The BF-155 is a Damascus blade with micarta panels and brass bolsters, and it is 10 inches open on a 4 inch blade. Almost everything else on this bench is 29cm. This one is deliberately smaller, and that changes how it behaves in a way worth understanding before you buy.
What a shorter frame actually does
A balisong rotates around its pivots, and the handles are levers. Shorten the levers and the whole knife speeds up.
- Faster rotation. The same wrist input produces a quicker turn. Moves feel snappier.
- Less forgiving. Speed cuts your reaction window. Timing errors that a 29cm knife absorbs, this one does not.
- Less tiring. Lower mass, less momentum to fight, so long sessions cost your forearm less.
- Genuinely pocketable. A 29cm balisong is a presence in a pocket. Ten inches is not.
Who a short frame suits
Smaller hands, first of all. The standard 29cm frame is comfortable for most adults, but if the handles feel like they run past your grip, a shorter knife will feel correct in a way that is immediately obvious.
It also suits people who already flip well. A shorter balisong rewards precise timing and punishes vague timing, so an experienced hand gets a quicker, tighter knife out of it. A beginner gets a knife that drops more.
Who should avoid it
Beginners, and anybody learning aerials. Longer frames rotate slower, which gives you time to see what is happening and correct. That time is worth more to a learner than any other property of a balisong.
If this is your first, take a 29cm knife from this bench instead, learn on it, and come back for this one when you want the quick one.
The Damascus blade on this butterfly knife
Two steels forge welded, folded, drawn, ground and etched so the acid raises the pattern in relief. It runs right through the steel, so sharpening never removes it. Hardened to 58-60 HRC, which is a proper working hardness: it holds an edge and it still sharpens on ordinary stones.
Damascus does not cut better than good mono steel at the same hardness. It looks better. That is a legitimate reason to buy one and it is the only honest one.
Micarta panels on a balisong handle
Canvas layers set in phenolic resin and compressed solid. Waterproof, impact tolerant, temperature stable, zero maintenance, and it grips better when your hands are damp rather than worse. On a short fast knife that grip matters more than usual, because there is less time to recover a slip.
Brass bolsters
They carry the pivot pins and take the wear, and brass against steel is a better bearing pair than steel on steel. They will dull from bright gold to warm brown over the first year, which is oxidation and not damage. Polish them back any time, or let them go.
Who this is for
An experienced flipper who wants something quick, or somebody whose hands are smaller than the standard frame assumes. It is the least expensive Damascus knife on this page.
Specifications
| Overall length |
10 in |
| Blade length |
4 in |
| Blade |
Damascus steel |
| Hardness |
58-60 HRC |
| Handle |
Micarta with brass bolsters |
| Sheath |
Fitted leather, included |
In the box with this Damascus balisong
The knife, sharpened and tuned by hand before it left the bench. A fitted leather sheath, cut for this frame rather than bought by the dozen. A gift box, because a good number of these are bought for somebody else.
You can have this one unsharpened instead: same frame, same weight, no edge, and the same price either way. Choose it on this page.
Engraving is optional. Initials or short text $19, a custom logo $29, chosen before you add to cart. Shipping is free within the United States and a flat $49 everywhere else.
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