High Carbon Steel Filipino Balisongs Butterfly Brass with Rose Wood Inserts Black Mamba Knives World Class Knives | BMK-612

Description

Kamagong is dense enough that a block of it sinks in water. Set into brass channels, it gives this balisong a handle that weighs more than its size suggests and warms to the hand far faster than bare metal does.

Good for: learning the format on something that will survive the learning. At 9.1 inches open with a 4.4 inch blade, this is full-size, and the brass is thick enough that dropped handles dent rather than crack.

Kamagong, and why it is used here

Kamagong is Philippine ironwood, and the balisong is a Philippine design, so the pairing is not decorative. The wood is tight-grained and oily. It resists splitting along the channel where a softer timber would eventually check, and it does not telegraph cold the way an all-metal handle does in November. Over a few years of handling it goes darker and slightly glossy at the contact points, which is the only maintenance record it keeps.

Brass channel handles

Channel construction means each half is a folded or milled trough with the insert bedded inside, rather than two flat slabs pinned around a spacer. It is heavier and it is stronger, and it puts the mass where the handle meets the pivot. The result is a knife with real momentum in a rollover. Our guide to channel, sandwich and skeletonized handles explains what you give up in speed.

Living with 9.1 inches

Full-size balisongs are easier to learn on than short ones. The extra length slows the rotation down, gives you more time to catch a handle, and makes a mistimed grab less likely to end in a cut. The tradeoff is pocket carry, which becomes awkward past about eight inches. If you want a shorter one, look for something under seven inches open.

Routine care: Wipe the blade dry when you finish handling it and put a light oil on the bare steel before it goes away. A drop of oil in each pivot, worked in by flipping, keeps the action even; wipe the excess off the brass, where it collects dust. The kamagong needs nothing. If the wood ever looks chalky, a fingertip of oil restores it.

Practical questions

Is this a good first balisong? It is a reasonable one. Full length, forgiving weight, and a handle that survives drops. Beginners usually want a trainer with a dull blade first, then move to something like this. The history of the balisong is worth reading if you are new to the format.

Does the wood ever come loose? The inserts are bedded and pinned into the channel. Loosening would take real abuse.

What is the difference from the ebony version? Ebony is darker, slightly lighter in weight, and finer grained. The brass balisong with ebony inserts is the same build in the other wood.

Model: BMK-424