Is the Butterfly Knife (Balisong) Legal?

Obviously because it's a potential weapon, and it also has a very scary or intimidating complex it has been labeled illegal in many countries and states. For information on why it is illegal, check here.

• In the Philippines, it is now generally illegal to carry one without identification or a proper permit in the streets of the capital because of their prevalent use in crimes and altercations. One now needs to demonstrate the need in professional livelihood or utilitarian purpose (such as cutting grass, preparing fruits and meats, being a vendor of knives, being martial arts instructors, etc.) to be able walk around with bladed implements in the urban areas. Another rule of thumb is that the blade of pocket knives must not exceed the length of the palm and must not be openable by one hand in order to be considered as a utility knife as opposed to a weapon (thus, Swiss Army Knives are legal).
• In Australia, balisongs are generally classified as a prohibited weapon, which requires a special legitimate excuse to possess it. Australian Legal Definition: A flick knife (or other similar device) that has a blade which opens automatically by gravity or centrifugal force or by any pressure applied to a button, spring or device in or attached to the handle of the knife.
• In Canada, although not specified by name as a prohibited weapon, the balisong knife is often considered by courts to fall under the "gravity knife" or a centrifugal classification and is, therefore, prohibited, unless grandfathered in before prohibition.
• In the UK, the balisong has been legally classified as an offensive weapon since January 1989.^[4] Whilst they are legal to possess, carrying one in public is an offence under the Prevention of Crime Act 1953. Sale, lending, hiring, giving or importing is prohibited by the Criminal Justice Act 1988, as amended by the Offensive Weapons Act 1996. Any imported are liable to be seized and prosecution may follow. The exception to this are knives of this type over 100 years old which are classed as antiques.
• In Switzerland, balisongs are illegal to carry, give, lend, buy, trade.
• In Germany, the balisong was outlawed when the Waffengesetz (weapons law) was tightened in July 2003 in the aftermath of the Erfurt massacre. Thus buying, possessing, lending, using, carrying, crafting, altering and trading it is illegal and is punishable 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 - as is any illegal weapon - is punishable by from 1 to 10 years imprisonment.
• In Lithuania, balisongs among other knives are legal to possess and carry as they are not considered weapons. This excludes switchblades.^[5][6]
• In Poland, balisongs, switchblades and gravity knives are treated like normal knives. There are no restrictions on possession and carry.
• In some U.S. states it is illegal to possess or carry such a knife in public. In certain jurisdictions, balisongs are categorized as a "gravity knife", "switchblade", or "dagger". Spyderco admitted that from June 2005 through January 2007, it had mailed balisongs, after importing the knife components from Taipei, Taiwan, through the Port of San Francisco and the Port of Oakland, to Golden, Colorado.^[7]
  • The knife is illegal to carry in California, but are legal to own if kept at home.^[8]
  • In Hawaii, it is illegal to possess, manufacture, sell, transfer, or transport any balisong/Butterfly-type knife.^[9]
  • There were once legal restrictions on butterfly knives in Kansas.,^[10] however as of July 2013, the Kansas Comprehensive Knife Rights Act decriminalized the carrying of all types of bladed weapons.^[11]
  • In Kentucky, the balisong is legal for concealed and open carrying anywhere one is not otherwise prohibited from carrying a concealed deadly weapon. Kentucky's constitution and revised statutes prohibit cities and counties from enacting weapons laws and restrictions.
  • In New Jersey the criminal law, NJSA 2C:39-1, suggest balisongs are illegal but the question of legality or illegality is an open question.
  • In New York, the balisong has been determined not to be a gravity knife, allowing legal ownership. Nothing more is said in the New York State Code of Law, technically leaving individual circumstances open to interpretation.
  • In Ohio, it is legal to own a balisong and carry it openly, however they are illegal to carry concealed, as they are considered to be deadly weapons.
  • In Oregon, it is illegal to carry a concealed balisong.^[12]
  • In Texas, As of September 1, 2013 Switchblades are now legal in Texas. ^[13]
  • In Utah, balisongs are legal as long as they are not concealed.^{[citation needed]}
  • In Virginia, the balisong is legal for conceal and open carrying according to state law, although localities can have additional knife laws and restrictions.
  • In Michigan, the balisong is legal because it is classified as a "folding knife"
• Balisong trainers feature a special blunt and unsharpened "blade" and are legal in areas where balisongs are not.

Information cited from http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switchblade#Legality

ButterflyKnife Necklaces

This one might even be too much for me, but you can't help but admit that it is pretty cool. they even come customizable! There is several retailers, nobody knows who was the first to enter the market. They come in several different colors, usually just gold, silver, and black. The chain is silver coated. The regular retail price for these items is about $25, however I'm sure you can find cheaper.

I have a serious concern for this item, safety! Who would feel comforatable wearing a knife around their neck? The neck is one of the most sensitive and vulnerable areas of your body, can you say dangerous? However they are being sold and even other types of knives are on the market. Mini switchblades and mini folding knives can also be purchased. However, I don't think these are nearly as cool as wearable mini butterfly knives

Here is the golden plated golden butterflyknife

Here is the switchblade knife necklace!

Why is the Butterfly Knife Illegal?

Prior to reading this; please note that the butterfly knife is not illegal in many states around the united states or many countries. You'll have to due some research depending on where you live to find out.  The laws can vary greatly and I wouldn't suggest taking a risk.

The balisong is not a common weapon in crime, in fact it is rather uncommon. Much more people are to be found with lead pipes or switch blades than the butterfly knife. Which leads to the question; why would it be illegal? 

The knife itself is very addictive and fun to play with, someone who is interested in learning the art of the knife is most likely doing it for self defence. Just as in the sense that you won't see a lot of black belts in any form karate performing street crime, you won't see many masters of the butterfly knife committing a crime. The thing that mostly contributed to the knifes illegality, is the cut rate for new flippers and people not familiar to the blade.

There is no mistake more common, and stupid, to the beginning flipper than to get a very sharp or high performance blade. When just starting out you want to either make sure the blade is dull, get a trainer, or some other object such as a bottle opener (Check out this link for beginner butterfly knife shoppers). This is the mistake that made the biggest contribution to making the butterfly knife illegal.

People started popping up all around the world in ER rooms due to cuts or scratches from the butterfly knife. That being said this is true about all kinds of knives for years, so I think its ridiculous some places decided to ban a certain kind of knife. So once you find out whether it is legal or not, please don't be stupid. We don't want anyone getting hurt. Have fun and stay safe

Holiday Gift Ideas - Butterfly Knives

Looking for Holiday gifts is a struggle every year. Giving someone a balisong for the first time isn't just a knife, its a hobby and for some people, a lifestyle. Shopping for butterfly knives is tough, especially for beginners. Depending on how much you want to spend and what you want you have a couple options for buying butterfly knives. Here are 3 cheap, common, knives anyone would love.

You can find this knife here:

 The "bottle-fly" is a butterfly knife styled bottle opener. It's great because not only is it easy and cheap, but you can't cut yourself when flipping it.

You can find this knife here:

 This is close to what I started with, its a very simple bear and son black butterfly knife. If you don't want to use a trainer or a bottle opener, this is what I would recommend. I jumped straight to a knife when I started flipping. This knife is nice and simple, with a really sleek look to the blade.

 

You can find this knife here

This is a really common choice for new flippers. I honestly wouldn't recommend it, a knife and a bottle opener both have more purpose then something like this, as its rare you'll actually ever use it or carry it around. This is another very simple common design, nothing special but the price is fantastic and could be great if you're not sure whether someone would like this or not.

Butterfly knife, flash drive?

Found only at bladeplay, you can actually get a butterfly knife usb drive. No no, it's not an actual knife, however you can flip it to your hearts desire. The biggest let down in my opinion was the quality, its nothing like your stainless steel or aluminum knife, its plastic! That may be a disappointment, but nonetheless its a wonderful idea and I think more things like this will be popping up in the future. 

If you're looking for the drive, it can be found here

This was the first thing I've had a chance to order from bladeplay, and I'm more then satisfied. I'll undoubtedly be returning in the future. I don't normally post about items not containing knifes, but you don't see too many spinoffs on butterfly knives, and I thought this was a nice idea.

How to Create New Tricks with a Butterfly Knife

Butterfly knives are fun, as any enthusiast can tell you. Its fun learning a trick, its even better once you have it down, but then what? There are two things I like to play with, which are freestyle flipping and inventing new tricks. I'd stick to inventing new tricks if you are a beginner. Freestyling is awfully hard to pick up, especially for beginners! It took me quite awhile until I could actually proficiently flip without premeditated moves. I'll give you an introduction to both advanced topics:

Freestyle Flipping takes quite awhile to learn, however its very worthwhile. Its the act of flipping freely, do not focus on any move, and don't be repetitive, trying things you already know. With that being said of course you might open the knife your favorite way, or maybe you want to transition into a y2k. However; don't repeat a trick. Be fluent with each trick and transition each into another. Throw it up into the air, catch it with your other hand, try something you've never tried! I could go on, and on!

Now inventing new movies is a little easier. I'm sure if you've been flipping for a little while you've already tried it. I like to think about new things I could do before I actually try them. Even though they may seem impossible, most of the time they are not. Remember when you got stuck trying your first move thinking, there is no way this can be done! Well most of the time it can, it just requires more practice.

So go give it a shot! Show us what you're made of!

Butterfly Knife - The Zen Rollover

One of my personal favorites, and of many others is a really neat and somewhat simple move. It is called the Zen Rollover. You start in a cradled thumb position, and allow the knife and handles to rotate all the way around your hand using your thumb as the pivot pivot point. The knife ends up in the typical starting position, which makes this move a great starting point into other tricks.

The move is somewhat simple, although it may take you a couple days to get down if you are a beginner. Make sure you have the safe handle on your thumb, otherwise when you finish the move the knife will be facing the wrong direction (unless it is intentional). 

What is The Hardest Butterfly Knife Trick

What is the best or hardest trick on a butterfly knife trick? I'll end with a couple of tricks I found especially hard; however, each tricks difficulty varies from person to person. Where it might take my friend a week to master a trick, I might do it in a day. The same applies vice-versa. Now that doesn't mean some tricks are harder then others, because if you can't do a simple rollover I can assure you, you won't master the spinal rollover in a day.

Now in my next post I will be going over a couple different tricks, explaining them then linking you to my or other peoples videos. So hopefully you can get a hold of them. It really is a lot of fun learning these, you won't be disappointed. 

If you haven't mastered a couple tricks before, don't bother with these. At very minimal you should at least learn the basic rollover and double flip open/close before you try these. If you are like my you will probably just jump into advanced tricks right after you get down the rollover; which is the most fun way to do things if you ask me. 

Here are a couple tricks I really enjoyed, but had a real hard time learning: 

•  The Suicide Drop-Tick

 

• The Helix 
  
  

• Scissor

Where Can I Buy a Butterfly Knife Online?

If you are looking for a butterfly knife, there are a couple sites I would recommend. My first recommendation, stay out of the cheap Chinese export sites. I've order 2 knives off cheap sites like these and both have broke in a number of weeks. Now if you're just looking to try it out, and plan on getting more later then this could be a decent start. However, my first one was only tightened in by a series of cheap screws which seemed to come out more often than they stayed in. 


If you want to get one locally, check your local pawn shop or gun/knife show. I live in Huntington Beach, and we have an annual local gun and knife show. I always check it out, if I see a nice butterfly knife I'll normally buy it. If you want a wider selection and sometimes higher quality I would try online. There are a couple different sites you could check out. I wouldn't specifically choose one over the other, its all a matter of personal preference. 

Websites you can buy butterfly knives (balisongs): 
http://www.bladeplay.com/ - I've ordered from bladeplay before, they are definitely legit. They offer a decent selection and have very high quality based on what I've received 

http://www.ebay.com - Of course the scam factor kicks in here. I would agree there is a nice selection on here, perhaps larger than any online store at some points. 

www.bladeops.com/Butterfly-Knives-s/56.htm - I've never actually personally ordered from bladeops, however I know someone who has. They seem to have a wide array of knives as well.