High Carbon Steel Filipino Balisongs Butterfly Stainless Steel Dye Bone Inserts Black Mamba Knives World Class Knives | BMK-604

Description

A brass-handled Filipino balisong with dyed bone inserts and a clean spear-point blade ground bright on both sides.

Suits: a first serious balisong. Full size, honest materials, nothing on it that you will be afraid to handle.

Brass changes how a balisong swings

Brass is roughly ten percent denser than steel and considerably denser than the wood or bone used for inserts, so a brass-channelled handle puts real mass out at the ends of the knife. You feel that as a slower, heavier rotation with more carry through the turn. Beginners often prefer it, because a heavy handle keeps going where a light one stalls halfway and has to be rescued. It also means the knife lands with authority when the handles close, which is either satisfying or loud depending on where you are practicing.

Dyed bone, and why it looks like that

Bone takes dye unevenly because its density varies through the piece, and that is the point. The inserts here carry a pale cream ground with faint warmer blushes where the material drank more color. Polished flush with the brass and pinned through, they give a smooth handle with no ledge for your fingers to catch on during a rollover. Bone is also stable in a way that untreated wood is not, so the inserts will not swell or shrink noticeably with the seasons.

This blade needs oil, not just a wipe

The blade is high carbon steel, run at 58 to 60 HRC, oil tempered. That is not stainless, and it will spot if you let it. Handling a balisong means putting your fingers on the flat repeatedly, and skin leaves salt and acid behind, so wipe the blade down every time you finish and lay a light oil over it before it goes away in a drawer. If dark speckling appears, deal with it early: a little oil on a cork lifts fresh spots without touching the finish, and our guide to removing rust from a knife covers the stubborn cases. Which oil to use is a common question, answered here. Keep oil off the bone inserts, and clean the brass with a cloth rather than a polish that will run into the seams.

Questions

Will the brass tarnish? Yes, to a warmer, deeper tone. Most owners let it.

Is it heavy for a beginner? Heavier than a stainless-handled knife of the same size, and most people learning find that the extra mass helps rather than hinders, because the handle carries itself through the turn.

Is there another brass one? The BMK-612 is a close relative.

Model: BMK-450