Description
Stainless handles inlaid with water buffalo horn, marbled black and grey, over a forged blade with two drilled holes through the flat. Nine inches open, and the pattern on the tang is as good as the pattern on the blade.
| Overall length | 9.1 inches |
| Blade length | 4.4 inches |
| Handle length | 4.7 inches |
| Steel | 1095 + 15N20 Damascus |
| Hardness | 58–60 HRC, oil tempered |
| Handle | – Stainless Steel with Water Buffalo Horn Inserts |
Good for: flow flipping and collecting in equal measure. The drilled blade takes a little weight out of the front, which shifts the balance back toward the pivots and makes the knife feel quicker than its length suggests.
Care: the handles look after themselves. The blade does not. Forge-welded carbon steel spots quickly in sweat, and the two holes through the flat are exactly where moisture sits and gets forgotten. Dry inside them. Water buffalo horn is dense and hard-wearing and needs no feeding, though like all horn it will warp if it is repeatedly soaked and dried. Oil the pivots regularly and check the pin peening every few months on any balisong you flip hard.
Where the balisong comes from
The design is Filipino, and the traditional pattern of a pinned tang, a latch and two channel handles has barely changed in a century because it works. Understanding the original context explains a lot about why these knives are proportioned the way they are. Balisong history and origins is a genuinely interesting read and makes the design choices here obvious.
What water buffalo horn brings
Buffalo horn is harder and denser than ram horn and takes a higher polish, which is why the marbling looks almost like stone. It is a natural material and the black and pale banding differs on every piece, so the set you receive will look nothing like a catalogue twin. It has a slight give under impact, which means it absorbs a knock better than a solid metal handle and is less likely to transmit the shock into your hand. It will crack if it is left somewhere very hot and very dry for a long time.
The holes in the blade
Drilled blades are partly decorative and partly functional. They remove weight from the tip and change how the knife rotates, which some flippers prefer and others dislike. They also give sweat and cleaning fluid somewhere to hide, so they need drying properly. If you want a simpler blade and a lower price to learn on before committing, a budget D2 flipper is the sensible starting point and will not upset you when you drop it.
Ahead of ordering
Is it heavy? Less so than a brass-handled model of the same size. Stainless handles and a drilled blade both take weight out.
Can the latch be removed? Many flippers do run latchless. It is a modification you make yourself and it is not reversible, so think about it first.
How sharp does it arrive? Sharpened and ready to cut. Treat it as a live blade from the moment it comes out of the box.
Model: BMK-409
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