Balisong Butterfly knives Vg10 Stainless steel
VG10 arrives from us sharp enough that most people never touch a stone in the first year. When you do, here is what to expect.
It is a moderate sharpener. Not the easy afternoon our high carbon blades give you, and nowhere near the argument D2 puts up. Ordinary waterstones work fine, no diamond plates required. The fine grain is the reason it will go keener than 440C, and it is also the reason it wants a light touch: lean on it and you will roll the edge you were trying to refine.
Two things we tell people who bring one back. Strop before you sharpen, because nine times out of ten the edge is rolled rather than worn, and thirty seconds on leather brings it back. And keep the angle shallow. VG10 is ground thin here on purpose, so grinding a fat bevel onto it throws away the one thing you paid for.
30 VG10 balisongs on this shelf, $109.45 to $178.75, averaging $131.24. Every one hand-ground and hand-finished, not stamped.
Showing 1–24 of 30 results
Common Buzzard Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Stainless Steel and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm Lightweight Flipper Gift | BF-26
Cow Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm EDC Flipper Gift for Him | BF-27
Crab Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Stainless Steel and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm Lightweight Flipper Gift | BF-28
Crane Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Carabao Horn Handle | 29cm Full Size Collector Gift | BF-30
Crocodile Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Carabao Horn Handle | 29cm Full Size Collector Gift | BF-31
Deer Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm EDC Flipper Gift for Him | BF-32
Dog Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm Lightweight Flipper Gift | BF-33
Donkey Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm Lightweight Flipper Gift | BF-34
Dormouse Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm Lightweight Flipper Gift | BF-35
Dragonfly Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm EDC Flipper Gift for Him | BF-36
Duck Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm Lightweight Flipper Gift | BF-37
Eagle Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm Lightweight Flipper Gift | BF-38
Earwig Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm Lightweight Flipper Gift | BF-39
Eel Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm Lightweight Flipper Gift | BF-40
Elephant Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm EDC Flipper Gift for Him | BF-41
Falcon Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm Lightweight Flipper Gift | BF-42
Fire-Bellied Toad Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm Lightweight Flipper Gift | BF-43
Fly Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm Lightweight Flipper Gift | BF-44
Flying Squirrel Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm Lightweight Flipper Gift | BF-45
Fox Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm Lightweight Flipper Gift | BF-46
Frog Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm EDC Flipper Gift for Him | BF-47
Gecko Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm Lightweight Flipper Gift | BF-48
Gerbil Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Stainless Steel and Bone Handle | 24cm EDC Flipper Gift for Him | BF-49
Glass Lizard Handmade VG10 Super Steel Original Filipino Balisong Butterfly Knife with Brass, Bone and Kamagong Wood Handle | 24cm EDC Flipper Gift for Him | BF-50
How do you keep a VG10 balisong sharp between proper sharpenings?
Most VG10 knives that come back to us for a "new edge" do not need one. Every session on the stones takes a little blade away for good, so the aim is to put that session off for as long as you honestly can. Here is how we do it on our own knives.
What actually dulls a flipping knife
Cutting is rarely the culprit. A sloppy close that knocks the edge against the handles dents the apex in one spot. A drop onto tile leaves a flat, bright mark you can see under a lamp. And a ceramic plate, a glass board or the staples in a cardboard box will flatten VG10 in a few strokes.
VG10 is ground thin here, and a thin edge tends to bend over rather than chip. That is good news. A bent edge can usually be straightened without a stone.
Strop, touch up, or sharpen
Look along the edge under a bright light with the knife latched open. A sharp edge is invisible. Whatever reflects back at you is damage, and its shape tells you which job you have.
| What you notice | What has happened | What we would do | Time it takes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catches paper then slides, no visible marks | Edge rolled over slightly | Strop on leather with fine compound, edge trailing | A minute or two |
| A thin bright line along part of the edge | Edge rolled further in one area | Strop first, then a few light passes on a fine stone (3000 to 6000 grit) | Five to ten minutes |
| A small flat bright spot | Impact dent from a drop or a hard close | Medium stone (around 1000 grit) until the spot is gone, then fine stone and strop | Fifteen to thirty minutes |
| Bright reflection along the whole edge | Worn through ordinary use | Full sharpening at 15 to 20 degrees per side | Fifteen to thirty minutes |
| A visible notch or missing piece near the tip | Chip from landing on the point | Coarse stone (220 to 400 grit) to reprofile, then work up through the grits | Longer, and worth taking slowly |
The grits and angles in that table come from our step by step sharpening guide, which also covers taping the handles so the knife cannot fold on you mid stroke. Please read that part.
Blade length, storage and trainers
Twenty seven of the thirty knives here carry a 12cm blade on a 24cm frame. Three carry a 14cm blade on a 29cm frame: the BF-29 Macaque, the BF-30 Crane and the BF-31 Crocodile. The extra two centimetres matter more on the stone than they do in the hand. A longer edge makes it harder to hold a steady angle from heel to tip, and most people drift steeper as they reach the point. If you own one of the big three, colour the bevel with a marker before you start and check where the ink disappears. It is a cheap way to find out whether your wrist is lying to you.
Every knife here ships in a fitted leather sheath, and the sheath is for carrying. Leather holds moisture, so a blade left in it for months sits in damp. Store the knife closed and dry, somewhere it cannot roll off a shelf onto its tip. Our rust and care guide has the full routine, and our VG10 stainless page explains why the pivot is where trouble usually starts.
If you ordered the trainer version, do not sharpen it. We left the edge off on purpose.
Questions about keeping a VG10 edge
How often should a VG10 balisong be sharpened? For a knife that is mostly flipped and carried, a full session a few times a year is plenty, and many owners go longer. Strop whenever it stops slicing paper cleanly. Stropping often is what keeps the stone sessions rare.
Can I use a pull through sharpener on VG10? We would not. A pull through sharpener sets a fixed angle that rarely matches a thin hand ground bevel, and the carbide type tears the edge rather than abrading it.
Do I need diamond plates for VG10? No. Ordinary waterstones cut VG10 well. A combination stone around 1000 and 3000 grit, plus a leather strop, covers almost everything that will happen to this edge.
Why did my new VG10 knife stop cutting after a week? Almost always a rolled edge from a hard close or a drop, not wear. Strop it with the edge trailing and test again before you blame the steel.
Should I sharpen the 29cm knives differently? Same angle, same grits. The longer 14cm blade simply makes it easier to lose your angle towards the tip, so work in shorter sections and check the bevel with a marker as you go.
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.