Handmade Damascus Steel Balisong Tanto Blade Knife| 410 stainless steel Handle | Premium Butterfly Knife with Leather Sheath BF-157

The BF-157 is a Damascus tanto with a 410 stainless steel handle. No wood, no horn, no bone. Steel blade, steel handle, and that makes it the most uncompromising knife in this block.

What 410 stainless is on a butterfly knife handle

410 is a martensitic stainless steel. Roughly 12 percent chromium, which is enough to make it genuinely stainless, and it can be hardened, unlike the softer stainless grades used for kitchen sinks. It is the grade used where corrosion resistance and toughness both matter and the part still needs to take some abuse.

On a handle it means one thing above all: this part of the knife will never need anything from you. It does not rust, dry out, crack, warp, swell, absorb, rot or fade. There is no oiling schedule. There is no material to protect.

What an all steel handle does to the feel

• Heavier than wood or horn, and the mass sits out in the handles rather than at the pivot. Rotations carry further with less input.
• Slower to change direction. A momentum knife. It flows well and it does not snap.
• Cold to pick up in winter. Steel takes heat from your hand until it catches up. Horn and wood never do this.
• Slick when your hands are damp. The real functional cost, and the reason most handles are not metal.

People who like heavy balisongs tend to like this one a great deal. People who prefer a light quick knife will find it work.

The contradiction that makes it interesting

A Damascus blade is the most decorative thing a knife maker can offer. A 410 handle is the most utilitarian. Putting them together produces an object that looks like it was built by somebody who could not decide, and in the hand it makes complete sense: the part you look at is beautiful and the part you hold is indestructible.

The Damascus blade on this balisong

Two steels forge welded, folded, drawn, ground and etched so the pattern stands in relief through the full thickness. Sharpening cannot remove it. Hardened to 58-60 HRC, so it holds an edge properly and sharpens on ordinary stones.

It cuts like good tool steel because that is what it is. It does not outcut mono steel at the same hardness, and we would rather say so than let you find out from somebody else.

The tanto point

Backed by a lot of steel, so it survives impacts that would fold a fine point. Poor at delicate tip work. Its short front edge needs sharpening separately from the main belly, at its own angle, which is the thing everybody forgets.

Care, such as it is

The handle needs nothing. The blade is Damascus, not stainless, so dry it if it gets wet and put a trace of oil on it now and then. One drop at each pivot every few months keeps the action clean. That is the entire regime.

Who this is for

Somebody who wants a knife that will not deteriorate in a drawer, a damp climate, or a pocket. It is priced with the mid range of this block, and it is probably the single most durable object on this page.

Specifications

Included with this Damascus tanto balisong

The knife itself, hand sharpened and hand tuned. A fitted leather sheath made for this frame. A gift box, included as standard.

And a trainer version if you choose it above Add to Cart, matched to this knife in size and weight but with no edge on it. Take it. Learning on a sharp knife is how people end up in the emergency room with a story.

Engraving, if you want it: $19 for initials or short text, $29 for a custom logo. Choose before you add to cart. Free shipping in the United States, flat $49 worldwide.