Handmade Karambit Balisong Butterfly Knife | High Polished High Carbon Steel | Walnut Handle with Brass Bolsters and Leather Sheath BF-177
$225.00
Walnut and brass. Walnut is the wood people overlook because it is the wood their grandfather’s furniture was made of, which is a strange reason to overlook anything.
Blade Material – High Carbon Steel, high polished
Handle Material – Walnut with brass bolsters, finger ring
Overall Length – 24 cm
Blade Length – 12 cm
Hardness – 58-60 HRC
Sheath – Fitted leather, included
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.
The BF-177 is a karambit balisong with walnut panels and brass bolsters, mirror polished blade, $225. It is the same frame as the rose wood BF-174 and the wood is the entire difference, so let us talk about the wood.
Walnut against rose wood
| Walnut | Rose wood | |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | Noticeably lighter | Dense, adds weight at the butt |
| Natural oil | Modest | High, resists water on its own |
| Grain | Long, flowing, often figured | Tight, straight, streaked |
| Colour over time | Lightens slightly, warms | Darkens towards red brown |
| Feel | Softer, warmer | Harder, cooler, denser |
The line most people need is the one about weight. On a karambit balisong the ring already puts mass at the far end of the swing, and walnut takes some of that back. If the rose wood version feels butt heavy in your hand, this one will not.
Walnut is the underrated handle wood
It gets dismissed as ordinary because it is everywhere: gunstocks, furniture, cabinets. It is everywhere because it works. It is tough for its weight, it does not split easily along the grain, it machines cleanly enough to take crisp edges against a bolster, and it takes an oil finish that feels like wood rather than like varnish.
It is also the only common handle wood that genuinely looks better slightly worn. Rose wood wants to look immaculate. Walnut wants a few years on it.
What walnut asks of you
More than rose wood, and still very little. It carries less natural oil, so in a dry climate it can look chalky after a couple of years. A drop of mineral oil worked in with a cloth, once a year, puts it back and takes about a minute.
Do not soak it and do not leave it in a sink. The pins and the bolster are metal, the wood is not, and they move at different rates when wet. Nothing dramatic happens quickly, but a decade of that treatment shows.
Brass against walnut
Brass starts yellow and walnut starts mid brown, which on day one is a fairly obvious pairing. What makes it work over time is that they age towards each other: brass browns, walnut warms, and the contrast softens rather than sharpening.
This is the opposite of steel bolsters, which stay exactly where they started while the wood moves on without them.
Specifications for this walnut karambit balisong
| Overall length | 24 cm |
| Blade length | 12 cm |
| Blade | High carbon steel, mirror polished |
| Hardness | 58-60 HRC |
| Handle | Walnut with brass bolsters, finger ring |
| Sheath | Fitted leather, included |
| Price | $225 |
Ordering the BF-177
Sharpened, tuned and checked by hand, with a fitted leather sheath and a gift box.
Or take it as a trainer instead. Identical frame, identical weight, no cutting edge, and the price does not move.
Laser engraving is $29, chosen on this page. Free shipping inside the United States, flat $49 worldwide.
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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 warranty
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