Butterfly Knifes

[CsrCrz88]

okay i have had only two butterlfy knifes and just bought a new one. It's big but that's not the problem. the problem is the piece that holds the blade to the handle. it's two pieces ( it sort of has two hamdles). one of them slips out after i open and close the knife like 10 times. it doesn't slip out completely but stciks out. i bang it back in every time, but still sticks out . did any of you guys had this problem before?

[tommarker]

you bought a cheap balisong. sorry.

[Tombstone]

you bought a cheap balisong. sorry.

 

Yep.

 

The one I have does the same thing.

[tommarker]

here's the deal.. 99% of balisongs that you can buy absolutely positively suck. but... they will stab someone repeatedly. that's all that really matters in terms of many knife cultures if you knife a fellow, and throw it in the trash you're out 10 bucks, not $100.

 

of course, the other factor is that people are clamoring for balisongs and will buy just about any crap put out on the market.

 

Benchmade has an awesome and well made balisong. It will cost you. So will the ones made by custom makers, etc.

 

Benchmade also makes a balisong trainer, which if flipping around is a lot safer

[CsrCrz88]

crap.... guess i have to sell it.

[Quiet Dragon]

Speaking of Butterfly Knives...I actually bought a decent one many years ago but never figured out how to use it properly. I wasnt involved in MA at the time but always thought they were cool weapons. After a few nice slices to the hand, I realized then that I might need to get some instruction on how to use it an not use the trial and error method.

 

Has anyone ever seen a video online, that might demonstrate in a teaching fashion, how to use that knife, since it can be rather tricky.

[Pacificshore]

I know there are books on the use/handling of the butterfly knife by Jeff Imada, not sure on a video tho. Check the iisports.com site you might find it there, as that's Imada's and Inosanto's store. Hope this helps.

[Bdaze]

this is BY FAR the best balisong/ butterfly knife web site ive ever seen

 

video, animation and still picture instructions for basic drills and openings.

 

check it out: http://www.balisongxtreme.com/

 

watch some of this guys free style videos. the sounds are just sooooo cool

[tommarker]

I second the Imada books. Marinas' book on the history of pananandata also has some interesting openings.

 

Slicing yourself while using the balisong really shouldn't happen unless you have a double edged balisong, in which case I say "ow!"

 

Always, always, always hold the handle into which the sharp edge of the knife does not recess into. This should prevent 99.9% of all balisong related injuries, unless you are attempting aerials which is beyond my area of expertise.

[tommarker]

Finding a cheap, decent quality balisong isn't too hard, assuming you know what to look for. I would avoid buying them on the internet, as you really need to handle them and see how they feel.

 

Make sure the latch fits securely in both the open and closed position. It shouldn't slide in and out without any friction. Otherwise, its not doing it's job.

 

But most importantly, look at how the handles are bolted to the blade. Is it wobbly? Do the pins move? If so, count on one of them falling out one day in the midst of something complicated.

 

Benchmade makes an *excellent* balisong. Spyderco is coming out with one as well, and there are a few customs out there I wouldn't mind owning.

 

A good balisong is in many ways the perfect knife. It can't accidently open. It won't accidently close, and the lock won't fail if you push it too hard. For self-defense, it makes a great pocket stick, it can open fairly quickly, and once again, will not fail on you like a lockback may.