Fish knife
by Kuba Chruszczewski
During a fishing expedition, while fishing as well as on a camping trip, there are quite a few activities for which we will need to use a knife. It should be a large knife with a long, strong blade, as it has to meet a variety of challenges - from minor repairs to equipment, to cooking a meal, to preparing wood for a campfire. A folding knife is perhaps more handy when it comes to carrying ( especially one equipped with a clip that allows you to clip it securely to your pocket ), perhaps less obtrusive than a knife in a scabbard clipped to your belt. But a knife with a fixed blade has two undeniable advantages, giving it an advantage over a „folding” knife. First, it does not get clogged with debris, mucus, blood and sand, which inevitably awaits any knife used in the field, especially when fishing. Secondly, it does not fold up on the fingers when least expected, which unfortunately sometimes happens to folded cheap „bazaar” knives.
And, after all, we need a reliable, sturdy tool. Our knife is supposed to slice bread, cut sausage sticks, ba - sometimes it should cope with digging a tent or splitting a thick log into logs for a bonfire. These jobs are unlikely to be done even by the sturdiest folding knife. So you will need to get a tool that is solidly made, made of good quality materials and of the right dimensions.
If the knife is to prove itself in the tasks mentioned above, it is best if it has a blade of at least 12 centimeters, a 15-centimeter one will certainly not be too long. Choose a knife that is quite solid - let the back of the blade be at least 4 mm thick.
Of the very wide range of steels from which modern knives are made, let's choose stainless steel. Although steels called carbon steels have slightly better cutting properties, but they rust easily and - even meticulously cared for - quickly discolor, and this does not suit everyone. A knife for our tasks must not require too much maintenance. Washing it in the river and wiping it dry should be enough.
The handle should be made of a material that does not slip in a wet hand soiled with mucus or blood. Nowadays, plastic materials are used to make handles that provide a firm grip, resistance to mechanical damage and chemicals - there is plenty to choose from. Although knives with handles made of traditional materials ( horn, bone, wood) are often very beautiful, but sometimes they are more easily damaged. In turn, those for which specially prepared natural materials were used ( impregnated horn, stabilized wood) are sometimes quite expensive.
The knife needs to be carried securely and comfortably. For a knife with a fixed blade, a well-designed scabbard is indispensable. It can be leather (elegant and stylish, but more easily soiled, which is inevitable on fishing), or it can be made of plastic. A rather long knife clipped in a scabbard to the belt sometimes gets in the way when sitting down or bending over. So it is good if there is a possibility to cinch it in a horizontal position ( photo 1.).
Also worthy of recommendation is the method commonly used in Scandinavia - a special deep scabbard does not have a loop for threading the belt, the knife dangles freely on the loop.( photo 2.)
So we have a basic, almost universal knife. Exactly, almost... there are several activities for which our strong, and therefore quite thick and stiff blade is not very suitable. I am referring to filleting fish. For this purpose, a special knife with a characteristic narrow, thin and quite flexible blade was invented.(Photos 3., 4.) If we do not intend to take the caught fish, or we are going to work it only at home or in the quarters, then it is not worth carrying the „fillet” with us, although there are also folding versions, which can be easily carried even in the pocket of a vest. (Photo 3.)
To ''folders” for a moment returning - I do not completely delete them, on the contrary. I always have in my vest a Swiss pocket knife equipped with a cap and can opener, screwdriver, corkscrew, scissors and whatnot.... oh, and two blades, which of the aforementioned toolkit I probably use the least often.( photo 3.)
And that's for the fact that I always carry another knife, probably the most important of all this arsenal.
Bird & Trout ("bird and trout"), is a small knife invented and developed already about 100 years ago by American hunters and anglers, used - as the name suggests - for binding fish and small game. It has a small sized blade which is perfect for such tasks (photos 5., 6., 7.). It is most conveniently carried as a so-called. neck knife, A knife hung around the neck. It then serves not only as a knife for framing small prey, for which the basic camp knife is simply too large.
Imagine such a situation: I'm standing above the waist in a swift current and trying to rescue a favorite fly hooked overhead, on a branch I can barely reach. The branch, or line, needs to be cut. Pulling a knife from the scabbard at my belt ( mostly underwater), or - worse - rummaging through my vest looking for a pocket knife and opening it with my teeth.... That's out. I then reach for the knife hanging around my neck , yank it out of the sheath, one cut, back into the sheath, done.... The knife can be hung with the handle up ( photo 8.).
, However, it is more convenient to pick it up when it hangs in the handle-down position ( photo 9.).
This is possible when the sheath is made of a special material that resiliently embraces the knife, so securely that it has no possibility of falling out under its own weight, while it can be easily pulled out and then slid back in with one hand. My B&T( pic.10.)
At the end of the handle has a special ring. An extremely useful thing. You thread your little finger through this ring - when you need both hands to work, you let go of the knife allowing it to hang on your finger - this protects the knife from drowning when you are standing in water (photo 11., 12.).
And when you work with the knife on the shore, you don't have to put it down in the grass, which is a common cause of losing a knife. And one more important thing - when discussing the project with the „knifemaker” from whom I ordered the knife, I asked him to design the ring in such a way that it would also be a cap opener.
So what kind of knife to choose, when we already know what we will expect from it and what features it should have to make it a useful and helpful addition to the angler's equipment? Personally, I highly recommend ordering a knife from one of the already quite numerous „knifemakers” in our country. We will have the kind of knife we dream of, in accordance with our expectations, and at the same time - which is not insignificant - unique. Such a knife is an investment of several hundred zlotys. If, on the other hand, we do not intend to spend too much at the beginning, and we want to have a good blade for a moderate price, I highly recommend purchasing one of the many Swedish-made knives offered in a large selection ( photo 13.) -.
These knives are characterized by an extremely favorable relationship of price( 50-100 zł.) to quality.
If some of the readers happen to have a not uncommon case of addiction to good steel ( which affected at least the writer of these words), then forgive me. I just wanted to convince you that on fishing without a knife you can't move.
Photos.1., 2., 3., 8., 9., 10., 11., 12., 13. - Kuba Chruszczewski
Photos 4., 5., 6., 7., Tomasz Zawilinski
The knife from photos 9., 10., 11., 12. was made by Piotr „Kubek” Jakubiec
The knives in photos 4., 5., 6., 7. were made by Christopher „Kroko” Saddles
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