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Originally posted by Korzs30v:

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They are also good when practicing applications of defense and attack with a training partner.
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Im new to flipping but I feel like a bali is the worst way to go with SD

You may change your mind after a while. I'm not a great flipper, but I can open a bali as quickly as I can unlock and open an auto. And once a bali is fully opened, it's more stable than any folder, especially when the latch is engaged. Flipping is a great exhibition of dexterity, but it's as useless for self defense as twirling a gun in and out of it's holster.

Personally, I don't think any knife is a good way to go for self defense, I view them more as tools than weapons.

Balis make great kubatons. Perfect for SD

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Originally posted by CDR_Glock:

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Originally posted by N2KNVS:
Oh dear. I said it now I gotta back it up... Damn. Well I was reading reviews by guys on Amazon who were comparing all different brands and they seem to say the Bear and Son is the best.
I was looking into this about a month ago so I forget the specifics but the Bear one stands out in my mind.

You mentioned the context of plurality. I figured you had other ideas that's all.

I read about 2 trainers that got good reviews on Amazon from regular balisong flippers. I wasn't familiar with the second one and because of the time passed between then and now I have forgotten the other company's name. So yes there were 2 that stood out as good trainers.
The people reviewing them on Amazon said they used them before reviewing them and talked about weight and dropping them and how they held together, play in the handle that sort of thing.
Maybe as time allows I'll go back and try to find the reviews I read to share.

well the Bear and Sons might be hit and miss, I am sure their production standards are almost nonexistant, I got one just to practice ariels and it was a major POS, I much rather slice my whole hand up(which I did, many times) than try to manipulate that junk, just my opinion though...

I bought a Bear and Sons damascus bowie-looking balisong knife about 10 years ago. I gave up on it. Manipulating the handles around in just the rudimentary fashion I do draws blood everywhere it pinches. In short, it blows! I don't need a knife to draw blood unless I'm being careless with the sharp side of the blade.

Hey, newbie to Bali's as well as BM forum...

I'm interested in collecting Balisongs/learning to flip and had the same problem with what to start on or practice with safely.

Re:SD, I agree... opens/closes, defense & fighting techniques are all that's needed, as flips & twirls are basically fancy show off moves or "look what I can do" skills that are useless in using a knife as a weapon. Any point a weapon leaves your hand (even for a moment), you've become extremely vulnerable! However, from what I've seen, it takes extreme practice and ability to manipulate a Bali in that way. And there are many who have seemed to master it, progressing to expert levels, which is why there are competitions. So it's really just a split or schism from Balisong handling born out of an underground hobby that has or is becoming much more popular now.

As far as trainers go... I've also settled on the B&S trainer which is almost the same weight as a 2nd gen Bradley Kimura I plan to purchase as well. Unfortunately, besides tape (I'll also use) there is no other option. I do like the idea of the Bali kit with the unsharpened blade from KnifeKits, but definitely not at almost $200!

I was wondering tho... since most of the nicer production Bali's use torque screws & barrel pivot system, which is fairly easy to remove/take apart, why won't companies offer an addition unsharpened blade as an added accessory part for order? I'm sure when tooled up for a certain production model, they can easily machine up a blade blank, if they don't already have them around in their parts assembly & construction stage. Has anyone though to ask or find out if this would be a viable possibility some manufactures would consider?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: NYBlues,