karambit vs balisong knife

Karambit- great for self defense, terrible as utility blade
Balisong- better for utility, not as good as karambit in defense/fighting.

Just my opinion, having had/have both types.
 
Kerambit is faster to bring into action.
 
idaho said:
Balisongs are more expensive in Counter Strike...
Click to expand...

Indeed, indeed they are. :D

Advantage: In "regular life" a balisong offers far more entertainment value and utilitarian options.

Disadvantage: A quality balisong is far more expensive than a quality kerambit.
 
Karambit on pretty much any level. The balisong is interesting & is useable in a fight, but a karambit would probably work better. Plus, it can be used well for cutting through a seatbelt & breaking glass.

The karambit is probably a bit more quickly incapacitating (because the stab & rip is more painful, at the very least- whatever you hit is more likely to be incapacitating whether the damage is severe or not, which it very well can be). For damn sure you need more room to open a balisong than a folding karambit & it's more reliably present because of the finger ring. Whether you get hit in a nerve, get some wind knocked out of you, or even get your wrist broken- it's still there. If you ever actually NEED it, that's pretty important.
 
HwangJino said:
Karambit- great for self defense, terrible as utility blade
Balisong- better for utility, not as good as karambit in defense/fighting.

Just my opinion, having had/have both types.
Click to expand...


I agree with everything you said except whats bolded...a Karambit by nature makes a great utility knife. It may be overkill because karambits are generally drawn in reverse grip, but the design of a karambit is to make a sharp stab in and rip away when the person holding it pulls with the direction of the blade. This transfers directly to things like box cutting and various other EDC tasks. I carry an emerson Super k-bit from time to time and I've never had an issue using it for something I'd normally use a tanto or drop point blade for. I would however say that with EDC tasks differing from person to person so this may not be the case with everyone.
 
The Spyderco Karahawk is shaped enough like a hawkbill, with the gentle curve, to be extremely useful in regular life. I use it at work often, and I wave it everytime. It hasn't failed to wave even once. It's very fast, and very discreet.
 
Filipino boxcutter.
 
due to the curve blade of the karambit... controlling your opponent is much easier... you can drag anyone with it....its also more concealable than a straight knife.... low profile weapons are much more dangerous in my opinion.... most attackers will have a hard time figuring out on how to deal with a karambit attack... if you know FMA... there are vast deadly techniques you can do with the karambit.... the balisong (coupled with good footwork) excels in precision stabbing due to its reach... both are equally devastating.... carry both if you can...
 
Last edited:
Balisongs, due to their uniform handles, are very effective in a reverse edge or p'kal grip. Using gross motor skills of stabbing and ripping, the damage done would be extensive. As would a karambit. Deployment of a waved karambit is a lot faster and perhaps more intuitive for most than a bali, though there are some flippers that can latch-drop a bali as fast as most of us can a regular folder. That takes time to master though and would be difficult to replicate under duress...
 
IMHO there are many options that will work better than either

I do like a quality Bali for their neatness but again not the best EDC
 
JParanee said:
IMHO there are many options that will work better than either

I do like a quality Bali for their neatness but again not the best EDC
Click to expand...

agree with this 100% they are both cool looking and interesting, but I would take almost any decent one hand opening lock blade over either of these designs. why would anyone ever pick a knife solely on the merit of how it would be in a fight anyway? i'd dare say 99.9% of us will never be in a knife fight, so why not pick a sensible knife that is good for the other 99% of the time you are going to carry it and just pick a utility blade that has good defense potential?
 
Here's a utility blade with good defense potential.

 
Kerambits, fixed blade ones and folding ones with wave (or something similar) opening, are going to be much faster to actually deploy than a balisong. I think balisongs are great utility knives, the "lock" is practically fool proof but I wouldn't trust myself to pull one out under stress.

Kerambits can be useful in utility tasks just like any hawkbill blade, depending on the specific design. But they are certainly not as versatile as other more commen blade shapes. I can open packages, cut zip ties and sharpen pencils just fine with my Emerson or Fox kerambits, but they suck at slicing food, carving and other stuff.
 
HwangJino said:
Karambit- great for self defense, terrible as utility blade
Click to expand...

Umm, not to be argumentative or anything, but you ARE aware the karambit was actually DESIGNED as a utility knife, and only began being used as a weapon later on? Naturally it depends on what sort of "utility" you're doing, but considering the karambit for years served in exactly that role, I think it's kinda odd to label it as "terrible" for utility.
 
sideways said:
both will get you into legal trouble.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...one of the knives I carry every single day is a karambit; zero legal troubles despite years of carry. ;)
It makes a great utility knife, and has often been used in public...strange how no one freaked out or was worried by a relatively small blade.
Glad none of you knife-people were around to tell them they should all get scared and call the cops. :D

DShiflet said:
Umm, not to be argumentative or anything, but you ARE aware the karambit was actually DESIGNED as a utility knife, and only began being used as a weapon later on? Naturally it depends on what sort of "utility" you're doing, but considering the karambit for years served in exactly that role, I think it's kinda odd to label it as "terrible" for utility.
Click to expand...

He's just repeating the established internet dogma.
Much like how Omega springs break for everyone, and cats takes selfies of themselves with their heads stuck through toast.
Must be true...I saw it on the internet! ;)
 
Last edited:
Karambits, balisongs, and daggers are the black rifles of the knife world. People are not interested in the technical specs. All they see is 'a sword ohmai gawd'. Some jurisdictions specifically take issue with them. Other times it is just the people around you judging you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top