wife hates the smell and look of fish and would kill me if I started bringing them home...

 

[Corradobrit1]

Just be thankful it wasn't a CM.

 

[DitmasPork]

My wife knew I needed a new fish filleting knife and got me this
https://www.baccarat.com.au/baccarat-damashiro-filleting-knife-20cm
Now, here is the story. When I first started fishing I bought a $20 knife from a fishing shop and have been using it ever since. It never keeps an edge and is 16cm and I have been meaning to get a new one for years. The reason that I never did is I treat the knife like crap - all my filleting is done on a boat so it get salt water on it. It comes home smelling like fish and I usually put it through the dishwasher before running it through an electric sharpener or maybe just a honing stick before putting it back in my bag. (The Victorinox ones that look decent to me are around $90. But I've always felt with a new knife will come a responsibility to treat it properly, hand wash and stone sharpen)

Well my wife went to a kitchen shop (as opposed to a fishing shop) so the first and main issue it has is there is no shealth which makes it useless as I fillet everything on a boat so I don't have to take the frames home. I may be able to get a universal one if anyone has recommendations. Also the grip is of concern although my testing has shown it has weirdly more than I'd expect.

Otherwise yes the hardness of 53 isn't ideal, that said it smashes through fishbones all the time (okay not all the time but user error is common enough) so I am thinking it might not be the worst hardness rating.

It was bought from a small shop that don't do "change of minds" despite the salesman assuring my wife it was the perfect filleting knife and the rather misleading advertising on it, I doubt I can refund it. So options are
- source a shealth (spend more money), chuck it in the boat and go back to treating the knife like crap and hopefully don't cut my hand when the grip gets slimy
- try to sell it online, probably get $10
- keep it in the kitchen for... (Help?) I have a great 16cm bunka knife I use for veggies and a 11cm petty I use for silver skin and meat prep. (Yes I tend to prefer my knives smaller for some reason) plus some global's/free ones from coles

Gift from your wife? I’d keep it, cherish it, use it as much as possible.

 

[BrokenChef]

Material: Japanese steel
Damascus inspired
.. what the actual F?!?!

No offense to your wife, but I'm an idiot when it comes to Japanese knives, but still wouldn't have taken that bait.

Sorry brother, hard call, but I'd tell the wife you were using it wrong and figured out that it's a great knife... That will last a lifetime - so she never buys you another. Def never mention needing something again that you don't want her picking out.

Chalk it up to lesson learned and buy yourself something you like and will use. Gift it to someone you don't like, lol.

To her credit, she probably told the salesman that you put it in the dishwasher, thus the slippery steel handle.

This is exactly why I discourage buying any quality item from a store. Kitchen stores here (in the US) are loaded with garbage products. They'd claim Henkles are the best in the world and sell them to you for 5x the price you could get online.

The whole reason I joined this forum was to avoid buying a set of garbage stones on Amazon. One month in - I'm a knife snob

I'd LOVE to have a job discrediting/prosecuting false advertising. Probably my biggest pet peeve. It's everywhere these days! That and going after scammers - pretty much the same thing.

 

[WildBoar]

Gift from your wife? I’d keep it, cherish it, use it as much as possible.

Dude, why the heck would you keep and cherish a gift from @discomute 's wife??? You tryin' to start somethin'?

 

[Jovidah]

Sorry brother, hard call, but I'd tell the wife you were using it wrong and figured out that it's a great knife... That will last a lifetime - so she never buys you another. Def never mention needing something again that you don't want her picking out.


This is exactly why I discourage buying any quality item from a store. Kitchen stores here (in the US) are loaded with garbage products. They'd claim Henkles are the best in the world and sell them to you for 5x the price you could get online.

Truth... it's not your wife's fault; she's relying on a salesman, who screwed the pooch. But on a lot of cooking gear it's my experience that asking for advice in a shop is like playing Russian roulette. Many shops barely even have any knives worth buying in the first place, and most stores won't have any salespeople who actually have a clue about them. If you need something to be good, either specify a specific item or buy it yourself.
And in this case even something from Zwilling would have been a lot better.

 

[timos]

i would spend a couple bucks on a plastic edge guard and keep it as a companion to a harder and sharper filet. You can hack off the fish heads with that rc53 blade and do the finer work with the other.