A working traditional balisong in the Batangas style: compact proportions, an honest spine and no decoration that gets in the way. D2 tool steel, brass and rose wood, 24cm open, 220g. This one is for the person who intends to carry it and cut things with it, which is a smaller group than you would think.
Most balisongs never cut anything
That is not a criticism, it is just true. The overwhelming majority of butterfly knives sold are flipped, photographed, put in a case and taken out again. The edge stays factory sharp for a decade because nothing has ever been asked of it.
If that is you, fine, and this knife will do it happily. But if you actually want a balisong in your pocket doing the job a pocket knife does, there are some real considerations, and nobody writes about them because it is easier to write about tricks.
Honestly, how good is a balisong as a carry knife
| Against it |
For it |
| Two handed to open unless you can flip reliably |
Opens faster than any folder once you can |
| 220g is heavy for a pocket |
The weight makes it a genuinely capable cutter, not a keychain toy |
| The pivot area collects pocket lint enthusiastically |
It also cleans out in seconds, no back spacer to fight |
| Carry restrictions in many places |
Nothing to break. Two pins and a blade |
| Opening one in public alarms people |
D2 holds an edge through work that would dull a softer steel twice |
The last point on the left is the one people underestimate. A balisong opening is a distinctive noise and a distinctive motion, and the average person watching does not read it as somebody getting a knife out to open a box. Be sensible about where you do it, and check your local carry rules, which vary more than most people assume.
What the D2 drop point blade is good at
The traditional profile has a usable belly with a point that is fine enough for detail work without being fragile. That is a boring description and it is why the shape has lasted. It is not specialised at anything, so it is competent at everything.
D2 is the reason it stays competent. It carries an edge through cardboard, rope, tape and food prep far past where softer stainless gives up. 58-60 HRC is the number sitting under that claim, since hardness is what stops an edge deforming under load, and an edge that has not deformed is one you are not fixing on a Tuesday night. The price of that is a slow session on a stone when it finally goes, and a blade that will spot if you leave it wet, because semi stainless is not stainless.
Maintenance for a knife that is actually used
- After each wet or acidic job: wipe it dry immediately. Not later, immediately. Citrus and D2 are not friends.
- Weekly, if carried daily: blow or brush the lint out of the channels and the pivot area.
- Monthly: a drop of oil on each pivot, then work the handles. Wipe the excess or it becomes lint glue.
- Every few months: check pivot tension. Daily use loosens it gradually and a loose balisong develops play you cannot undo later.
- Rarely: actual sharpening. Strop first. Most edges that feel dull are not dull, they are rolled.
The knife care guide covers pivot tension properly, and it is the maintenance job that matters most on a carried knife.
Specification for this D2 drop point balisong
- Blade: D2 tool steel
- Hardness: 58-60 HRC
- Handle: brass with rose wood
- Overall length: 24cm open
- Blade length: 12cm
- Weight: 220g
- The same sharpened or blunt
It arrives with a fitted leather sheath, which is worth using for storage rather than carry. Leather holds moisture against a blade if you leave it there for months, and D2 will not thank you for it.
The trainer question for a working knife
If you plan to use this knife rather than flip it, you may reasonably think the trainer option is not for you. Consider it anyway.
The option is above Add to Cart. Plenty of owners keep a blunt one for practice and a sharp one for work, because the fastest way to ruin a good edge is to learn aerials with it. Same weight, same balance, bevels left unsharpened. The trainer guide has more.
Free shipping inside the US, flat $49 worldwide however many knives are in the box.
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