D2 Tool Steel Butterfly
The balisong is the most famous of all traditional Filipino weapons: a folding butterfly knife perfected over generations in Batangas, Philippines. This collection honors that heritage with hand-forged D2 tool steel blades: hard-wearing, edge-holding knives fitted with kamagong ebony, carabao horn, deer horn, and bone handles, built to the classic 24cm and 29cm patterns. Every piece is handmade by Filipino artisans. No two handles are ever identical. Whether you collect traditional weapons or want a working balisong in the old style, these are the real thing, shipped from the USA. New to the tradition? Read the history of the balisong or explore our authentic Filipino balisong collection.
Showing 1–12 of 50 results
Dagger Snake Filipino Traditional D2 Steel Beautiful Blade Butterfly Balisong Knife USA Made Gift For Him With Rose Wood Handle BF-107
Dagger Snake Filipino Traditional D2 Steel Beautiful Blade Butterfly Balisong Knife USA Made Gift For Him With Rose Wood Handle BF-108
Dagger Snake Filipino Traditional D2 Steel Beautiful Blade Butterfly Balisong Knife USA Made Gift For Him With Stag Horn Handle BF-117
Filipino Traditional D2 Steel Beautiful Blade Butterfly Balisong Knife USA Made Gift For Him With Rose Wood Handle Best Quality Knife BF-113
Filipino Traditional D2 Steel Beautiful Blade Butterfly Balisong Knife USA Made Gift For Him With Rose Wood Handle Best Quality Knife BF-114
Filipino Traditional D2 Steel Beautiful Blade Butterfly Balisong Knife USA Made Gift For Him With Rose Wood Handle Best Quality Knife BF-115
Filipino Traditional D2 Steel Beautiful Blade Butterfly Balisong Knife USA Made Gift For Him With Rose Wood Handle BF-103
Filipino Traditional D2 Steel Beautiful Blade Butterfly Balisong Knife USA Made Gift For Him With Rose Wood Handle BF-104
Filipino Traditional D2 Steel Beautiful Blade Butterfly Balisong Knife USA Made Gift For Him With Rose Wood Handle BF-105
Filipino Traditional D2 Steel Beautiful Blade Butterfly Balisong Knife USA Made Gift For Him With Rose Wood Handle BF-109
Filipino Traditional D2 Steel Beautiful Blade Butterfly Balisong Knife USA Made Gift For Him With Rose Wood Handle BF-110
Filipino Traditional D2 Steel Beautiful Blade Butterfly Balisong Knife USA Made Gift For Him With Rose Wood Handle BF-112
D2 Tool Steel Balisongs
47 D2 tool steel butterfly knives on this shelf, running from $121.00 to $357.50, with the median at $181.50. D2 is the steel to buy if you want a balisong that stays sharp through real use and you would rather not think about it again for a season.
D2 is a high-carbon, high-chromium tool steel. Originally a die steel, which tells you what it was designed for. It sits at roughly 60 HRC in our knives. In practice that means it holds a working edge several times longer than plain carbon steel, and it shrugs off the light surface corrosion that would mark a traditional carbon blade.
Traditional Filipino Weapons, Modern Steel
The balisong is a traditional Filipino weapon, and the pattern on this shelf is the Batangas pattern: the same geometry, the same pivot layout, the same handle proportions that came out of Batangas province. What has changed is the steel. The smiths who made these knives a century ago used whatever carbon steel they could get, often reclaimed. D2 gives that same design a blade that performs to a modern standard.
Nothing about the tradition is lost by using better steel. The knives are still made by hand, still fitted individually, still finished one at a time.
What Is on This Shelf
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Knives available | 47 |
| Price range | $121.00 – $357.50 |
| Median price | $181.50 |
| Blade hardness | Approx. 60 HRC |
| Handles | Stag horn, mother of pearl, rosewood, micarta, engraved bolsters |
| Trainer option | Free on every knife |
D2 Compared
| Against | D2 is better at | D2 is worse at |
|---|---|---|
| High carbon steel | Edge retention, rust resistance | Ease of sharpening, price |
| 440C stainless | Edge retention, hardness | Corrosion resistance |
| VG10 stainless | Toughness under hard use | Rust resistance in humidity |
| Damascus | Price for the same performance | Appearance |
D2 is often called semi-stainless. That is a fair description: about 12% chromium, just under the threshold that makes a steel properly stainless. It will not rust in a pocket, but it will spot if you put it away wet.
Sharpening D2
D2 is hard, and hard steels need abrasives harder than they are. A standard ceramic rod will polish the edge without cutting it. Use diamond plates, work slowly, and keep the angle consistent. The payoff is that you will do it a fraction as often as you would with carbon steel.
Common Questions
Is D2 a good steel for a butterfly knife? It is arguably the best all-round choice on this site. It holds an edge far longer than carbon steel, resists rust well enough for everyday carry, and costs less than Damascus for better cutting performance.
Is D2 stainless steel? Not technically. At roughly 12% chromium it sits just below the stainless threshold and is usually called semi-stainless. It resists corrosion well but is not immune. Dry it after use.
How hard is D2 to sharpen? Harder than carbon or 440C. You will want diamond stones rather than ceramic. In exchange you sharpen much less often.
What is the difference between D2 and Damascus on a balisong? Most of our Damascus is layered high carbon steel, chosen for the pattern. D2 is a single tool steel chosen for performance. If you want the knife to cut better for longer, buy D2. If you want it to look extraordinary, buy Damascus.
Are these real traditional Filipino balisongs? Yes. They are made by hand in the Batangas pattern by Filipino makers, then shipped from the USA. D2 is a modern steel applied to a traditional design, not a modern knife dressed up as one.
Can I order a D2 balisong as a trainer? Yes, free of charge on every knife here. Same D2 blade, same handle, same weight: the edge is simply left unsharpened.
The D2 tool steel shelf, cheapest first
D2 is the one we reach for when someone says they actually carry the knife. It is a tool steel, it takes a mean edge, and it is stubborn enough that you will not be sharpening it every fortnight. It is not fully stainless, so wipe it down and it will outlive the argument. Fitted leather sheath included, trainer or live blade at the same price, 58-60 HRC.
- BF-86 Mouse D2 Tool Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife - $121.00
- BF-92 Pangolin D2 Tool Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife - $122.65
- BF-89 Newt D2 Tool Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife - $129.80
- BF-87 Mule D2 Tool Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife - $134.75
- BF-85 Moth D2 Tool Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife - $137.50
- BF-84 Moorhen D2 Tool Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife - $137.50
- BF-83 Monkey D2 Tool Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife - $137.50
- BF-91 Otter D2 Tool Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife - $139.70
- BF-90 Nightingale D2 Tool Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife - $140.80
- BF-88 Neanderthal D2 Tool Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife - $140.80
- BF-81 Mongrel D2 Tool Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife - $151.25
- BF-93 Parrot D2 Tool Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife - $162.25
- BF-82 Monitor Lizard D2 Tool Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife - $162.25
- BF-80 Mongoose D2 Tool Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife - $162.25
- BF-79 Monarch D2 Tool Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife - $162.25
- BF-78 Mole D2 Tool Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife - $162.25
Guides worth reading before you buy
We wrote these because the same questions keep landing in our inbox, and because most of what the internet says about balisongs is wrong.
- What is a butterfly knife? The anatomy, the real Batangas origin, and the 1710 myth that will not die.
- Butterfly knife tricks, in the order you should actually learn them.
- Balisong for sale: how to tell handmade from CNC, and what a fair price looks like.
- Karambit butterfly knife: what the curved blade changes.
- Butterfly knife trainers: the same knife unsharpened, same price, chosen above Add to Cart.
About our balisongs
The balisong began in Batangas, in the Philippines, and every knife in this collection is made in that tradition. Our knives are made by Filipino artisans and metalworkers, many from families with generations of experience, now working in the United States.
Blades are ground in 440C stainless, D2 tool steel, VG10, high carbon and Damascus steel. Handles are fitted in kamagong ebony, carabao horn, Philippine deer horn and bone, and every knife ships with a fitted leather sheath. Both live blades and trainers are offered.
Before a knife leaves the bench it passes a four-step quality process: detailed hand inspection, smoothness and pivot testing, blade alignment checks, and durability and finish quality control. If a knife doesn't meet our standards, it never reaches our customers.
Most orders ship in 1 to 3 business days and arrive in 4 to 8 business days across the USA, or 8 to 14 business days internationally. Out of stock knives are handcrafted to order in 2 to 3 weeks, and every order ships worldwide with tracking.