Random balisong questions

ixpfah

ixpfah

Joined
Oct 8, 2001
Messages
2,909
I have some questions about different balisongs...

First off, I'd like to know a little bit about the spanish balisongs from BalisongWorld... I bet they're all poor cheapies, but they don't look very bad. In fact, I think they look very exotic. :)
Has anyone tried one of these?
Are they worth the money/is the money worth the knife?
Do they really look as good as in the pics? (Remember, I don't mean quality, but design.)

Second, I'd like to compare the Jaguar to the Bear. Judging from the pics, I'd say the Bear is waaayy older than the Jag.
Do they still make Bears?
Are they the same company, or do they simply copy the same knives? (Since they look kinda the same, at least the handles...)

And finally, something I know not just I wonder: How to separate Bali-Songs from Pacific Cutleries from Benchmades.
Are there any particular things to look for, like hidden pins, tang stamp, handle patterns, horns etc.?
And what year was those name-changes again? (For those that doesn't know, Bali-Song, Pacific Cutlery and Benchmade is the same company, it's just that it has changed its name three times.)

Oh, one more thing: Is it true that the first knife Benchmade (or Bali-Song, which they were called back then (right?)) made, was a butterfly?
If so, does anyone have any information on this knife?


Hope this isn't too many questions for you to answer... :p Good luck, how ever! :D
 
Hey hey hey... I never saw those before, you're right, they look very nice.. and there's a lot of them!!

Are they any good?

If they work as well as a Jaguar I'll definitely buy a couple of them.. not bad prices.. if the quality is that good..
 
The handles are very light....maybe even plastic ??
 
i dont know about quality because ive never handled one but i saw that knife on 888knivesrus.com for $10.00
 
(For those that doesn't know, Bali-Song, Pacific Cutlery and Benchmade is the same company, it's just that it has changed its name three times.)
Click to expand...

This IS NOT the case......Benchmade had nothing to do with Les' first two companies. He hired on at BM in the early '90's, after the loss of PCC, and along with Roberta, eventually bought the company.

The tang stamp tells the story..... The small butterfly logo, without the 'circle r' (meaning registered trademark) was used on the Bali-Song Cutlery Company knives.

The registered logo was used on the Pacific Cutlery Company knives along with the U.S. Patent numbers stamped on the reverse side of the tang for the semi-custom and production knives.

These changes were made in the mid '80s when the company changed names and moved to a different location.

The BM customs have the same logo as the PCC knives, but the etch is more defined and, after handling 'a few', the difference can be seen.

It is fact that the first knives Les ever made were balis and had handles of square stock. The last time I visited with him, he wanted to know if I had one or knew where one was at.........I ONLY WISH!!!:eek:

Please feel free to correct me or elaborate more on this subject.
 
It is fact that the first knives Les ever made were balis and had handles of square stock. The last time I visited with him, he wanted to know if I had one or knew where one was at.........I ONLY WISH!!!
Click to expand...

Oh, I know where there might be one or two... ;)
 
Those Spanish one's by the way, have solid brass handles with rather nice (for the price) inserts. But, the pins are also made of brass and rather thin. The latches don't work well. Overall, not a great knife.
 
Bear isn't the same company as Jaguar. Jag's are imported and Bear's are made right here in the USA.

Neither of them are very good, though. The Jags have very weak pins but better handles, very heavy and solid feeling, almost twice as thick as a BM4x. The Bear handles are made of crappy 'pot metal' and break VERY easily. My handles on my Bear died before the pins did.

If I could do it all again, my first bali would have been a Jag, at least it's a decent knife after a re-pinning. The Bear is also rather pricey for a knife of such poor quality.

A BM 42 is 3 times the price of a Bear, but will last you more than 3 times as long. Stick with quality, and you won't be disappointed.
 
Originally posted by Dawkind
This IS NOT the case......Benchmade had nothing to do with Les' first two companies. He hired on at BM in the early '90's, after the loss of PCC, and along with Roberta, eventually bought the company.[/B]
Click to expand...
Oh... Sorry for messing up. It's a good thing you sorted it out, then. :)
 
I have one of the Spanish ones from Balisongworld. I bought it because I liked the horn handles and the blade shape. It is pretty to look at but that is about it. Quality is less than the Jag.
 
Ahhhhh yes.., I remember it well.., and I also wanted to buy BM.., and amazingly they wouldn't accept my expired Visa card???? Geeeeesh....


"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
Ix: I gave a little review on the Spanish balisongs a while back. Just do a search for my 'nick or "Cudeman" or something, all two-dozen times I've posted here shouldn't be too hard.

Bleh.. I'll do it for you:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=183186 <-- There you go.

They're kinda neat, but your money can be better spent elsewhere. As I recall.. you've gathered a small collection of CCC's and a Jag from Zilla, as well as one of the bali-axe FHMs. In my opinion, you've got a big enough collection of crap. If you're sufficiently addicted to balisongs with what you've picked up so far.. you might want to just stop buying pressed tin for a bit and choose a $100+ model. You've got lots of choices now:

Monarch, Tachyon, SWAT, BM 4x, and recently Cold Steel.

That's what I'd do.. your Cheap Chinese Crap should last you until then ;)
 
Originally posted by Cynake
Ix: I gave a little review on the Spanish balisongs a while back. Just do a search for my 'nick or "Cudeman" or something, all two-dozen times I've posted here shouldn't be too hard.

Bleh.. I'll do it for you:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=183186 <-- There you go.

They're kinda neat, but your money can be better spent elsewhere. As I recall.. you've gathered a small collection of CCC's and a Jag from Zilla, as well as one of the bali-axe FHMs. In my opinion, you've got a big enough collection of crap. If you're sufficiently addicted to balisongs with what you've picked up so far.. you might want to just stop buying pressed tin for a bit and choose a $100+ model. You've got lots of choices now:

Monarch, Tachyon, SWAT, BM 4x, and recently Cold Steel.

That's what I'd do.. your Cheap Chinese Crap should last you until then ;)
Click to expand...
Hehe, thanks a lot for the review. I remember reading it now, but I didn't remember reading it when I posted this post. ;)

You haven't gotten my 'collection' all right, though. First I got a FHM-looking CCC (which I still actually have and use), then I had a CCC once, but one of the handles broke (of course ;)), so I garbaged it.
Then I got a Jag, yes, but I lost it in the swedish customs... :( My so-far best knife, and I guess that says it all. :p
Recently I recieved a FHM sword, true. I still have it. So now I'm just going to re-polish it, and put it on the wall. :D

Thanks again. I'll stay away from the spanish ones for a while, then. Maybe I'll get Dobruski to make me one that looks like that (only it should be solider. ;)).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top