What Balisong should be your first one?

B

Bob Irons

Joined
Oct 14, 1998
Messages
1,573
I know next to nothing about balisongs. Never handled one. Not sure if I could tell a POS balisong from a good one (although I think I probably could).

I'll bet a lot of BF members don't own a balisong. What do you experts recommend as the first balisong to be purchased. Do the good ones come with instructions, or do you need to search out instructional tapes and such? I see some great links on balisong how-tos - Is viewing and reading these sites enough to get started?
 
two answers for you sir.. #1, BM42 make it your first and LAST (well maybe not your last. there's gotta be a BM43, BM46, BM47, then we get to me 50 series) and looking for the old 45's 48's and 44's is pretty fun too if you have the itme and patience.

and as for how to's.. ANOTHER first and last.. balisongxtreme.com

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<A HREF="http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~soo/balisong/balisong.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~soo/balisong/balisong.html
</A> If you play with love you will be heartbroken; if you play with knives you will [bleed]


 
I'm fairly new to balisongs too, but the best place to get started would be

<A TARGET="_new" HREF="http://www.balisongxtreme.com">BalisongXtreme</A>

And

<A TARGET="_new" HREF="http://www.balisong.com">Balisong.com</A>

I hope the links worked out
smile.gif


Oh, and a good first time balisong would be a Jaguar... they work pretty good and at a good price
smile.gif


Shrub

[This message has been edited by Shrubba (edited 03-09-2000).]
 
Sniperboy, if I remember right, there was already a BM-43 made by Pacific Cutlery which was a 440c weehawk.
 
oh good call David
smile.gif
the 43 is liek the 42 but the shape of the false edge is differnt.. thanks for reminding me.


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<A HREF="http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~soo/balisong/balisong.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~soo/balisong/balisong.html
</A> If you play with love you will be heartbroken; if you play with knives you will [bleed]


 
If you have the patience, wait until the BM42 hits the scene. If you don't have any patience, buy a Jaguar now (about 25 bucks) and then buy a BM42 in April.

The how-to? Clay. That was easy. There are some videos out, but Clay has that covered too with his reviews.



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-ramius
"oderint dum metuant"
 
Bob,
I will be getting the BM 42 as my first Balisong. But I have thought about getting a real cheap one to practice with first.
 
Bob and Donna,

The higher end Jaguar seems to be the choice for "economy" Balisongs. They're actually quite good for beginners. (They're my daily carry Balis)

The BM 42 will be a great knife, but I don't know if you'd want to subject it to a daily practice (torture) routine. Thats an expensive Bali to be throwing, and dropping, and banging........ or maybe it's just me.

The Jags can be found at: http://www.dragon-forge.com/jaguar.html
~or~ www.knifezilla.com

At between $25 and $35, running them through the daily grind is a little easier to take.


------------------
Clay
www.balisongxtreme.com
Because......
getting 'em open
is half the fun!
 
Great practical advice!

I like the idea of practicing with something I can afford to wear out and having a nice quality piece like the BM 42.

Thanks to all. I think this new forum will be a "must visit often" just to keep up with the cool sharp things we like.
 
Definately go with a Jag now and a BM 42 later. The $35 Jag is a great Bali to learn on. I've bang and dropped mine so may times, and it still hasn't gotten too loose. Besides after all that practicing with the inferior Jag, you'll just be better on the BM.
 
I highly recommend new users to pick up a crap bali (or several) to practice on before putting the $120+ into a BM42.

1) There are many things that even a day of practice will eliminate, but will produce a multitude of tiny cosmetic damages.

2) Crap balis tend to come with duller blades (than even BM QC
wink.gif
), and I didn't feel any remorse towards gummying the knife in taping it (probably a good idea to start, one can work up to speed and confidence on the basics without worries).

I have seen three different orders to Popular Link, and they're not bad for the money. The first time, I got two higher-quality basic Jaguars (the pins haven't broken yet, and the heavy handles beat my hands up pretty well). The other two times, the balis were very crappy, but passable to practice on.

Discount Knives has a butterfly knife section, specializing in (what seems to be) crap balis, but at very reasonable prices. I have yet to handle one of these, but when you can get more than 20 of them for the price of a BM 42, it's very difficult to go wrong.
 
>>do you need to search out instructional tapes and such? I see some great links on balisong how-tos - Is viewing and reading these sites enough to get started?

The online sites really do help, to learn all the different ways to open and use a Balisong. You do not have to spend a lot of money, you can get a China made Butterfly for about $6 and you can get a Taiwan made with a German blade for about $12. They work real good, and it's a good place to start. Then you can get into more expensive ones.
Email me, if you want to know where to get them, thanks, JohnR7
 
I don't have my firsthand experience with Jaguars, only some of Bears, but they, "animal" balisongs are decent for their $$$. Cheaper ones from Taiwan I will not recommend for safety reason. Pins may break suddenly, handles may break any time, and unexpected friction between the blade and the handles may cause you miss the timing how to release/grab the knife when opening and closing it.
There are chances some luck will bring you an excellent one from Taiwan though.

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\(^o^)/ Mizutani Satoshi \(^o^)/
 
I have used a BEAR MGC with a damascus blade for a long time and pratice with it almost daily and it has held up great, it still looks almost new.

I know SMKW has some and I think they are only in the 40-50 dollar range.




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~Keith~
"War to the knife and knife to the hilt"

 
if i am not mistaken.. SMKW is the italian outfit right? According to sir Gollnick they are flimsy b#stards.. if you want to read a simple review of BEARS versus JAGUARS just click below
smile.gif


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<A HREF="http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~soo/balisong/balisong.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~soo/balisong/balisong.html
</A> If you play with love you will be heartbroken; if you play with knives you will [bleed]


 
Just guessing the most damaging action to handles and pivot pins are twisting motions by far than flicking opening and closing in a plane. In this case the blade stopping pins dig deep into the handle instead of loosening the handle.

Or... Kdarmy, you're blessed with luck than me.

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\(^o^)/ Mizutani Satoshi \(^o^)/
 
Out of the ones that I have seen I would recomend the Bear butterflys.

1. They are not too exspensive.
2. Myn has held up fo 1.5 years, half of that time it was being used 4 or 5 hours a day.
3. It is not as sharp as Benchmade ...... unless you make it that way=)
4. I have worked with most of the cheaper ones, you get what you pay for.

Having worked in a knife store, my personal opinion is that Jaguars are the bigist bunch of crap. I have had the pin fall out on the first or second use, and have the knife fly around the back of the store. This is not a good thing when there are other people around. When you get good enough with the Bear you can sharpin it up and use the wrong handle for more of a chalenge. Unlike the Jag , the mettal will take an edge and keep it.


But if you want a realy sweet knife try and find an old benchmade. The Tanto Benchmade Bali is a realy choice knife, and there are still some out there. I think they stoped production in 96 or 97.

Good luck and make sure you know the laws in you town. You can get busted hard if you are not carfull.

Vlad

Misspeller Extraordinar
 
Vlad,

No, seriously......... You've had a BEAR last a year and a half??? Through a four hour workout??? You're kidding me right??

I've owned several, and every one snapped at the handles. EVERY SINGLE ONE! Longest I've had one survive is a month.

I do still have one left, only because I don't use it. It's my official "Here's an example of a BEAR Balisong" Bali.

"Don't look too hard or too long...... It might self destruct".
wink.gif


------------------
Clay
www.balisongxtreme.com
Because......
getting 'em open
is half the fun!
 
I guess I got lucky. To think of it it is actualy older, I think I got it in Dec. 97. It still holds a nice edge. It is also the knife I learend on. It is vary loose right now, won't even lock close, and makes loud clinking sounds (with out hiting on the back of my finger). I own the normal black one. You might put a little more pressure on yours. I do not do much fancy stuff and do not drop it much. Having it realy sharp keeps me from throwing it up in the air or twerling it around my fingers......it also teaches you to use the right handel everytime
smile.gif
For first month it was used at least 20 hours a week (working in retail can be boring).

Vlad
 
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