Thus, it literally would mean broken horn since the oldest of these knives are said to be made from animal horns.  Another theory also says that the name Balisong actually comes from a town with such name in Batangas, Philippines.

Balisong or butterfly knives are folding knives having two handles that can rotate around its tang. The blade of a butterfly knife can be hidden within grooves in its handles.

Apart from balisong butterfly knives, there are also bigger versions of them at about three feet overall height.  They are large folding knives fondly called as the baliswords.

Many owners and all else addicted to balisong would often gather around to show off different skills in handling it.  For example they flip, open, and close the knife only with one hand.  As a matter of fact, this is one thing the balisongs (or Filipinos would widely call it Beinte Nueve) are famous for.  A lot of users showcase this talent in knife shows or for amusement, their skills and tricks in flipping these butterfly knives.

Talking about tricks and the likes, aside that there are sites dedicated to showing different kinds, styles, designs, and manufacturer of these kinds of knives, there are also sites and knife forums that concentrate on knife tricks.  You will be amazed at how those Balisong lovers do the horizontal double flip, ricochet, and thumb rolls.

If automatic switchblade knives have the side-opening and the out-of-the front automatic knives, the Balisong also has its two kinds. These two kinds being talked about are the sandwich constructed and channel constructed.  They generally differ in the material and of their structure.  The second kind is said to be a stronger one.

Since this particular knife is popular for tricks, you’d also have to know what the parts of butterfly knives are. 

There is, of course, the blade, the handle – the bite handle that keeps the sharp side of the blade and the safe handle that closes the other edge of the blade.  Next are the kicker, the latch (the lock that keeps the knife closed), tang, latch gate, choil, and the swedge.

Though these Batangas knives are mostly handmade in the Philippines, there are already knife makers who make their own kind of Balisong butterfly knives.  There are the Chinese, Japanese, and also Americans.  A lot of Americans are actually very fond of butterfly knives.

While there are high end balisongs, there are also cheap butterfly knives.  Nevertheless, be careful with those offering low prices because you can doubt their quality and reliability.  If you want to be sure of buying a good piece as addition to your collection, only go to legitimate shops.

There you have it knife and Balisong collectors, or make that everyone for those who are just acquainted of the anatomy, history, and unexpectedly, the art of handling the Balisong or also popularly known as butterfly knives.