What do you consider to be the strengths and weaknesses of the balisong?

I think the one thing which is (to me) VERY important, is total one hand operation.

While dangling from a mountain side the ability to retrieve, open, perform the task, then be able to close all one handed is imperative. From a safety point of view ability to close one handed EASILY is very important.

I also believe a closed Balisong is VERY safe. Difficult to get cut with a closed Bali in a car accident, fall, or some other mishap. A sheath knife is quite dangerous. I had a "stupid sharp" knife pierce my leather sheath and cut me quite badly.

As for the thumb stud opening knives. Some are so easy to open they are a hazard. Some have almost zero spring resistance. How many of you have cut a slice of your thumb while opening a thumb stud opening knife?

The thought of having an Auto fire in my pocket as I bent over and have the point pierce my abdomen is enough to make me shiver.

I would sum up the positive Bali points as 1) Safety, 2) Reliability, 3)Simplicity. Let alone being the most fun. Did I remember to say COOL factor? :p

The down side, the Legal BS
 
Kind of off topic, but what knives can you not close singlehandedly? I've only got a Spyderco Delica 98 (thats my entire collection besides various multi-tools) so perhaps i'm just unaware.....


-=Whittey=-
 
You can't close autoknives - those that just spring the blade OUT, but not back in.
Also, those thumb-opening knives (which i don't know what's called), like the bm910, cannot from what I've experienced not be closed with only one hand (at least not in an easy way).
Swiss army folding knives aren't that easy to close either (but easier to close than to OPEN with just one hand!)...
And there's probably a lots more.
 
Most of my buck lock knives can't be closed unless against my thigh. But more important thing to me is balisong's closing action that can be taken by either hand, perfectly ambidextrous.

My balisong opening may not be faster than Commander or autos, but balisong CLOSING wins any other knives by flying colours! It has exactly the same action as opening it. Simplicity in construction, and action is the best part of balisong to me.
 
Man, why do I always wait so long to jump in on these threads?? Alright, all things being equal, two men standing in an alley draw their knives, one with an auto, and one with a bali. They both open so damn fast, who can even really tell who got it open faster. I'd say at this point, both are equal. Now lets say, while in a dark room, that both were hit on the back of the head with frying pans, and their knives go a-flyin'. Mr. Auto picks up his knife and the closed blade is against his hand, so he spins it, and now the blade is where it should be, but the knife is still upside down, and his thumb can't find that damned button. So he flips it again and *click*. The knife is open. Mr. Balisong goes through the same thing, only when he picks up the blade, no matter where it is or how it is orientated, it's opened upon it slipping in his fingers. Now that, to me, is speed. I'll take versatility over quick and easy any day.

One disadvantage to a balisong, is that you pretty much have to keep the blade profile to a size not much bigger than the handles. And aside from a bali-style russian shovel posted a while back, I've never seen anything that didn't follow this rule. That rules out many of your wider, crazy-lookin' fighters.



But the best reason stated so far, without a doubt, was by the very wise Mr. Gollnick....
Originally posted by Gollnick
Balisongs are fun!
Click to expand...

Thank you Chuck.
 
Auto's are fun, too !! They're unique in our world as are Bali's. I, personally would not rely on one for defense. A good fixed blade is my first choice ( I lied - .45 auto). Second choice is a bali or stout folder like the BM axis lock. The fastest opening auto that I've seen is the long discontinued BM "Spike", followed by the White Wolf "Brend". Even with my arthritic hands, I can open a BM axis lock folder as fast as most auto's. Sorry, I'm still a novice at bali's - my skill level is on par with an infant -- don't go there !! I have done some tests comparing the BM axis lock folders vs. autos and the consensus was that of the two systems in a variety of knives, the manual action was as fast as the auto. Obviously, some of this directly relates to the spring in the auto. All the knives used were new in the box and no lubricant was added. FWIW ----
 
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