[Top 3] Best Electric Fillet Knife for 2024

Any fisherman knows that cleanup can easily become the most time-consuming and boring part of a fishing trip, so how do you save time and energy?

An electric fillet knife can turn your whole fish into just bones in a matter of minutes!

To find the best of the best, THT took our time and thoroughly researched the best electric fillet knives of 2024, which we then narrowed down the different tester knives by using these parameters:

• Power
• Comfort
• Durability
• Versatility

For avid fishermen and whole roasters of birds, an electric fillet knife with a sharp blade is going to be your best option for cutting pieces of meat clean off of the bones.

It’s also a great addition to any home chef’s kitchen drawer and allows you to cut thin slices, even if you’re a newbie.

Clean-up is so much quicker and easier when using a fish fillet knife, too!

Both Rapala and American Angler brands make some amazing pro models in the electric knife space, but Bubba is also a trusted manufacturer.

Since different folks have different needs when buying kitchen gadgets, we made a top [3] list of our favorite best electric fillet knives for 2024, which are:

• Rapala Heavy-Duty Electric Fillet Knife—Best Overall
• Bubba Li-Ion Cordless Electric Fillet Knife—Best Cordless Knife
• American Angler PRO Electric Fillet Knife Set—Best Package

Benefits of Electric Fillet Knives

If you’re not experienced at using an electric knife, an electric fillet knife will most likely leave your fillets looking much better and save a lot of time.

There are tons of reasons to utilize an electric fillet knife, including:

• Less waste: A fillet knife is long, thin, and flexible to allow you to separate the meat from the skin without generating waste.
• No more jagged edges: Electric fillet knives of this kind have serrated, reciprocating blades that move the blade along. This is good because you won’t have to perform a sawing motion back and forth, which reduces jagged edges.
• Good for small and big fish: Electric fillet knives make it easier to cut thin, small fish. Big fish with thicker bones, like tuna, are also much easier and safer to cut with an electric fillet knife because they can cut through the bone and hard skin with less effort.
• Great for carving turkeys and roasts: You don’t have to use your electric knife just for fish! They are also the perfect tool for carving turkeys on Thanksgiving or thinly slicing a beef roast for sandwiches. After all, the blade is perfect for all meats!

Factors to Focus On

If you’re confused as to what factors of an electric fillet knife are important, focus on these:

• Power source: Think about where you’re going to use your knife. Will you need a power cord? If you don’t have access to electricity, consider a cordless knife. Otherwise, you may need an extension cord to reach an outlet.
• Blade: The quality and flexibility of the blade are important for durability and to avoid wasting fish. Some heavy-duty electric fillet knives come with interchangeable stainless steel blades for different uses. The ease of changing and cleaning the blade is also important.
• Power and speed: A higher speed and a more potent motor will help you cut through the meat with less effort.

Electric Fillet Knives FAQs

Many who are new to hearing about electric fillet knives will have some questions, to which we can supply answers.

After all, we just spent tons of time testing them out!

Do Electric Knife Sharpeners Ruin Knives?

Electric sharpeners don’t ruin normal chef knives, but you can alter the angle of the knife if you aren’t careful.

This doesn’t mean you can’t use the knife, but you may have to invest more time to get the knife’s profile right.

However, you shouldn’t use an electric sharpener on an electric fillet knife or other serrated knives.

It may ruin the serration if you’re not careful, and that’s tougher to fix.

Can You Sharpen Electric Fillet Knife Blades?

You can, and should, sharpen electric fillet knife blades when they get dull.

A sharp knife is safer than a dull one since you won’t be making any rash, unsafe sawing movements to cut through the fish.

There are electric fillet knife sharpeners out there, which are made for specifically sharpening fillet knife blades.

You can check with your electric fillet knife manufacturer to see if they make a knife sharpener unique for your model.

How Do You Fillet Fish With an Electric Fish Knife?

Using an electric fillet knife isn’t more complicated than a normal knife.

However, it can be more dangerous if you’re not careful.

Always keep your fingers behind the blade and direct the knife away from yourself to avoid injury.

It’s also good to have a safety glove on the hand that holds the fish to protect yourself from the moving blade.

This won’t only protect your fingers from the blade but also the sharp fish scales.

Here is our step-by-step guide on how to fillet a fish with an electric knife:

• Step 1: Make your first cut right behind the gills and the side fin, downward until you get to the backbone.
• Step 2: Turn the electric fillet knife and guide it along the backbone toward the tail.
• Step 3: Don’t cut the tail, but leave it on so you can carefully slide the knife along the skin to separate it from your fillet.
• Step 4: Scoop out any remainders of the rib cage and skin with the knife, and immediately put the meat in water to avoid the remaining blood from sticking to the meat.
• Step 5: Turn the body around and repeat on the other side.

Watch this step-by-step guide here.

Who Makes the Best Fillet Knife?

The best electric fillet knives are traditionally made by fishing brands, such as Rapala, Bubba, and American Angler.

Mister Twister is another reputable brand that you will upon during your search.

All of these brands are great investments since they provide you the exact kinds of blades you’ll need for different types of fish.

Rapala makes the best heavy-duty electric fillet knife while Bubba manufactures the best cordless electric fillet knife.

We were also super impressed with the American Angler Pro electric fillet knife, which also just made our list.

What Is the Best Electric Knife?

The best electric fillet knife, in our opinion, is the Rapala Heavy-Duty electric knife that we’ve reviewed below.

This Rapala knife checked off all of our requirements when testing a wide range of electric knives.

Plus, with safety in mind, it is fun to use this electric fillet knife on your fishing trip due to how well it glides into the fish.

However, if you’re looking for something exclusively for turkey or chicken, you may like this Black+Decker EK500B 9-inch carving knife.

What Factors Drove Our Ratings

• Power: More motor power means you can fillet with more speed and efficiency.
• Comfort: Lightweight fillet knives that sit comfortably in your hand to reduce fatigue.
• Durability: Quality brands and a sturdy build give you more years of use.
• Versatility: Blade options give you usability in different situations.

User reviews were also a large part of our research, to ensure verified users were happy with their purchases, and to compare our findings with each electric fillet knife review.

Here at The Healthy Treehouse, we value quality over quantity.

If we felt that the cost was greater than the value of what the electric fillet knife included, that model would be excluded from the list.

Top-Rated Best Electric Fillet Knife—Best Overall

This Rapala Heavy-Duty Electric Fillet Knife truly lives up to its name since it’s made for heavy-duty electric fillet work, even on larger fish.

One stand-out feature is a quiet motor, even though it has a massive 110 volts of power.

This electric fillet knife also remains cool, and you can cut through the meat without making any other effort than guiding the blade along.

Note that the 7.5-inch reciprocating blades are dishwasher safe, and you can use them for most small to medium-sized fish.

We liked how the Rapala Heavy-Duty electric fillet knife isn’t too heavy at 4.8 ounces, and the ergonomic handle has a nice grip.

This makes it really easy to keep the knife in your hand and guide it along with the fish.

Power

The electric fillet knife motor features 110-volts of power, which we found to remain cool when testing. It also made the powerful cutting cleaner and easier with the sharp blade.

Comfort

Compared to some other models that we tested, the Rapala Heavy-Duty was super comfortable to use due to the ergonomic handle and lightweight nature of this electric fillet knife.

Durability

This Rapala Heavy-Duty knife was found to be very durable during testing, despite the lightness of the product. Since the electric fillet knife remains cool when running, it will last the consumer a long time after purchase.

Versatility

Although the Rapala knife comes with one set of blades, these blades are versatile enough to cut through fish, whole birds, steaks, bread, and more.

User Reviews:

TJ (verified purchase) had this to say about it in March 2017: “This is one of the best electric fish knives that’s not something made for commercial use. The blade is so sharp!”

Why Buy This Product

Our top pick Rapala Heavy-Duty model is by far the best electric fillet knife that we tested.

It hits every single parameter and passes with flying colors, allowing the consumer to fillet their fish and other meats with ease.

Top-Rated Best Electric Fillet Knife—Best Cordless Knife

If what you need is a lithium-ion cordless fillet knife to take with you somewhere without access to a power source, you may want to invest in a rechargeable cordless model.

This Bubba Li-Ion Cordless Electric Fillet Knife is among the best there is and is reliable enough to take on your long fishing trips. 

It also comes with two lithium-ion batteries, so you have a spare one in case you run out of charge.

The cordless model has a bit more weight to it than the latter, but our testers still found this fillet knife to be very comfortable to hold when in use.

It comes with four sets of blades, of 7, two 9-inch, and a 12-inch, which gives you nice versatility for both small and big fish. 

Power

The battery-powered motor of this Bubba electric knife guarantees to have so much power and the longest-running time. It also comes with a second battery for your convenience.

Comfort

When testing, the cordless electric fillet knife was extremely comfortable to hold and use, even when pushing the blade through tough fish bones.

Durability

The Bubba lithium-ion cordless knife has flexible blades that glide through the meat with ease, from fish to turkey. Since each blade is interchangeable, you have more cutting options.

Versatility

With four blade sizes, this fillet knife has the most versatility of our picks. This is also because the knife goes with you wherever you need it.

User Reviews

Nick (verified purchase) said in September 2019: “I use it to clean everything from sharks, which are the toughest to clean because of their sandpaper-like skin, to giant trevally, amberjacks and steak up thick albacore tunas. Filleting is easy, steaking them by cutting them in half-inch pieces is a lot tougher on a blade. It even cleans Gray snappers aka Jobfish or UKU in Hawaii. These have heavy scales like a redfish. I can process about 15 to 20 fish on one battery. These are 10 to 25-pound ocean fish.”

Why Buy This Product

Buy this electric fillet knife if you want to process your fish right there in your boathouse, or if you are an avid camper looking to live off of the beautiful land and water during your trip.

Top-Rated Best Electric Fillet Knife—Best Package

American Angler is another fisherman-approved and designed electric fillet knife.

This American Angler Pro Electric Fillet Knife has plenty of power to clean up big fish with the 5 included blades within the set.

The basic 8-inch blades are enough for most types of fish, from walleye to snapper.

Moreover, this fillet knife package comes with a full set of blades with a durable build, from 5.5 inches for trout to the heady-duty 10-inch blades for tuna.

American Angler values safety, so a cutting glove is included with purchase to protect your hands from the stainless steel blade.

Note that this knife weighs 2.6 pounds, which we found to be a maneuverable weight, but the heaviest electric fillet knife of our picks.

Power

This fillet knife’s motor power was so strong, it cut small and big fish cleanly and evenly when testing. The power cord reaches long enough to an outlet at a comfortable length.

Comfort

This hearty electric fillet knife weighs 2.6 pounds, so it is suitable for larger hands.

Durability

Testers loved the clean, sharp cuts that this fillet knife blade can provide, allowing a novice fisherman to be filleting fish like a pro.

Versatility

With 5 included blades, there is virtually nothing this fillet knife can’t cut. Interchanging the blades makes the cleaning process a breeze.

User Reviews

Ashley (verified purchase) commented in August 2018: “Love the long narrow blade for slicing the filets off the backbone and the variety of knives makes it easy to pick the right one for the job.”

Why Buy This Product

If you want to easily switch your blade when filleting, this electric fillet knife will be your new best friend.

It is for the person who wants a reliable product for a wide range of cooking and filleting.

What You Might Also Need

For keeping your digits intact when filleting, check out this high-quality Rapala Fillet Glove.

If you fillet fish on your boat, the Magma Bait and Fillet Table may come in handy.

For smaller spaces, this Rapala Poly Fillet Board with Clamp will keep your catch in place.

Nonetheless, if you’re looking for healthy recipes to put these knives and accessories to test, this Ginger Salmon with Cucumber Lime Sauce and Baked Salmon with Zoodles will definitely please your tastebuds.

The Winner

After much careful consideration, the Rapala Heavy-Duty Electric Fillet Knife is the best electric fillet knife in our review.

It’s an incredibly powerful and fast knife with a blade that allows you to slice through even thick fish without tiring yourself, which makes it both convenient and safe.

Also, the long electric cord allows for freedom of movement, and the motor will run for a long time without heating up.

On top of this, it’s not too expensive, so it’s a great purchase for both beginning seafood chefs and experienced fishermen.

Perhaps a cordless electric fillet knife such as the Bubba Lithium-Ion Cordless Knife is more your style, for the travelers out there.

We also love the American Angler Pro because it is a set that includes every type of fillet knife blade that you will ever need.

No matter your needs, an electric fillet knife is an essential tool in any serious cook’s kitchen.

Now let’s get to filleting with your brand new knife!