Diwa Handmade D2 Steel Balisong Knife | Rosewood & Brass Bolsters Handle | Premium Butterfly Knife with Leather Sheath BF-134

The BF-134 is the plain blade in the rosewood and brass line, and it is 29cm open on a 14cm blade, like almost everything on this bench. That number is not an accident, so this page explains where it came from.

Why 29cm

A balisong has to do two things that pull against each other. It has to be long enough that the handles have leverage and the rotation feels unhurried, and short enough that it does not feel like you are swinging a stick.

Below about 24cm the knife rotates fast and unforgivingly. Small errors become dropped knives. Above about 32cm the weight starts working against your wrist on longer sessions.

Twenty nine centimetres sits in the middle. It is the length Batangas settled on generations ago, and every time we have built something outside that range for a customer, we have ended up right back here.

What that means for your hand

• Small hands: still fine. The handles are what you grip, and they are sized for a normal adult hand, not a large one.
• Large hands: comfortable. This is not a knife you will find cramped.
• New flippers: this is the easiest length to learn on, which is why it is the length we recommend to beginners who ask.

205 grams, and why weight matters more than length

The knife weighs 205g. That is a middleweight. A light balisong is quick and twitchy and punishes bad timing. A heavy one is slow, stable and tiring. At 205g this one carries enough momentum to finish a rotation on its own when you get the input right, which is exactly the feedback a learner needs.

If you have only flipped a cheap trainer before, this will feel substantial in a way that is immediately obvious and takes about twenty minutes to get used to.

D2 tool steel on a butterfly knife

High carbon, high chromium, hardened to 58-60 HRC. It holds an edge much longer than a basic stainless and it sharpens without special equipment. It is not rustproof. Dry it, oil the pivots now and then, and it will be fine for decades.

The most boring knife in the line, and that is the point

No shaped blade, no exotic handle, no engraving on the bolsters. Rosewood, brass, D2, plain grind. If you want one balisong and you want it to be the right one rather than the interesting one, this is that knife. It is also the cheapest way into this line, which is not a coincidence either.

Specifications for this D2 rosewood balisong

What you actually receive with this balisong

A knife that has been sharpened, tuned and checked by hand, a leather sheath cut for this frame, and a gift box.

Or take it as a trainer instead: identical frame and weight, no cutting edge, and the price does not move. Use it for anything you have not done a hundred times.

Engraving is $19 for initials or short text and $29 for a custom logo, chosen on this page. Shipping is free inside the United States and a flat $49 to everywhere else.

Twenty nine centimetres is the length Batangas smiths settled on generations ago, and why that measurement works so well is explained in our guide to the 29 balisong. The Diwa is listed under Balisong Prime as the plain reference knife in this line. If a curved edge suits you better than a straight one, the Sigla shares this same rosewood and brass build with a drop point blade.