Any Balisong fans here?

B

Bill Marsh

Joined
Mar 26, 2002
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1,861
Got interested in balisong knives at the Blade show. Did not buy any there, but have been researching and spending some time on the Blade Forum Balisong board learning about them.

Some of them are impressive. Anybody here have experience with them?
 
Yes. They are a sturdy and very handy design. Unfortunately, they are illegal in a lot of places.

I don't think they are particularly threatening. The flipping around apparently scares lawmakers, but in my mind a fixed blade or many of the one-hand openers can be deployed more quickly and with less chance of fumbling. Where they do shine is that they come with their own sheath. They are very good outdoors knives to slip in your pocket. Also, they are very unlikely to fail by folding up on your fingers, as some other folder designs are prone to.

OK, I admit I have fun flipping them too.

Benchmade makes some good ones, and also a trainer which I would recommend. It may save you a few cuts.

Ragnar had an interesting one with a plastic handle on his site a while ago.

Go to e-bay and search on Waltco knife for examples of an old company that made balis oriented towards sportsmen and fishermen.
 
Yup pretty much what Howard said...

My personal favorite is the BM 42 or 43...cant remember which one I had..Planning on getting one when (IF!) I ever get below 190lbs...

Pulling a bali is just the amount of practice you are willing to put into it..is as fast as a switch or one hander?? nope but it looks totally badass when ya whip'er out there

Of course while your doing this, you could get it knocked out of your hand and slashed across the face, right above the left eye, leaving a very ugly scar!!

err dont ask!:eek:


but they are FUN to flip around arent they? :D
 
Not the the degree of many here, but yes, I'm a fan. They're just plain fun! Did you see the Korth booth at the show this year? The action on the ones I saw a few years ago were like greased butter, incredibly smooth. Benchmades are quite nice for production blades but can't come close to the smoothness of the customs. Of course, the customs can't touch Benchmade's prices either. :rolleyes: Story of our lives eh?
 
*raises hand* Me! Me! Me! I have a few balis, two that occasionally wander into my EDC rotation. I find them to be very functional and useful.

I'm not much of a flipper but I can do a lot of the basic moves. Before my oldest son left for Poland I downloaded a bunch of training videos and he was getting very good at it.
 
Thanks for the replies. They look like fun. I like the way some of them are built.

Missed the Korth booth, grumble, grumble. From what I read they are really neat.

Did score a Microtech Tachyon (discontinued) and a Bradley Mayhem.

Don't think I'll be doing any tricks. I had a Spyderfly rainbow and gave it to a guy who updated my alarm system. Watched him flip it twice and cut himslf twice. He seemed to know what he was doing! I have watched some videos showing how this is done with a single edged bali. I think what got him was the Spyderfly is double edged. I miss the Spyderfly and have another one coming from eBay. But no flips. I promise, Kis!
 
Ooh, me too! I like the 42s. I'm thinking of getting the trainer, though, since I'm much less likely to slip up and cut myself (my clothes, my kitchen table, etc.) with a non-live blade. :)
 
I had a BM 42, sold it because it had no pocket clip.
I picked up a Szabofly and it is pretty nice. I carry it sometimes, and it works well for utility. Not much for tricks myself.

BTW, the spyderfly is not double edged, the guy must have been holding the bite handle.
 
Rat Finkenstein said:
I had a BM 42, sold it because it had no pocket clip.
I picked up a Szabofly and it is pretty nice. I carry it sometimes, and it works well for utility. Not much for tricks myself.

BTW, the spyderfly is not double edged, the guy must have been holding the bite handle.
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He sure did get bit! Guess he should have been holding the opposite handle! From your comments, he obviously does not know as much as he claimed.

Wish you had not mentioned the Szabofly. Another neat one.
 
Got a BM 42 and a bunch of Pacific Cutlery models and a few bone-handled filipino versions from the '80s. My only complaint about them is the blades tend to be very fat and narrow, which means you can't get a thin edge on them.

All that flipping and clattering to get them open is fun to do, but probably not the best approach if you seriously want to slit someone's throat. However, it does allow for a bit of pre-combat posturing which is a form of diplomacy I suppose.
 
cliff355 said:
All that flipping and clattering to get them open is fun to do, but probably not the best approach if you seriously want to slit someone's throat. However, it does allow for a bit of pre-combat posturing which is a form of diplomacy I suppose.
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Great description! Most people, even on the balisong forums, agree that "unless you were born with a balisong in your hands," there are better types of knives for self-defense.

Personally I like a Glock for SD and with my CCW permit I can carry one anywhere I could carry only a knife.
 
I practice most of my flipping with my psychadelic blue Bottlefly. Whenever I whip that baby out of the utensil drawer you can practically hear those Red Hook ESB bottles in the refrigerator trembling with fear. :eek:
 
Bill Marsh said:
He sure did get bit! Guess he should have been holding the opposite handle! From your comments, he obviously does not know as much as he claimed.

Wish you had not mentioned the Szabofly. Another neat one.
Click to expand...

He might have been thrown off by the spear point, and unusual shape of the spyderfly. Then again, he might have not known what he was doing. :D

raghorn said:
I practice most of my flipping with my psychadelic blue Bottlefly. Whenever I whip that baby out of the utensil drawer you can practically hear those Red Hook ESB bottles in the refrigerator trembling with fear. :eek:
Click to expand...

I have a red one with the skulls on it.:thumbup:

I flip it some, and I can land aerial throws with it. (not brave enough to do that with a razor sharp edge.
 
raghorn said:
I practice most of my flipping with my psychadelic blue Bottlefly. Whenever I whip that baby out of the utensil drawer you can practically hear those Red Hook ESB bottles in the refrigerator trembling with fear. :eek:
Click to expand...


THAT is really funny. Especially the link to show it in action!
 
I've got a few of them... Love Them! My favorite is an older Benchmade... small utility blade. It was the old version of the model 31 I think. Unfortunately I busted the tip while flipping it... dropped the sucker and it landed tip first. Ouch. But I love that knife.

Alan
 
ACStudios said:
I've got a few of them... Love Them! My favorite is an older Benchmade... small utility blade. It was the old version of the model 31 I think. Unfortunately I busted the tip while flipping it... dropped the sucker and it landed tip first. Ouch. But I love that knife.

Alan
Click to expand...

That is why they say to be sure to wear shoes, solid shoes when practicing!

Hope there are no khuk flippers here.:eek:
 
I bought one of the first Spyderflys, and then of course they come out with the anodized rainbow model! I cut myself a few times, but there is a flat edge on one side of the blade you can bounce against. I can open and close it one handled without cutting myself, and that's about it. The customs are ungodly expensive sometimes. As they're illegal to carry out here in the PRK I haven't spent the $ on them. Would like to get a BM 42 though.

Norm
 
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