Damascus Steel Balisong Butterfly Knife – Black Horn & Brass Handle | Authentic Filipino Balisong BF-123

Damascus Balisong Butterfly Knife — Philippine Visayan BF-123

The BF-123 damascus balisong butterfly knife is hand-forged in Damascus Steel on the traditional Batangas pattern in the Philippines, by smiths working the way balisongs have been made for generations. From the Philippine Visayan Series, named for the central island group. Visayan-pattern balisongs run a slightly narrower handle and a more pronounced blade belly than their Batangas cousins.

Blade & Steel

The Damascus blade is built the traditional way — contrasting steels forge-welded into a billet, folded, drawn and etched. It is a carbon-steel construction underneath the figure, so it takes a superb edge and needs the same oiling discipline as any carbon blade. Every pattern is one of one.

Handle, Bolsters & Balance

Handle inserts are polished black horn, hand-fitted panel by panel. Buffed black horn reads almost like glass under light but stays warm in the hand, and each panel carries faint natural translucency at the edges. The frame around them is brass, which sets the knife’s weight and gives the inserts something rigid to sit in.

How It Flips

At 7.76 oz (220 g) this is a substantial knife, and it flips like one. The extra mass smooths the arc and makes openings feel deliberate rather than snappy — you are steering momentum instead of generating it. Flippers who like a knife with presence in the hand tend to prefer exactly this range. The brass in the handles pushes the balance point outward, which steadies the swing further and is why brass-handled balisongs feel calmer in the hand than their weight alone suggests.

Open, this is a full-size Batangas pattern. Long handles mean a longer arc and more leverage, which flippers describe as the knife ‘doing the work’ — it is the traditional proportion, and the one that photographs best on a display stand.

Specifications

Every knife is finished by hand, so dimensions and weight may vary by roughly 3–5%, and natural handle materials differ piece to piece. Yours will not be an exact twin of the photograph.

Who This Balisong Is For

The BF-123 suits flippers who want a real Filipino-made knife without going into custom territory. It is a working knife rather than a wall piece — it can be carried, flipped and sharpened — but the fit and the handle material make it a legitimate display piece too. If you are buying a gift, this is the price bracket where a balisong stops feeling like a novelty.

What’s Included

• 1 × Damascus Balisong Butterfly Knife
• A handmade wooden presentation box is included with every order over $170.
• Care card with oiling and pivot-tuning notes

Care & Tuning

Keep a light film of mineral oil on the blade, wipe it dry after every session, and never store a carbon blade in a leather sheath long-term — leather holds moisture. If the handles develop play, seat the knife closed and tighten the pivot screws a quarter turn at a time until the play disappears without the action binding. Zen pins and tang pins can be dressed with a fine file if the handles start to strike the blade — do this a few strokes at a time.

Live blade, sold to adults 18 and over. Customers are responsible for knowing and complying with the knife laws that apply where they live.

Frequently Asked Questions