The best cheap folding fillet knife: a slim, sharp 5-inch 440A blade with a pocket clip and belt sheath for under $20.
Buy it if: Trout and panfish anglers, backpackers and hunters who want a cheap, light folding knife for fish and game.
Skip it if: Anyone who mainly fillets large fish or wants a longer blade.
The Fish & Bone is a simple folding fillet and deboning knife that has been around for years. The 5-inch blade is 440A stainless steel, the knife is 11.3 inches long when open, and it weighs just 3.5 ounces, so it slips into a pocket, tackle box or fly-fishing bag.
The double-molded Zytel handle has rubberized TPR inserts for grip when wet. You get both a pocket clip and a black nylon belt sheath, which is unusual at this price. Outdoor Edge pitches it for trout, crappie, bass, catfish, walleye, perch, salmon and rockfish, as well as processing birds and big game.
On Amazon, buyers most often praise its sharpness, portability and value, and many use it for deboning birds and meat as well as fish. Several mention it's more flexible than a typical boning knife and fits neatly in a bag pocket.
The 5-inch blade limits it to small and medium fish, and like any folding knife it needs careful cleaning around the handle. For under $20, it's an easy knife to keep in a pack or vehicle as a backup.
Here’s where its 5-inch blade sits against typical fish sizes. See blade length by fish for more.
This review is based on the manufacturer’s specifications, the Amazon listing and patterns in verified buyer feedback, compared against the other knives we cover. We haven’t lab-tested it. Read our method.