Butterfly Knives Are Really Cool:

A Butterfly knife, which is sometimes called a Balisong, is a style of pocketknife. The main thing that makes this style of pocketknife different is the way that the handle is split in the center and the blade is kept and concealed in the two separate pieces of the handle.

There are some people who are thoroughly trained in the use of the Butterfly knife. For those people it is possible for them to open the knife and actually make the blade visible using one hand in a matter of seconds. This is known as" flipping" and is actually done as a means of entertainment.

Although few people actually agree on where the word Balisong originated, there are those who think that it the word is an offshoot of the Tagalog language, which is from the Philippines and is spoken by over twenty million people currently residing there. In Tagalog, the phrase "baling sungay" is interpreted as broken horn. The first butterfly knives did use animal horn for creating the handles, giving credence to that idea.

There are two main ways that the butterfly knife can be made. The first style of knife is called the sandwich. The second way is called the channel. If you have a knife that was assembled using the sandwich construction model this means that it was put together in layers using screws and pins. This allows the balisong or butterfly knife to pivot and the blade rests within the layers. With the channel construction of a butterfly knife the handle is made from one piece of material. When the knife is closed the blade rests within a space that has been made within the one piece of material. This type of construction is noted as being stronger and more durable than the sandwich construction model.

There are many parts to the Balisong or Butterfly Knife, much more than the blade and the handle. The Bite Handle is the part of the handle that the blade actually rests in, the Safe Handle is the part of the handle that closes on the side of the blade that is not sharpened. There is a Latch that is important because this is what keeps the knife closed. The Latch needs to be released in order to open the knife.

The Kicker is the part inside the handle of the knife that prevents the sharpened edge of the knife to get damaged when the knife is closed. This is sometimes referred to as the Kick. Then there is the part of the knife known as the Tang. This is the part of the knife that is attached to the handle with pivot pins. Butterfly knives do not have to be expensive though there are expensive ones out there.

Benchmade Balisong Knives vary in price from $200 to $1200. They are very well made and come in all varieties. It all depends on what material the handles are made of, the size of the blade and type of construction that was used to assemble the knife.

Many parts of the world have outlawed the butterfly knife. Depending on the size of the blade you may or may not be able to carry one on your person. Some places consider it a "dagger" which is a weapon. In the state of California it is illegal to have a butterfly knife on your person if the blade is longer than two inches.

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