What is a Butterfly Knife for?

G

gary777

Joined
Dec 15, 2000
Messages
77
So, what exactly is a Butterfly knife for? I've seen it around the internet while search for knives.
 
I think they were origionally used in the Phillipines to hunt butterflies. They would sing (that's why you will hear them called "balisongs") to draw them near and swing the handles of the knife to trick the butterflies into thinking the knife was another butterfly looking for a mate. The most famous hunter ever was lin bali.(bali song). More info http://www.bladeforums.com/cgi/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=The+Balisong+forum!&number=47&DaysPrune=2&LastLogin=]

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Brian



[This message has been edited by bteel (edited 12-18-2000).]
 
Gary, it becomes almost addictive once you start to manipulate them, very artful in their openings and closings.

A real challenge to work, and as mentioned above, a great one handed opening knife, I use mine all the time.

Just take care if you get one, as jumping in to it can cause some nasty scars!

G2


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"The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions!"
Take the time to read your Bible Now, don't be left behind...
 
I'll never forget the night my mother told me about the tooth fairy...how the adults lured then in with a ritual offering of childrens teeth, then NAILED them to a board and buried them in the garden to encourage a good crop in the next year..

...sigh...

Those were the good old days..
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Get one and see! Also, dash over to the Balisong Forum and post this very question. You will not be disappointed, I'll wager.
 
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For peeling apples of coarse!!!!
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--The Raptor--

[This message has been edited by Raptor (edited 12-18-2000).]
 
Fun Mostly. Lots of guys get a lot of enjoyment out of practicing all the different flips and stuff with them. They're a great choice as a knife for self defense provided you have lots of practice, and some of them do have good qualities in a utility role. The main problem is the laws on them are real strict and you can't get away with carrying one around all the time in public in most places.

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I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer... but I've got the sharpest knife in the room.
 
It's the srongest lock of any folding knife. A quality balisong locked open is closer to a fixed blade as any other lock mechanism available. Lock failures are unheard of.

I like 'em because it's a knife that I can really get involved with, where the user is part of the whole package.


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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
I bought my first butterfly knife about 20 yrs. ago for the same reasons Gollnick mentions- no lock failure, they are like a fixed blade when locked open. Check out the Balisong forum here at BF. Lots of knowledgeable folks who are willing to share their expertise in this area.

[This message has been edited by richard rosvall (edited 12-19-2000).]
 
My Grandfather used to tell me stories of the great butterfly hunters he saw in WWII. They must've been a sight to see. Of course they are a little impractical now that butterflies just keep getting smaller and smaller. Now you can't even get a decent meal out of one.
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Mykl

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Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get me.
 
People seem to think you're all badass too.

I managed to get some of my classmates interested, and I'm teaching one of them right now. He's practicing with my bali-pliers over Christmas break.
 
I did propose, but nobody volunteered, that in 2004 we should all go down to Florida and make sure that this election problem doesn't happen again. The basic problem there was improper stabbing technique. So, I thought that we'd start by fanning out over the state and teaching proper stabbing techniques. Next, we'd gather up all those little stylus things they use to stab the ballots and sharpen 'em. Nothing I sharpen is gonna leave no "dimpled chad", I can assure you of that. But, I also thought that the balisong crowd could lend a hand with those butterfly ballots. Butterfly knives and butterfly ballots, that would leave no question about "the voter's intentions."


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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
Right up there with the Switchblade and Gravity Knife in reputation.

Right up there with the Switchblade and Gravity Knife in being the most maligned, misrepresented and legislated against, knives in the country. It is a target for crisis creating politicians and police.

Unlike the Switchblade, Gravity Knife, screwdriver or kitchen knife, however, it does take a degree of skill to open one.

Skill that a crackhead is not going to have because they don't care about skill, they care about crack.

What I mean by that is, alot of Police would freak out and immediately arrest someone for having one.[1] Even though it is just a pocket knife...because of the knife's bad reputation only.

Strictly speaking, the Cop would be in more immediate danger from a common (fixed blade) hunting knife, kitchen knife, screwdriver or large shears...all of which do not need to be manipulated to be used.

The Butterfly is just another victim of bad press, and crisis creating politicians who then use the hysteria to grab another little piece of power.

Just a few years ago, A Baltimore City Police Officer was viciously attacked with an Icepick in a stairwell...the cry never went up to ban something that almost everyone has in their kitchen. And no one tried to make people who like iced tea in the summertime feel guilty about it either, for using the ice chips from using Icepicks.
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[1] I'm talking about places where the Butterfly is not specifically named in the State, County or City Law as being illegal to carry on the street. As of my last viewing of the Law in Maryland, they are not illegal for carry, but Police routinely bust people who do carry them because they have broad discretionary powers.




[This message has been edited by Don Rearic (edited 12-20-2000).]
 
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