Butterfly knife
The Balisong, called a Butterfly knife in the West, and sometimes known as a Batangas knife, is a form of folding pocket knife with two handles that counter-rotate around the tang such that, when closed, the blade is concealed within grooves in the handles. In the hands of a trained user, the knife blade can be brought forth quickly using one hand. Manipulations (flipping) are performed for art or amusement and require great skill. Translated from Tagalog, the word "Balisong" means "Broken Horn" (literally, "baling sungay") as the original Balisongs were made from carved animal horns and recycled knife blades. The name butterfly knife is a term coined in the United States much like "drumbox" for the kahon.
The history of the butterfly knife is uncertain, though three main ideas persist:
- The knife may actually have been invented by the French. The book "Le Perret" shows an obvious sketch of a balisong knife, and is dated 1710 A.D. The book itself suggests the balisong was developed in the late 1600's or early 1700's A.D.
- The knife dates back to around 800 A.D. and is a traditional weapon of the Filipino fighting art of Eskrima; however, it is not actually a prominent weapon in the art.
- The knife was invented around 1900 A.D. in the Philippines and spread by American soldiers returning from World War II.
Legal status
Because of its popular usage as a weapon in Western culture it has been outlawed in several Western countries.
In Canada the possession of a butterfly knife is illegal.
In England & Wales, a butterfly knife is considered to be an offensive weapon per se (in that it is specifically designed for the purpose of inflicting injury), and as such it is a criminal offense to possess one in public without lawful authority or reasonable excuse; the maximum penalty for such an offense is four years imprisonment.
In the Federal Republic of Germany the butterfly knife was outlawed by the new Waffengesetz which was introduced during the aftermath of the Erfurt massacre in April 2003. Thus buying, possessing, lending, using, carrying, crafting, altering and trading it is illegal and is persecuted by up to five years imprisonment, confiscation of the knife and a fine of up to 10.000€. Using a butterfly knife for crime of any kind is prosecuted by from 1 to 10 years enprisonment. Exceptional cases are if you are in service of the federal police, bank, customs, army or government, if it is registered that you are in danger or if you are an exceptional guest.
In Hong Kong, the sale of full-size butterfly knives is illegal, but miniature versions can be legally obtained.
In many U.S. states, it is illegal to possess and/or carry such a knife in public; indeed, doing so is a felony in some states, such as Nevada. In some states, balisongs fall erroneously into the category of a "gravity knife" or "switchblade," although they are also occasionally outlawed by name. Many balisongs may also be categorized as a dagger.
the first philippine balisong is not really invented in 1900 A.D. the spanish forbidden all the filipino to carry a sword and all the filipino are afraid if they dnt have a weapon how will they protect their family. they create a weapon and they dnt want it to look like a sword so they choose the horn of the animal to become a blade and they use the 2 pieses of smallwood to hide the animal horn and they call it balingsungay BALISONG( brokenhorn). the filipino create the balisong not because u can make a cool move by flipping the handel they create the balisong because the filipino want a hiddenweapon if they family is being abuse by the spanish soldier
Parts
- Bite Handle
- The handle that closes on the sharp edge of the blade.
- Kicker
- Area on the blade that prevents the sharp edge from contacting the inside of the handle and suffering damage.
- Latch
- The standard locking system, which holds the balisong closed. Magnets are occasionally used instead.
- Latch, Batangas
- A latch that is attached to the bite handle.
- Latch, Manila
- A latch that is attached to the safe handle.
- Latch, Spring
- A latch that utilizes a spring to propel the latch open when the handles are squeezed.
- Safe Handle
- The handle that closes on the non-sharpened edge of the blade.
- Latch gate
- A block inside the channel of the handles stopping the latch from impacting the blade
- Tang
- The base of the blade where the handles are attached with pivot pins.
Media
In the 2004 film The Punisher, Frank Castle breaks the nose of an abusive thug, takes the thug's balisong away, then tells him not to play with knives before smacking the man's already shattered nose with the knife's hilt.
See also
- Gravity knife
- Switchblade, also called a flick-knife
- Pantographic knife