Rapala electric fillet knife

[harvey lee]

I have a friend who purchased a Rapala electric filet knife, one with a cord. he said he gets about half way through a 20# king salmon and the motor gets very hot.

He is wondering if they will only cut through a smaller fish or maybe a bad motor in his knife.

I would assume the one with the Lithium Ion battery would be alot better?

He is not sure if he has a defective one and if he should have bought the most expensive one.

Anyone know anything about these knives? Are there different models og the electric version with more power. Really do not see anything like that offered on thier HSOforum.

Thanks for any help.

[leechlake]

HL,

I've had a few corded Rapalas and it's what I use now. It hangs outside of cabin on a hook under the eave near the fish cleaning table. I treat it like dump and the only issue is getting new blades every year or so. Never has got hot and it's been left in the rain accidently etc.

I'm thinking it's a bad one? I do notice on bigger fish it certainly doesn't clean as easily as smaller walleyes, kind of got to man handle it (yes I'm admitting a larger walleye sometimes gets into the frying pan)

I did burn my fingers bad on the fire pit the weekend before the 4th but not on the knife.

[kkahmann]

They all get hot with continued use but only 1 salmon means a bad motor and Raps are known for them. I've never seen the battery operated ones hold up for any length of time.

The electric knives take some gettin used to for an old commercial fisherman and I can still fillet faster by hand with a sharp knife but! at the end of the day my back, wrists and forearms don't require as much naproxene.

[harvey lee]

What would be the better brand to purchase if the Rapala are not that well built?

[herefish101]

I've had the mister twister knife and the rapala knife, the best one yet is my wife's hammilton beach electric carving knife, looks the same as the mr twister, but the motor is a lot stronger, and the motor never even gets warm. I do like the rapala blades better though.

[1968]

Had the mistertwister for a while and last year got an old plain kitchen one at a garage sale for $5 so a friend can join the fun. I suspect the old one will outlast the much newer rapala. Smaller with just as much power too.

[Savage Brewer]

$5 garage sale special carving knife FTW!

Oh and remember to plug into a GFCI when using it.

[ANYFISH2]

my rapala electric also gets pretty warm after 10 min of filleting. I am more concerned with the uncomfortable trigger location, kills my tennis elbow!

[kerryd15]

I'm pretty sure that the rapala blades fit the GE electric knives. Did on mine. Pick one up for $20 and a pair of rapala blades. My GE gets warm after a while also but not unbearable.

[DLD24]

I use a black and decker for $12 I think, works great...

[DTro]

My rapala battery powered knife made a loud thud when it hit the bottom of the trash bin.

Cheap Hamilton Beach for me too.

[Hawg]

Im with DTro, pure junk. I wouldn't even think of attempting to use them on salmon, they stink on panfish!

[Mid-Lake Rock]

My cheap Hamilton Beach started to get hot and eventually quit after one month of ice fishing. I don't keep a lot of fish and if I remember correctly I cleaned two walleyes, 10 perch, six crappies and six gills before it stopped working. Glad I only spent $20.

The electrics are convenient and fast, but I'd really like to find something that gets consistent reviews. Everything on the market now is hit or miss. I might just invest in a high end knife and call it good.

[TruthWalleyes]

My rapala brand has worked very well the last few years.

QUIT BUYING BATTERY POWERED GUYS....PLUG INTO THE WALL.

Oh, I paid $5 for all 3 of my rapala brand electrics at the berkely outlet store....So i could care less if one carped out.

I also resharpen the knives with a worksharp and have about 5 spare sets of blades for $2 each.

[CaptainMusky]

Rapala has multiple models. The deluxe model has connectors for attaching to a battery in your truck or boat, corded, or even a 12 volt adapter plug. This is the model I have. The other model is a straight up corded version.

The main difference is the straight up corded version cycles the blade about 2x the speed my "deluxe" does. Not a fan of the slower speed mine is, but it has NEVER caused me any issues and works flawlessly.

We had groups of people with our catches and only 1 other guy cleaning fish with me at one time and mine never got hot. Warm yes, hot no.

I have cleaned hundreds of fish with mine over the years and many times 20 to 30 fish at a time and its never posed a problem.

My buddy has the cordless rapala and if you clean a mess of fish he needs to swap batteries, but no issues with his either.

[kkahmann]

Several years ago Menards had some on sale for like $13.95--brand name was 'Storm'. They had really short blades which might work for pan fish but not whitefish or walleye. Good thing was the long replacement blades from Rapala would fit them.

[candiru]

Personally I am a fan of American Angler knives. I have cleaned plenty of fish including salmon and they seem to do fine.

[Sutty]

I believe the knife that gets the most consistent reviews is the Mr. Twister. I use it on Salmon without issue. They don't cost much and you can find them on sale from time to time. Look for the ones that have the sharp point instead of the rounded ones. If you use them on salmon pick up a set of the longer blades. I bought a spare knife assuming I will burn out my first one. Still going strong after about five years. It has cleaned a lot of fish.

[Northlander]

I have had good and bad of all brands. The worst ones were the Mr. Twisters. I had a cheap Wally World on and cant remember the name but it was a good knife for 2 years and I got my $ out of it. I now have the rapala corded one I got at the Swap Meet about 5 years ago and its still going strong after tons of fish.