Things To Look For When Buying A Butterfly Knife

What Is A Butterfly Knife?

A butterfly knife, also called a balisong, is a type of folding knife which has two handles. In most butterfly knives, the handles are enclosing a single blade between them. Some butterfly knives however can have multiple blades for added complexity.

One handle of a butterfly knife is termed as ‘Safe Handle’ because it faces the dull or unsharpened edge of the blade. The other handle is called ‘Bite Handle’ which faces the sharpened edge of the blade in a real butterfly knife.

The origin of a butterfly knife can be traced back to the Philippines in the 800 CE. A balisong was heavily used in Filipino martial arts. Most butterfly knife tricks are actually a modern take on some of the age old martial art tactics practiced by Filipino masters back in the day.

Basic Construction Of A Butterfly Knife

Modern innovation in the design of a butterfly knife has led to two discreet builts which are equally popular amongst butterfly knife collectors. Many butterfly knife designers can use either built in their balisong models.

Sandwich Built:

This type of butterfly knife features liners and spacers in its handles. You will see many pivots lining both handles of a balisong in this built.

The spacers allow for perfect balance while flipping a butterfly knife. The sandwich built can also be adjusted for weight. You can use a screwdriver to undo the handle and remake it with a new weight distribution.

This allows many balisong flippers the flexibility and ease of movements while performing tricks using butterfly knives and hence sandwich built remains a popular choice amongst many butterfly knife manufacturers.

Channel Built

This is another variation of butterfly knife design. The channel in question refers to the space left between the blade and handle once the balisong is fully folded.

The space is then filled up by pouring liquid metal into precise areas to build a perfectly agile balisong. This type of butterfly knife has less flexibility than the sandwich built but protects the blade from scratched and blunting by preventing sharp trinkets from coming into contact with the blade when the butterfly knife is sitting in your pocket or bag.

CSGO Vs Straight Handle Butterfly Knife

An immensely popular butterfly knife design comes from the world of computer games. The Counter Strike: Global Offense is a video game that has popularized a curved handle butterfly knife to the point where many balisong manufacturers are actually designing CSGO knives.

These butterfly knives are mostly highly decorative multi colored knives with a twisty handle and blade shaped like a karambit or clip point. CSGO balisongs are part of the collection of many butterfly knife enthusiasts as many are actually introduced to a balisong through the video game.

The downside of CSGO butterfly knives is that it is extremely difficult to pull intermediate and advanced level butterfly knife tricks using CSGO knives. The curvature on the handle may allow for easy gripping but it doesn’t afford easy flipping for many tricksters.

By contrast, straight handle butterfly knives are much easier in their flipping and twirling than their CSGO counterparts. A straight handle butterfly knife usually isn’t that rainbow tainted or decorative but their ergonomic handle shapes make for swift handling of the knife while performing butterfly knife tricks.

Most of these handles are constructed with notched and tiny pivots all over them to provide extra traction while holding a butterfly knife. These types of butterfly knives also make easy everyday carry ( EDC) pocket knives because of straight handles.

Real vs Trainer Butterfly Knife

Many beginners start out with a butterfly knife trainer. Trainer knives don’t have a real blade inside them. The blade is either unsharpened or dulled intentionally so that you can test out various maneuvers using a balisong without getting cuts and bruises.

Some butterfly knife trainers are made from wood or plastic blades that are lightweight. These training knives are ideal if you aren’t confident in your flipping ability yet.

Butterfly knife trainers are also a safe way to display your butterfly knife tricks in front of a crowd. Using a live blade can be risky especially if you are a rookie. You can end up seriously hurting yourself or others on the fingers or feet if the butterfly knife falls from your hands.

That said, using a real butterfly knife has some perks that a trainer can never deliver. The balance, feel, and the weighedness of the real deal can’t compare to a trainer.

You compensate for the risk factor involved in using real blade while performing butterfly knife tricks, you can try out following methods.

You can duct tape the sharp edge of the butterfly knife while practicing the butterfly knife trick.

Once you feel you can confidently pull the trick off pull the tape away and use the real knife. You can do this while you are performing for friends as well just to make sure everyone remains unharmed.

If you want to use a real butterfly knife, be ready for some bruises and cuts. There is a way to avoid the minor cuts by avoiding tricks that have you holding the bite handle at the end of each maneuver. In this way you make sure that the sharp edge of the blade doesn’t touch your palm as the knife falls on it.

Cheap vs High Quality Butterfly Knife

The price of a butterfly knife can range from anywhere between under $50 to over $400 dollars. The live blades are obviously more expensive and high quality but even a trainer butterfly knife can be heavy on the pocket if it is really well built.

If you are on the fence about entering the world of butterfly knives, go with an under $50 dollar balisong trainer knife. True, the balance won’t be as good, and the knife will feel off in your hands but it will give you an accurate depiction of what it is like to flip a butterfly knife.

Most medium range butterfly knives can be between $100 to $300 dollars and are real balisongs. Go for G10 handles that give a fine grip which is extremely important in learning various butterfly knife tricks.

Look for top screws on a butterfly knife that can be detached and rescrewed should your butterfly knife come loose. A spear point blade is the type of blade most performers prefer in these knives.

Really high quality balisongs can be heavy on the pocket but gives to premium titanium construction on the handles. The balance, the maneuverability sits just right in your hands. But we won’t recommend these for a novice.

So, here ends our list of recommendations about various types available in the world of a butterfly knife. Don’t get lost as you delve into the process of purchasing a balisong for your collection. Narrow down your list based on above criteria and you will have a perfect butterfly knife in your hands.

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