Insect High Carbon Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife BF-65
Original price was: $174.95.$131.21Current price is: $131.21.
Blade Materials – High Carbon Steel
Handle Materials – Stainless with Bone Inserts
Overall Length – 24cm
Blade Length -12cm
Weight -180g
Handmade in Austin, TX. Ships Worldwide.
Every knife is built by hand in our workshop in Austin, Texas, by Filipino makers trained in the Batangas tradition. We ship to any country we are allowed to send a knife to. Free shipping inside the United States, 49 USD flat everywhere else. Shipping and delivery times
The BF-65 Insect is the odd one in this run. Every other high carbon knife we build carries brass bolsters and kamagong. This one has stainless bolsters and bone inserts, 24cm open, a 12cm blade, 180g.
A rusting blade on a rustproof frame
There is a contradiction in this knife and we like it. The blade is plain carbon steel, which will spot if you leave it damp. The bolsters are stainless, which will not. The bone will not either.
What that means in practice is a knife where exactly one component needs your attention, and it is the component you were going to wipe anyway. On our brass and kamagong knives the brass is also changing over time, which some owners love and some find distracting. Here the frame stays put and the blade does all the ageing.
If you have wanted a carbon blade but disliked the idea of a handle that also darkens on its own schedule, this is the knife.
Bone handles, and what they are actually like on a balisong
Bone has been a knife handle material for as long as knives have existed, and it turns up on this frame because it does something the other materials do not.
| Bone | Kamagong | Horn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colour | Cream to pale amber | Near black | Black or smoky brown |
| Surface | Slightly porous, fine texture | Smooth, faint grain | Polishes glassy |
| In the hand | Cool at first, then warm | Warm immediately | Warm in a minute |
| Wet or sweaty hands | The best grip of the three | Good | Slippery |
| Variation between examples | Moderate | Low | High |
| Ages by | Warming in colour, slowly | Taking a soft polish | Taking a high polish |
The row that matters most is the wet hands one. A polished horn handle in a warm room after twenty minutes of flipping is a genuinely slippery object. Bone keeps its grip because the surface is not perfectly smooth, and that texture is the reason people who flip hard tend to end up owning one.
Bone yellows very slowly with light and handling. Nobody notices it happening and everybody notices it after five years, and it looks better for it.
Stainless bolsters
Lighter than brass by volume, so there is more of the frame doing the same job and the weight sits a shade differently. The practical effect is small and honest: it turns a fraction more evenly and stops a fraction less abruptly than a brass-bolstered knife at the same 180g.
Cosmetically the difference is not small at all. Stainless stays the colour it is. In ten years this knife will look the way it looks today apart from the blade and the bone, and for some owners that is exactly the point.
The high carbon steel in this balisong
Plain carbon steel: iron, around one percent carbon, essentially no chromium. Fine grain, so it takes the keenest edge we can grind, and it sharpens back on any ordinary stone in minutes.
Heat treated to 58-60 HRC, which is where it rolls rather than chips when it lands on something hard. Wipe the blade dry when you finish with it and a light oil once a month covers the rest. Neglected badly it pits orange, which is permanent. Wiped casually it goes grey, which protects it.
The name
Ninety-odd knives, ninety-odd animals, and by the time we got here somebody wrote down Insect. We have made peace with it.
Ordering this high carbon butterfly knife
The unsharpened trainer is the same knife, chosen above Add to Cart. Same bone, same 180g, no edge, same price, because grinding an edge is a single operation in a build with many.
A fitted leather sheath is in the box. Do not store the knife inside it, since leather traps damp and the blade here is the one part of this knife that cares. Free US shipping, flat $49 elsewhere for the whole order.
Every knife is checked for lockup, pivot action and edge before it goes in the box. Nothing ships that we would not keep for ourselves.
Processing
Most orders leave the bench in 1 to 3 business days. If the knife you picked is not in stock we forge it for you, which takes roughly 2 to 3 weeks. Engraving adds a little time on top of that.
What shipping costs
- United States: free on every order.
- Everywhere else: a flat 49 dollars for the whole order, however many knives are in it, so two at once ship for the same as one.
How long it takes
- USA: 4 to 8 business days
- International: 8 to 14 business days, longer if customs takes an interest
Those are carrier estimates, not promises we can enforce.
Tracking
A tracking number reaches you by email as soon as the parcel is collected. Carriers often take 24 to 48 hours to start showing movement, so a quiet first day is normal.
Customs and local law
Import duty, VAT and customs fees are set by your own country and are yours to pay. Balisong law varies by country and by US state, so it is worth checking yours before you order.
The full detail lives on Order and Shipping and Return or Exchange.
Hand-forged in the Batangas tradition
The balisong was born in Batangas, Philippines. Every knife in this catalogue is made by Filipino artisans and metalworkers, many from families with generations of experience, now working in the United States. Blades are ground from 440C stainless, D2 tool steel, VG10, high carbon and Damascus, and fitted to handles of kamagong ebony, carabao horn, Philippine deer horn and bone.
Checked four times
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.
Engraving available
Initials or short text $19 in the font you choose, a custom logo $29. Select it above Add to Cart and upload the logo file at checkout.
A sheath with every knife
Every knife includes a fitted leather sheath. Both live blades and trainers are offered, and every order ships worldwide with tracking.
Buying more than one?
Trade pricing starts at ten pieces and reaches 45% under retail at volume, with your logo on the bolster. See wholesale and bulk, or design one from scratch.
Owner reviews
What owners say
11 reviews for Insect High Carbon Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife BF-65
Shipping and returns
Processing
Most orders ship in 1 to 3 business days.
USA delivery
4 to 8 business days, tracked door to door.
International
8 to 14 business days. Customs times vary by country.
Made to order
Out of stock pieces are handcrafted for you in 2 to 3 weeks.
We ship worldwide. The customer is responsible for customs, VAT and local legality.
Returns and exchanges Read the warrantyRelated products
Blade Materials – 440c Stainless steel
Hedgehog High Carbon Steel Original Filipino Balisong butterfly Knife BF-57
A hedgehog is unhurried and hard to argue with, and the BF-57 is that sort of tool - plain steel that sharpens easily on a stone and simply keeps working.
Blade Materials – High Carbon Steel
Handle Materials – Brass with Kamagong Wood Inserts
Overall Length – 24cm
Blade Length -12cm
Weight -180g
Blake Baker –
This balisong is a genuine work of art. This shop clearly takes pride in their work.
Emma Santos –
This is exactly what I wanted and then some. Pivots feel dialed in with zero blade play. Handle scales feel great in hand even during longer flip sessions. This shop clearly takes pride in their work.
Anthony Hall –
This balisong is a genuine work of art. Pivots feel dialed in with zero blade play. Bushings feel buttery smooth after just a bit of use. Action is smooth right out of the box. No break in needed. Worth every penny.
Blake Baker –
This balisong is a genuine work of art. This shop clearly takes pride in their work.
Emma Santos –
This is exactly what I wanted and then some. Pivots feel dialed in with zero blade play. Handle scales feel great in hand even during longer flip sessions. This shop clearly takes pride in their work.
Anthony Hall –
This balisong is a genuine work of art. Pivots feel dialed in with zero blade play. Bushings feel buttery smooth after just a bit of use. Action is smooth right out of the box. No break in needed. Worth every penny.
Jonathan Ruiz –
This looks even better in person than in the listing photos. Comes with a nice pouch which is a nice touch. This shop nailed it with this one.
Gregory Sanchez –
This turned out to be way better than I thought it would be. Weight is perfectly balanced for flipping. This is my new favorite in the collection.
Andrew Green –
Not going to lie. This exceeded my expectations by a lot. Action is smooth right out of the box, no break in needed. This is going straight into my daily rotation.
Luis King –
Can’t stop flipping this thing honestly.
Megan Price –
Honestly one of my better purchases in a while. Handles have a great grip even during fast flips. Bushings feel buttery smooth after just a bit of use. This is the kind of purchase that makes online shopping worth it.