D2 Tool Steel Filipino Balisongs Butterfly Stainless Steel Walnut Burl Wood Inserts Black Mamba Knives World Class Knives | BMK-472

Description

Walnut burl set into stainless handles, with a symmetrical spear point in D2. The figure in the wood is the reason to choose this one.

Carries well for: a buyer who wants natural material without the unpredictability of horn or bone. Burl gives you swirl and depth in the grain while behaving like wood, which is to say it is stable, it is easy to look after, and it will not vary as wildly from the photograph as an antler insert would.

What burl actually is

A burl is a growth on a tree where the grain has grown in knots and whorls instead of running straight. Cut and stabilized, that chaotic grain becomes the swirling figure you see in the inserts. Because the grain runs in every direction at once, burl is denser and less prone to splitting along a line than straight-grained wood, which is a real advantage in a handle that gets knocked about. It is also darker and more variable than plain walnut, so expect your pair to be matched in tone rather than identical in pattern.

Spear point, and who that suits

The point sits on the centerline with even grinds on both sides. That symmetry means the knife handles the same regardless of which way it lands in your hand, and it makes the tip stronger than a fine clip point. For a balisong that is a sensible choice, because a knife that gets caught mid-rotation is a knife that occasionally lands wrong. The compromise is that a spear point has less belly than a curved blade, so long drawing cuts are not its strength.

Low maintenance by design

Stainless handles and D2 make this one of the easier knives here to own. Nothing on it rusts in ordinary use. Wipe the blade dry, keep the wood out of standing water, and give each pivot one drop of oil when the swing loses its smoothness. If the burl ever looks flat, the smallest amount of mineral oil worked across it and buffed away lifts the figure again. Store it out of a sheath rather than in one.

Before you buy

Is the wood stabilized? Burl for handle use is stabilized, which is why it does not move with humidity.

Will my pattern match the photo? The tone will. The exact swirl will not, and cannot.

Is D2 worth the sharpening effort? If you cut a lot between sharpenings, yes. If you touch up often, a simpler steel is easier.

Knife anatomy explained is a useful glossary if bolsters and liners are new terms, and storing knives properly matters more for wood handles than most people think. For a step up in finish with wood scales rather than inserts, see the rose wood D2 balisong.

Model: BMK-472