Batangas Original balisong

K Williams

K Williams

Joined
Nov 17, 1998
Messages
3,235
Does anyone else own one of these? They are well made, but very slow compared to the cheap balisong that I have. Do they loosen up over time? Or is it the added weight of the materials that make it slow?

Clay,

I remember you posting about these balisongs months ago. I'm sure you've used yours much more that I've used mine. I put Senrty Solutions Hi Slip grease on the moving areas, and that helped a bit.



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K. Williams
kel620@aol.com
Modern Arnis Student
 
Yup, you remembered correctly. Actually I have two of them. Mine are fairly loose, and though I can get them "flyin'" now, it wasn't always that way.

I think what you're noticing is the difference in the length, as compared to your other cheap Bali. Most of the cheap Balis are in the 4 inch catagory. The Batangas is a 5 incher.

It's surprising how much the speed and handling change with that extra inch added. You're probably just not comfortable with it yet. I was the same way when I first got mine.



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Clay
www.balisongxtreme.com
Because......
getting 'em open
is half the fun!
 
Clay,

I have a Batangas Balisong which I bought around 15 years ago. I just kept it, never really used it at all (and unfortunately, accidentally slipped while sharpening it, marring the blade). It's still as tight as the day I bought it. Putting tuf-glide didn't help at all. Any suggestions? It's just coming out of its case right now.
smile.gif
Still looks new after all those years.
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I also have one that I have for 20 years now. That's the very first one I learned to flip a balisong with. It's double-edged, like a tai-pan... (I can still remember 8 of my 10 fingers all bandaged up, hahahahah!!!) They don't make double-edged balis here these days, as they were already outlawed.

Dan
 
Dan,

Heres what I do when the handles are too tight (usually after re-pinning):

~ You'll need a (wide) straight tipped screwdriver, and a piece of thick cloth for this.

~ Wrap the cloth over the tip of the screwdriver. This will keep the screwdriver from marring the inside of the Balisong.

~ Slide the covered tip in the groove where the handle splits (behind the tang) to sandwich the blade.

~ From here you want to twist the screwdriver side to side LIGHTLY. You only want to loosen it a little at a time.

loosen.jpg



I'm going to put this up this week as the Tip of the Week, complete with pictures.

------------------
Clay
www.balisongxtreme.com
Because......
getting 'em open
is half the fun!

[This message has been edited by Clay (edited 03-10-2000).]
 
>Does anyone else own one of these? They are >well made, but very slow compared to the >cheap balisong that I have.

The Batangas Balisong is hand forged, hand made. It's a lot nicer of a knife compared to the cheap ones made in China. If you want a "martial arts" quality, they work just fine. But the "tourist" models, are really just for show. That is why they are so fancy. You can see a photo here: http://members.xoom.com/expojohnr7/fancy Fell free to wonder around the directory if you want to look at more photos.
The importing of Balisongs in general is not prohibited, they judge them on individual merit, so you do take a chance on trying to bring in the "martial art's" quality Balisongs. But its fairly easy to bring in the cheaper & smaller tourist models. In fact I just got 30 of the fancy 3" ones in, and I was going to sell them on Ebay, tell they locked me out, for selling Butterfly knives. O Well, thanks, JohnR7



[This message has been edited by JohnR7 (edited 03-11-2000).]
 
John,
Why don't you put them for sale on the Bladeforums knife exchange-or if you'd rather auction them utilize yahoo,amazon or kniifeauctions.All accept butterfly knives.

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Tim

 

>> Why don't you put them for sale on the Bladeforums knife exchange-or if you'd rather auction them utilize yahoo,amazon or kniifeauctions.All accept butterfly knives.
[/B][/QUOTE]

I tried to sell them on Yahoo, and when I went in, with my lower prices, they did start to sell. The next thing I knew, Yahoo ended my auctions and said they were illegal. I went back a week latter and saw others had them listed again at the higher prices. I could not figure that one out.
Maybe I will try Blade Auctions, I just did not see any others listed there, so I was not sure where to list them. My brother in law in Manila told me that they actually make a 3 foot big Balisong. I should have them send one of those over, and see if they try to outlaw it
smile.gif
As far as I know, the only ban on Balisong knives is on the 5 inch size, and that is sort of half and half as to when the court bans them and when they don't.
It's not that we need the money, my wife says we are not making any money on it anyways, it's just a really fun hobby to sell them, and gives me a chance to talk to a lot of really neat people.
Also, they really do need the money over there, the Philippines is really a poor nation. A blade smith works for $5 a day and here in America, they want to make $30 an hour.
Thanks, JohnR7

 
Thanks for the tip, Clay! I'll give that one a try. I believe I have just the right screwdriver around.
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Maybe after all these times, it'll finally be "flippable"!!
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And thanks for making me the first to take advantage of your tip of the week! lol...
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Dan
 
Danny-pare.. yes duoble edges are QUOTEUNQUOTE "illegal".. but man.. you live in the philippines right? Will anyone notice? if you want some just go south.. I have a crateful at home that i pick up when I bodyguard my dad to go golfing
wink.gif


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<A HREF="http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~soo/balisong/balisong.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~soo/balisong/balisong.html
</A> If you play with love you will be heartbroken; if you play with knives you will [bleed]


 
K,

I have 4 Philippine hand made Bali's that I bought on various trips to that country. One is kinda flimsy but the others are well made and quite strong. The one 5 incher I've carried did eventually loosen up so it would open without a hitch. It just took some time. The screwdriver trick looks like it will make the tight ones flippable in a hurry.

I just posted some pics of them.

Blackdog
 
Snipe,

Yep, illegal is the word here.
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I guess people are more afraid of getting stabbed, than getting slashed!
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I thought I lost mine already, but found it when I was rummaging through all my junks, in preparation for moving to another apartment, and found this baby. I restored it back to good condition, and the blade is still pretty functional up to this point.
smile.gif


Dan

PS. Pare... does this mean you're Filipino??
 
Blackdog,

Cool site.
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Lotsa balisongs, from different makers/origin.
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I see that you also have that eagle-designed bali w/ the bottle opener, and those (shudder) razorbacks w/ them air pocket holes... The ultimate do-it-all knife? lol...

Hey, saw one up for sale at Bladeauction.

Dan
 
About three weeks ago I attended a gun/knife show and came acorss a dealer who had several Batangas Balisongs. About 15-20 in all, including one about 30" in length open. He was nice enough to let me hold it, unfortunately, the lottery was not nice enough to let me get it..
He also said he had one that was 60" but didnt bring it with him, would have loved to have seen that one.
 
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