I'd like to get a bali and need some advice

cpirtle

cpirtle

Leathercrafter
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Mar 28, 2001
Messages
4,611
I've been around knives my whole life but until now I've never seen the appeal of the Balisong. I want to learn more about them and expand my knife horizons :)

I typically avoid Benchmade knives because of some previous bad experiences with their QC but they seem to be about the best production Balis going. Is that true?

Any suggestions you all have would be great. I'm just looking for a mid-range Bali that is of high quality and would also make a good user. Price should be around the $150 range.

I've toyed with putting a Tachyon on order but I think it will be spring before I see one.

Any and all suggestions are appreciated.
 
I would go with a Monarch, they are well priced and look like they could take some serious abuse. You can order them from www.knifemart.com Also check out The Monarch Has Arrived post for some good pics ect.


Happy Hunting
 
My suggestion would be to sift through old posts and read all you can. With all the news and additions to the bali world recently, we have all been talking about and reviewing bali's non-stop. In the $150 dollar range though, i dont think you can go wrong with a BM...go to the "dealer: for sale" section and check out 2TheHilt's "BM Balisongs 42's, 43's, 47's" post for what looks like a great deal.
 
Benchmade's are my favorite. They're the one of the best I have seen yet. If I was you I would definately get one. I suggest going to www.benchmade.com and check out there products. Most of them are under $150, except for the new 49-01, which is around $600.
 
My first response would be, save your self the trouble, and just by a Benchmade now. But I am one that will not buy from a company if I have had problems. My Monarch is not in yet, but based on some reviews, start there. DO NOT start with a low quality Bali.
 
The Benchmade 42 is a proven commodity. The Monarch is nice, but for a first time bali, my bet is that you'll like the lighter weight of titanium over the heavier stainless of the Monarch, which you could try later on.
 
Thanks for all of the help, I think my thoughts were confirmed, Benchmade it is.

How has their QC proven to be in the Bali area?

I'm sure centered blades and liner rub are as or more critical in the Bali arena than they are in tactical folders right?
 
Most of the complaints I’ve heard so far have revolved around superficial issues rather than functional ones. The main problem is that because of the casting process Benchmade uses for their knives, there tends to be tiny air bubbles or pits in the handles. If you look back a couple months age there was a lengthy thread addressing this occurrence. While this in no way affects performance or durability (that I’ve seen or heard), it can be a problem for people who want their knife to look perfect. Some people have also said that the handles and blade are fitting too tightly together, but this is easily resolved with a torx wrench. Other than that, for me at least the 42 has been a very solid knife, and I have used and abused mine a lot since I got it, including voiding the warranty on a number of occasions by taking it apart for blade modifications and cleaning.
 
I believe all of the problems with the BM balisongs were at the start, with the first few runs of the 42, some of the smaller holes weren't perfectly round, it would latch too tight open and closed, the only real big problem that I read of was a tang pin falling out (it looks like they solder(ed) some of them). The 42, 43, and 47 all weigh 4.2 oz, but the Monarch weighs a whopping 8.4 oz, you have to strengthen your fingers to be able to successfully and painlessly control one of those, a $20 Jag can help strengthen, plus it is good to know how to re-pin a bali :D :D

Good Luck!!! and Welcome to the wonderful world of balisongs!! :D
I have read your posts in other forums and I am glad to see you here. :)
 
Thanks for the warm welcome BalisongMan, and everyone else for that matter :)

I appreciate all of the great suggestions and went ahead and ordered the Benchmade 42 today. I went with the non-annodized handles and a plain edge

It will be here Friday so I'm sure by Friday night I'll be online hunting down tips for how to avoid cutting off my fingers swinging the sucker.

One last thing, how is the blade steel on these? I'm not familiar with 12C27, so any insight into its properties would be helpful.

Thanks!
 
Do a search of the archives.

There have been many posts on this.
I'm still unsure how 12c27 stacks up to 154cm,ats-34, 440c, 420, 51600, ???, etc.
No one gave a definitave answer.
It is a steel that is specifically designed for knives.
The newer 42's, along with all the 43's and 47's use 440c stainless, I believe. They are marked as such.
The earlier 42's aren't marked as to blade steel.

At the time the 42 was the only knife Benchade made using this 12c27. I think that is why they changed to 440c.

But, they must have chosen it for a reason...
I'm not sure of the properties, but I've found it to have excelent shock resistance, medium blade edge holding, and no bending on the tip.
 
Originally posted by cpirtle
...It will be here Friday so I'm sure by Friday night I'll be online hunting down tips for how to avoid cutting off my fingers swinging the sucker.

One last thing, how is the blade steel on these? I'm not familiar with 12C27, so any insight into its properties would be helpful...
Click to expand...

Hey welcome to the Balisong Forum! And you made a good choice with the BM42. I'm afraid that sometimes there's no avoiding getting your fingers sliced. But every time you DO cut yourself, your brain gets better and better at not letting you do it again, like the first time you touch a hot stove as a child. That's why I recommend NOT putting tape on the blade while you're practicing. You'll grow too used to having that edge hit you and not getting cut. It just develops a bad, and very unsafe habit.

I'm no metalurgist (can't even spell it :)), but IMHO, the steel used on the BM42 is superb! Both of my 42a's have been thrown, not just dropped, on concrete dozens of times, and I've never lost a tip or had a gouge so bad in the edge that it wouldn't meet my cutting needs.

Have fun flippin', man! Hope to see you around here again.
 
Whenever I had that same question " how do I not cut myself?" I went looking around here and found that I should put tape on the blade. But I started looking on other sites like www.balisongwtreme.com, etc, and i found that will only create a bad habit of relying on that tape. So trained without it. At first it does hurt like a b!itch, but like blasto said "your brain gets better and better at not letting you do it again". So try it without tape at first and if you still can't get a hang of it then put tape on the blade.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top