Birthday Gift

How do you choose a balisong for a birthday when you are not a knife person yourself?

Most people who buy from this page are not flippers. They are a sister, a partner or a friend who has heard the word balisong mentioned three times this year and wants to get the present right without learning metallurgy by Friday. Good. You do not need to. You need to answer three questions about the person, in this order, and the knife more or less picks itself.

First, who is actually opening it?

Start with the person, not the knife. Their experience decides whether the edge should be sharp, and that single choice matters more than the steel, the handle and the blade shape put together. Every knife here comes either way at the same price, chosen on the product page just above Add to Cart.

If you cannot place them on that table at all, buy the trainer. Nobody has ever been disappointed to receive a knife they can safely learn on, and plenty of people have been quietly alarmed by the other kind. Our trainer page explains what changes and what does not.

Second, what size suits their hand?

Of the knives in this tag with published specs, nearly all are built on a 29cm frame with a 14cm blade, and the ones that list a weight come in at 205g. That is a full size balisong. Three are smaller. BF-158 and BF-159 run 22cm with a 10cm blade, and the Damascus BF-155 is 10 inches open on a 4 inch blade. For a smaller hand, or for someone who wants to carry it rather than display it, those three are worth a look. Our balisong sizes guide covers the difference in more depth than any birthday card has room for.

Third, what are they like, not what is the knife like?

This is the easy part, and it is where non knife people do better than they expect. You already know whether the person wears a leather jacket or a linen shirt, whether their home is warm wood or bright metal. Choose the handle the same way.

Rosewood with brass is warm and classic and appears across a good run of the D2 knives here. Stag is textured, pale to brown, and different on every piece. Black horn is dark and quiet. Micarta is modern and very hard wearing. Brass alone, on BF-154, is the one for someone who likes their things to age visibly. We would pick on personality first and steel second, and we make the knives, so we are allowed to say that.

If you want to add a name or a date, the engraved gift guide covers what to write and how much fits. Before you order, check the recipient's local rules in our laws by state guide. Birthdays are fixed dates, so allow for engraving time and delivery too.

Birthday gift questions