Bali-Song with Leather Sheath... Value? Pictures.....

[Seager]

Hello....
I have a Bali-Song U.S.A. knife made in the early 80's. It is in great condition. The latch has a few dings, but the blade is perfect.
The handles are very thick,a little over 1/2" thick. It is approx.
9 1/4" opened,and approx. 5 1/4" closed. From the tip of the blade to the handle it is 4 1/4". On one side of the blade it says Bali-Song U.S.A.,and on the other side it has the butterfly with Bali-Song in it. I was told it is a Custom, but I dont know, I'm just learning about these.... It has a leather sheath with the Butterfly with the Bali-Song Logo. You can tell the sheath has been carried,but is in great condition for it's age..... If anyone here can give me some info. and an approx. value on this beauty with the sheath, I will Greatly appreciate it !!! Also, it locks very tight opened or closed.
I have included some pics, hope they show up.....
Thanks to all who reply !!! Vern

 

[masse]

Vern, thats a beauty you have there...i really dont know much about the early bali-song usa knives, so i wont even try to guess.

what i'm really curious about is where in NC are you? If you're close, i'd love to see that thing, and maybe share some of my babies with you. Hell, i'd even by interested in purchasing that knife if you were thinking about selling it. take care....

 

[Don Rearic]

I can't tell you what it is worth, but I can tell you with the sheath it is worth no less than $500.00 and that's for damned sure.

That's a beauty. The Logos are crisp and looks like it was well cared for.

 

[BalisongMan]

Well, before anyone says that it is a PC 401 I must say that it is NOT a PC 401, it doesn't have a patent number on it. It IS a custom Bali-Song, utility blade, skeletonized handles, etc etc. It is worth a good chunk of change, the exact chunk of change I do not know, Gollnick is better suited for that, Dawkind also.

 

[Gollnick]

The value of a piece like this depends greatly on the condition. These pictures aren't good enough to make those determinations. (sorry, but I'd need 8X pictures of the blade and latch, for example. Don't feel bad about this. I've only once received pictures good enough to actually give a detailed evaluation of the knife. The owner in this case was a paraprofessional photographer (not a professional photographer per se, but in another profession that required taking high quality pictures of small objects) with access to excellent equipment.

Anyway, you can compare this piece with this one

which recently sold for $775.

I also recently evaluated another knife and sheath very similar to this one (in near mint condition) and suggested $700 for it.

 

[Dawkind]

Nice catch, Vern! It's a PC era piece, dated by the 'circle R' etch by the butterfly. That designates that the trademark is registered. The early Bali-Song Cutlery Company used the same butterly, of course, but it wasn't registered at that time. IMHO, the basket-weave sheaths are more valuble than the 'plain' ones and the sheath alone could bring $150 or more; the knife, as described, would be in the $400 range by itself. Don's right in the ballpark and probably a little low...........Good hunting!

 

[Stagger Lee]

Seager:
If you don't mind me asking,how much did it set you back?
I always ask this when I see an awesome bali that was just bought by a forum member,so I can be more knowledgable in balisong prices,in case I ever run into a nice balisong for sale.