I eventually bought a Janisong, and this is a very interesting knife.
Here are some pictures :
Compared to a Benchmade 52, this the Janisong is shorter, and noticeably heavier (5.4 ounces).
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In the open position, the notch at the end of the "bite" handle, i.e. the naked steel inner part, allows a lock of the knife once opened.
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And here is the knife in the unlocked position. You can see that tolerances are quite tight and that the "bite" handle is lodged inside the "safe" handle (i.e. the regular G10 handle).
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And here in the locked position (notice the little tube at the right of end of the handle that is now engaged).
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Apparently, lots of pure bali flippers are a bit reluctant to play with this knife, but my view is the following one (caveat : I am a beginner flipper).
I really like the knife because :
-it allows me to still do practice some drills (chaplins will obviously be out of the question),
-this bastard son of a folding knife and a bali maintains very strong parentage with a bali, and I consider it as such. However, once opened, it does not look like a bali, and it has a very "civilian" aspect that is less "scary" than the view of a bali,
-the locking mechanism is really good : it allows one-handed locking the bali in the open position without having to fiddle with a second hand and a latch.
-for those who have a more utilitarian use of this knife, this bali has G10 and has some gimping and once open, has a much better grip than a regular bali as it resembles a dagger more than a bali. It is way more comfy to hold than a bali.
-the blade is single edged, but looks like a dagger, and it is quite unususal to see that in a bali.
-this is really innovative and clever, and it is good to see such products arrive on the market.
There are few things which could, in my opinion, be improved :
-the locking button looks a bit fragile (it is a piece of G10, and I would have preferred to have a piece of steel instead, like the locking button for Benchmade autos), and I really wonder if it will stand the test of time.
-the Spyderco hole is very gimmicky and does not seem to add any value.
