The Koi Knives Fish Fillet Collection: A Complete Guide for Australian Anglers

Australian fishing is as varied as the country itself. A morning chasing King George Whiting on the flats of Gulf St Vincent. An afternoon on the rocks for snapper off the Victorian coast. A serious offshore run for yellowfin tuna in the Coral Sea. Each fish is different — different size, different flesh, different technique — and the knife that fillets one well isn't necessarily the right knife for the others.

The Koi Knives Fish Fillet Collection is built around this reality. Three knives, each named for a specific Australian fish, each sized and shaped for the task that fish demands.

What the collection is built on

All three knives share the same foundation:

14C28N Swedish steel at 58 HRC. The same Sandvik steel used across the Koi Knives Pocket Knife Aviary — chosen specifically for Australian fishing conditions. The 15% chromium content makes it genuinely corrosion resistant in salt air and salt water, the 58 HRC hardness holds a clean, sharp edge through a session of filleting without needing constant touch-ups, and it sharpens easily with a ceramic rod or whetstone when the time comes.

This matters more for fillet knives than almost any other blade. A fillet knife lives in a salt environment — in a tackle box, a fishing bag, on a boat, near the water. Steel that rusts or corrodes under these conditions isn't just inconvenient; it's a knife you stop trusting. 14C28N handles the Australian coastal and marine environment without drama.

G10 handle. Military-grade fibreglass composite — the best handle material for fishing carry. Impervious to moisture, grippy when wet, and it doesn't absorb fish, salt, or anything else. No swelling, no cracking, no maintenance beyond a rinse.

50/50 blade grind. A symmetrical grind suited to the sliding, curving cuts of filleting — running the blade along the backbone, working around the rib cage, skinning cleanly from the tail. The geometry produces a thin, precise cut that loses as little flesh as possible.

The three knives

The King George Whiting — 185mm flexible fillet knife | $235 AUD

The King George Whiting is one of Australia's most prized eating fish — found from southern Queensland around the coast to Western Australia, with the Gulf St Vincent in South Australia and Port Phillip Bay in Victoria producing some of the finest specimens. It's a delicate, thin-fleshed fish with small bones that rewards precise filleting technique and punishes a heavy hand.

The King George Whiting knife is built for exactly this: 185mm blade, flexible enough to follow the contours of a small to medium fish without tearing the flesh, thin enough to work precisely between skin and flesh. At 58 HRC the edge is sharp enough to produce clean cuts on delicate fish without shredding.

This is the knife for the angler who targets whiting, bream, flathead, garfish, and other smaller to medium species where a flexible blade and precise control matter most.

→ Shop The King George Whiting

The Snapper — 200mm semi-stiff fillet knife | $265 AUD

The Snapper — Australian Red Snapper, formally Pagrus auratus — is one of the country's most widely targeted species. It ranges from the tropical north to the temperate south, from the shallows to offshore reefs, and appears on the end of a line from Cairns to Albany. It's a medium to large fish with firm flesh and a robust structure that rewards a confident blade.

The Snapper knife is the collection's all-rounder — 200mm blade at semi-stiff flex, the right combination of reach and control for medium to larger fish. More spine than the Whiting for the firmer flesh and larger frames of snapper, flathead over 40cm, tailor, and similar species. Semi-stiff means it flexes enough to follow the backbone without being so rigid it tears — the sweet spot for the fish most Australian anglers catch most often.

If you only buy one knife from the collection, the Snapper is the one. It handles the widest range of Australian species competently.

→ Shop The Snapper

The Blue Tuna — 225mm semi-flex fillet knife | $295 AUD

The Southern Bluefin Tuna is one of the great game fish of Australian waters — running in the Great Australian Bight, off the South Australian coast near Port Lincoln, and in the offshore waters of the Southern Ocean and Tasman Sea. It's a large, powerful fish with dense, dark red flesh that requires a longer, more authoritative blade to fillet properly.

The Blue Tuna is the collection's large-fish knife — 225mm blade at semi-flex, the longest and slightly thicker of the three at 2.24mm spine before grind. Semi-flex rather than stiff because even large fish benefit from a blade that can follow the curve of the backbone rather than forcing a straight line through. This is the knife for yellowfin, bluefin, kingfish, large snapper, and any fish where a shorter blade means more passes and more lost flesh.

→ Shop The Blue Tuna

The 3-Piece Set — complete fillet collection | $645 AUD

All three knives together — the Whiting, the Snapper, and the Blue Tuna — cover every Australian species from the smallest table fish to the largest pelagics. At $645 AUD the set saves $150 against buying individually and gives you the right knife for whatever comes over the side.

The 3-piece set is the gift for the serious angler who targets a range of species, or the complete solution for anyone who wants to be equipped for any fish Australian waters produce.

→ Shop the 3-Piece Fillet Set

Which knife is right for you?

Caring for your fillet knife

After every session: Rinse with fresh water — blade open and closed — and dry completely before storing. Salt water is aggressive even on 14C28N. A thirty-second fresh water rinse extends the life of the knife significantly.

The handle: G10 doesn't absorb fish or salt, but a rinse keeps it clean and prevents odour buildup in the texture. Dry before storing.

Sharpening: 14C28N responds quickly to a ceramic rod for touch-up sharpening — a few strokes before a session restores a working edge. A whetstone at 15° for a full sharpen every few months of regular use.

Storage: Store dry. A knife roll or individual sleeve keeps the edge protected and the blade dry between sessions.

Browse the full Fish Fillet Collection →

Three knives. Three Australian fish. One standard. Designed in Adelaide, ships via Australia Post.