• Should I buy a cheapie balisong to start off with?
• What's the best balisong under $50 / Which bali should I buy?
  
• Which is better--spring latch or T-latch?
• Should I buy a trainer / should I tape my blade?
• Where can I buy a ...?
• Are balisongs legal in...?
• How long do I need to practice before I get good at flipping?

Short answer: No

"You get what you pay for." This statement holds truer in the balisong world than in most other knife types. Currently, there is no balisong out there under $60 that is considered to be a "good" starter balisong by the majority. There are many out there who have broken their "economy" balisongs within a matter of hours. It does, of course, have much to do with how much and how hard you flip your balisong, but in the end spending $20 on an "economy" balisong will more than likely have one of these results:

1. You will enjoy flipping so much that you want to go out and buy a quality balisong but now have to save $20 more due to the wasted money you spent on the cheapie.

2. Your cheapie will fall apart and you will be out $20. Unfortunately, you got enough of a taste for the balisong where you are back at result #1.

3. You could hurt yourself as your cheapie disentegrates unexpectantly while you are flipping. But again, you end up at result #1 or #2.

On the other hand, if you start out with a quality balisong such as the BM42:

1. You will enjoy flipping/using your balisong for the rest of your life or until you choose to get rid of it.

2. You save yourself the $20 you would have wasted on the cheapie and you can put that towards bandaids. If you order from New Graham, you won't need bandaids (they come with the purchase), so you can put that $20 towards a new balisong (yes, there will be a new balisong).

3. You find that it's not your thing and easily sell it for what you paid as opposed to putting a cheapie up for sale only to have to type "BTTT" every day until you just give up and throw/give it away.

4. You will begin a lifelong obsession with the balisong and live happily ever after.

Of course everyone's purchases are controlled by their resources. The poor college student may have the $20 to spend on a cheapie now, but would take a year to save the $120 for a Benchmade. You have to decide what is within your means, but beware the road of the cheapie. Many balisongers have traveled that road before you and most all have lived to regret it.

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Under $50

There are many balisongs that fall into the sub $50 range, but to my knowledge none of them really earn a place on this list. For the most part, all balisongs that fall into this price range are either ripoffs of existing designs or are so poorly made that they will fall apart shortly after purchase or may even cause harm due to the poor quality.

$50 - $100

Spyderco Spyderfly: The Spyderfly is the first balisong offering from Spyderco. This knife is made with the same Spyderco quality and offers an extremely good value at an MSRP of $99 and a street price of approximately $60 to $80.

• Pros: well made, high quality materials, spring latch, low price.
• Cons: Off-the-wall/non-traditional design (this may be considered a pro to some), handle to blade ratio, does not lock open, beadblasted handles susceptible to rust, limited availability

KnifeKits.com Standard Typhoon Kit: Designed by Darrel Ralph, the Typhoon is a sandwich construction balisong kit from KnifeKits.com. It does require assembly but is a quality piece that allows the owner to take part in the assembly process. MSRP for the standard Typhoon kit is a very reasonable $69.95 with additional options available at an added cost.

KnifeKits.com Typhoon Insert Kit: The Typhoon Insert Kit is the upgraded version of the Standard Typhoon Kit. Unlike the standard kit, the handles included with the insert kit have slots that are pre-milled for acceptance of the assembler's desired inserts. There are inserts already available from KnifeKits.com in the form of carbon fiber, cocobolo, G10, and various other materials. MSRP for the insert Typhoon kit runs at $89.95 with additional options available at an added cost.

Available options for the Typhoon kits include an optional trainer blade and an upgrade to phosphorous bronze washers for improved smoothness.

• Pros: High quality materials, nice design, customizable, easy to assemble, affordable.
• Cons: Assembly required, requires additional "treatment," sharp corners that require sanding, horns have a tendency to pinch while flipping.

$100+

Microtech Dragonfly et al.: In an effort to use blades leftover from the Microtech Tachyon run, Microtech created a line of balisongs that combined the Tachyon blades with aluminum handles (as opposed to the Tachyon's titanium handles). The entire run, which consists of the same knife with a variety of color schemes including the BlackFly, SwampFly, DesertFly, UrbanFly, and GreenFly. MSRP $150 with a street price of approximately $110.

• Pros: good EDC size, high quality (leftover Tachyon) blades, razor sharp, affordable.
• Cons: extremely light (aluminum handles), handle coating rubs off easily.

Benchmade Model 42: The BM42 is the standard in the balisong world. Benchmade's longtime commitment to balisongs has resulted in their ability to turn out high quality production balisongs. With an MSRP of $200 and a street price of around $125, Benchmade balisongs are economical in addition to being well made.

• Pros: Benchmade quality, widely available, spring latch (though also available in T-latch), Titanium handles (some may consider a con), durable/long-lasting.
• Cons: nothing substantial

Cold Steel ArcAngel: Cold Steel's ArcAngel is priced at the top of the current production balisong market with an MSRP of $274.99 and a street price of around $165. The ArcAngel is based on a Darrel Ralph design. Early production suffered from quality control issues but recent reports indicate that Cold Steel has solved these problems.

• Pros: Not enough information
• Cons: Not enough information

See the Reviews Page for more complete descriptions of these knives.

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Which is better--spring latch or T-latch?

Description: Currently there are two production balisong companies producing balisongs with a spring-loaded latch--Benchmade and Spyderco (see photo). Both companies' latches allow the balisong to be unlatched by simple squeezing the handles. Squeezing the handles allows the spring to disengage the latch. The Benchmade spring latches also allow the balisong to be locked in the open position while the Spyderco latch is only usable in the closed position.

Advantages & Disadvantages: The advantages to having a spring latch are that balisongs with spring latches flip much quieter than those with T-latches. The constant tension that the spring puts on the latch holds the latch open, extended in-line with the handle (see photo). This also keeps the latch out of the way when manipulating the balisong. In contrast, a T-latch will flop around during manipulation which makes it noisier and the latch will sometimes get caught between the handles, preventing the handles to come together fully (see photo). The spring latch also eliminates the need for a latch gate. The only disadvantage I see to the spring latch is that there is more assembly required for it, therefore having more parts to fail and possibly making it more expensive.

Recommendations: As it is with many things, it all comes down to personal preference. The nature of the latch is very simple in itself and as long as it is part of a well made balisong (e.g. Benchmades, Spydercos), the latch is very unlikely to fail.

Latchless: There is a third option to eliminate the latch all together (see photo). There are currently no production balisongs that are available latchless, but most newer production balisongs allow for the latch to be removed. This will eliminate all latch problems, but does not allow for the latch to lock in the closed position. This means that the use of a sheath will probably be necessary if the owner wishes to carry the balisong on his/her person.

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Should I buy a trainer / should I tape my blade?

Trainers and blade taping are an ongoing debate between balisongers of all levels. Proponents of blade taping or using trainers argue that to avoid serious injury one should practice difficult moves first with a trainer before moving on to a live blade. Others argue that using a live blade will force the balisonger to focus more on the manipulation and using a trainer or a taped blade may cause a person to become lax when they move on to a live blade. Some things to remember are that if you do buy a balisong with a live blade, you can always tape the blade to allow you to use it as a trainer (but be careful, the tip will still be sharp), but allow you to easily revert it back to its original state while a trainer will always be a trainer unless you swap out the blade. It really comes down to personal preference. Situations vary and you must make your own decisions.

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Where can I buy a ...?

There are many places where one can purchase a balisong. These include brick and mortar stores, Internet dealers, knife shows, flea markets and of auction sites such as eBay. If purchasing a balisong from eBay, keep in mind that eBay regulations do not allow butterfly knives (and switchblades) with blades of more than two inches so auctions may be closed unexpectedly. There are Internet dealers will generally have better prices than brick and mortar stores, though there is much to be said about being able to handle the knife before purchasing it (be aware that shopowners may not let you flip a balisong before purchasing). When buying from an Internet dealer, also note that many will not ship balisongs to the state of California due to their laws (or internationally for that matter). See the Links Page for a list of dealers that carry balisongs.

On a related note, people will often ask where to buy certain difficult to find models. Being that most of the Benchmade balisong line has been discontinued, certain models are becoming harder and harder to find with people more reluctant to share their sources. The best thing to do is to try searching the Internet via an Internet search engine for specific models, keeping an eye on auction sites and posting "Wanted to Buy Ads" on Internet forums. If you are diligent (and have the money), you will be able to find what you are looking for.

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Are balisongs legal in...?

Unfortunately, this question rarely has a definite answer. Bernard Levine has a site that compiles knife laws from all 50 states here, but reading the law and interpreting the law are two different things. Some states explicity state the balisong (more commonly listed as "butterfly knives") are illegal in the particular state, but oftentimes they are not mentioned in the state's knife laws at all, or are listed in a vague manner. You must also consider that state laws can be different than those of individual cities within that state. So while a balisong may be legal in the state, city laws may prohibit them. Speaking with an attorney about the laws in your area would be the best course of action to determine the legality of a balisong in your area, but is still not a foolproof ruling since the law can often be interpreted differently to different people.

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How long do I need to practice before I get good at flipping?

This question gets asked a lot, but the only real answer to this is that it depends on the individual. Some people have a knack for flipping a balisong and some people do not. Most people can pick up the basic moves rather quickly, but tend to take longer with the more advanced techniques. Concentrate on mastering the basic techniques before moving to the advanced ones and don't rush it. As long as you practice then you will get it eventually. It's up to you to decide how much time you can devote to practicing, which will determine how long it takes you to get proficient at "flipping."

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