Bubba Blade knives review-my first impressions

Chasin' Dreams

Well-Known Member
Was pleasantly surprised to find some new knives I had ordered arrived while I was out of town fishing. I ordered 4 Bubba Blade knives. One 7" tapered flex, one 9" flex, one 9" stiff, and one 12" flex.

Out of the package all 4 knives were razor sharp and easily shaved arm hair. I just processed some Tuna and out of these 4 knives the one most suited for the Tuna processing was the 7" tapered flex. It did an excellent job with the Tuna but keeping in mind there was no bone cutting with the processing I did with them. We cut the heads off the Tuna with a different knife prior to processing. So for the cutting out the loins of the tuna and just the simple non stress on the knife task of edge of the skin cutting the knife preformed very well and the edge stayed very sharp for quite awhile but I am pretty anal about touching up the edges of my knives while processing more than one fish so I touched the edge up a bit after a couple fish.

I have a Chef's Choice three wheel diamond hone knife sharpener and also a set of stones and a steel I sharpen/touch up my knife edges with. The Bubba knife's edge came back to razor sharp after only one pass each on the mid and fine diamond wheels. Very impressed with that. I've got quite a few knives from Germany, Japan, and China as I like to have good knives for cooking and fish processing and I'm pretty happy so far with the Bubba knives which do say "made in China" on them and are made from 8CR13MOV high carbon steel. Saying that though, this was my first time using them and there may be more to say after more use with them down the road.

Over the years I've found that the very sharpest knives do need to be touched up more often as the steel isn't always as hard as other types of blades but to me it's worth it in order to have a razor sharp edge when processing or cooking. My Japanese knives are on the top of the list for razor sharp knives and they also need to be touched up after a bit of use. More often than that of harder steel German made knives.

The other thing that I like about these knives is the finger indents at the end of the handle where the blade starts. This addition gives really good control of the knife while cutting; especially around round cuts ect. and the Tuna was very greasy so this feature of the knife helped to keep the handle from rolling over while using it.

I bought the different sizes of knives and steel flex types so that I can have more options while processing different types of fish. I'll update more for the review when I use the other blades on different fish in different cutting situations.

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Good knives I've got the same ones as you Paul been using them for couple years now. However not to hijack but I bought a north arm filet knife this year and wow what a difference. Bubbas are great value for the price and used to be my go to for fish processing but the north arm knife stays razor sharp and cuts through the bones like there not there. ha ent sharpened or touched it up after 20 or so fish. Bubbas I have to touch up after couple fish.
 
Good knives I've got the same ones as you Paul been using them for couple years now. However not to hijack but I bought a north arm filet knife this year and wow what a difference. Bubbas are great value for the price and used to be my go to for fish processing but the north arm knife stays razor sharp and cuts through the bones like there not there. ha ent sharpened or touched it up after 20 or so fish. Bubbas I have to touch up after couple fish.
Right on Chuck thank you for the feedback and heads up about the North Arm. I'll check those out. The one thing I should add too is that I think the "Flex" version of the Bubba isn't very flexible when compared to the others. It is a bit more flexible but it would be nice if it was a lot more flexible. I have a Wusthof flexible filet knife and it is very flexible when compared to the Bubba flex version.

Edit** adding: nice that those Norh Arm's are made in BC too. Can never have to many blades i think lol. I'm a bit of a collector of them..
 
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I've always found carbon steel knives sharpen and keep a better edge than stainless.

I agree Scott. My Japanese knives are the best I have and are high carbon with no stainless properties to them.

Bubba Blades is calling their knives "high carbon stainless steel" So when I look that up it is a combo of both...Here's a definition of it off the net:
"High carbon stainless steel is a metal alloy containing relatively high amounts of carbon. The amount of carbon can be as much as 1.2% and as low as 0.2%. The reasons for this vary with the manufacturer and the type of blade they’re creating.
Stainless steel is an alloy that contains 10.5% or more of chromium (Cr) and iron (Fe) in excess of 50%. Chromium is the element that makes stainless steel so resistant to stains. In fact, stainless steel should be called stain resistant steel, as it can stain but is less likely to do so than pure steel. Stainless steel is also very easy to care for and doesn’t require regular maintenance to keep its beauty. It is very soft, but it holds a blade edge very well.
Carbon steel is has a good edge when sharpened properly and regularly, and it is a much harder material for using in knife construction. Carbon steel knives corrode more easily and need to be oiled on a regular basis. Follow manufacturer’s instructions for sharpening and seasoning to extend the life of a carbon steel knife.
When you combine carbon steel and stainless steel to get high carbon stainless steel you get the best of each alloy. This steel is resistant to rust or staining, it’s very hard, and holds an edge with minimal maintenance. It is generally thought of as a higher quality stainless steel alloy
."


My wife doesn't let me sharpen the Japanese knives by hand anymore lol. She doesn't want them that sharp cause she says they are too freakishly sharp and dangerous. So I just buzz them a little bit on the electric honer for her to use when cooking. But when I use them for cooking I touch them up razor sharp :) They can shave the skin off a tomato!
 
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Good thing you didn't bring to mills lol
Good knives I've got the same ones as you Paul been using them for couple years now. However not to hijack but I bought a north arm filet knife this year and wow what a difference. Bubbas are great value for the price and used to be my go to for fish processing but the north arm knife stays razor sharp and cuts through the bones like there not there. ha ent sharpened or touched it up after 20 or so fish. Bubbas I have to touch up after couple fish.
ou
 
I retired the Bubbas 2 years ago after buying the north Arm Kermode, bubbas are great, North Arm is incredible
 
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I've always found carbon steel knives sharpen and keep a better edge than stainless.

100 %
I'm a hobbiest knifemaker and I'll take carbon steel for forging anytime.......edge retention and ease of sharpening (done properly) will easily get through an elk or two with just minor touch-ups
I've made some damascus fillets and they not only look pretty but perform very well , as always care and maintenance required with anything carbon related.....good value for your knives posted above
 
100 %
I'm a hobbiest knifemaker and I'll take carbon steel for forging anytime.......edge retention and ease of sharpening (done properly) will easily get through an elk or two with just minor touch-ups
I've made some damascus fillets and they not only look pretty but perform very well , as always care and maintenance required with anything carbon related.....good value for your knives posted above
Yup, that's why the old school Japanese knife makers (best in the world I think) chose to work with it. Especially the Demascus like you say. Seen it split a hair (not an exaggeration either), then cut a steel rod, then cut hair again with the same blade and not re sharpened. Those guys are masters. Some videos on Youtube too. Gotta find me one of those knives one day!
My Masamoto Japanese knives are my most treasured knives. Dangerously sharp and so easy to get a razor blade edge on them. Just gotta keep some mineral oil on them to keep them from rusting and looking great with the patina that grows with time to give them their own character look.

Yes, the Bubba's are definitely great value for their quality. I only paid around $300 for all 4 shipped. Something else to mention is I really like the option to use a blade with the sweeping bend on the end. It makes it very easy to get under spots and work the meat away unlike that of a straight blade knife.
I keep my 3 wheel electric diamond honer on my boat so they will always stay razor sharp and not too worried about them for what I paid for them. So far very happy with them.
 
I have some Bubba Blades and agree they are good value, not to derail, but does anybody have recommendation for a sharpening system for a novice? I normally just use a Scotty but I find they tend to wreck the edge
I have one of these..the three stage one: https://chefschoice.com/electric-sharpeners/
This machine can get a good quality knife razor cutting hair sharp but you have to get good at the speed and control of the way you run the knife through the different fineness grades of wheels. The last fine wheel the blade should be run very quickly through as it is acting more like a steel in that it takes the last very fine rolled edge off the blade from the previous passes on the other wheels. If you get to know the machine and your knives you may not need to touch them up on stones at all afterwards.
I have a large set of wet stones too that I use but more for my cooking knives than my fish processing knives.
 
North arm is a great knife, designed with help/input from a few of us on another forum and if I remember correctly the Kermode fillet was named by none other then our very own @Pippen, I'm sure nobody will be disappointed in it,
sorry to derail lets get back to the Bubbas now
 
North arm is a great knife, designed with help/input from a few of us on another forum and if I remember correctly the Kermode fillet was named by none other then our very own @Pippen, I'm sure nobody will be disappointed in it,
sorry to derail lets get back to the Bubbas now

Yes, yes,yes......thank you.:D

I still have not ordered one but I should...their other knives look awesome too.
 
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