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!

3 Tips for Beginner to Advanced Balisong Flippers

1.  Never flip with the bite (the sharp) side of the blade. I don't even recommend this even if you are integrating it with you trick. I always stay clean and stay close to the dull edge just to be safe.  You can get some pretty nasty cuts, but more importantly, you will get to where you can't flip with that hand for a period of time due to the beaten up skin.
2. Don't flip near fragile/cuttable objects. This may seem hard, but you don't want to risk a knife going through your favorite couch because you messed up on an easy trick. I make sure when I'm sitting down I always practice over the carpet, so when the inevitable drop of the knife comes I don't have to drop an extra $500 on furniture as well.
3. Stay fully clothed. Yes that means even sandals, shorts, or cutoff shirts can really cause you some pain. When a knife is spinning and flying towards bare skin in the middle of the air a good result will never come of it. Don't take a stupid risk.

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). 

Butterfly Knife Construction - Channel vs. Sandwich

There are basically only two ways that butterfly knifes are constructed, channel and sandwich construction.

for balisongs that are channel constructed, the larger area of the bite and safe handle is one piece of material. There is a trench in this handle which the blade resides. Many people consider this much stronger than sandwich construction. However, I have always preferred sandwich construction; no specific reason I just simply like the way it feels a bit more.

Balisong knives that are sandwich constructed are amassed in a series overlapping sheets, normally bolted or screwed together. Unlike channel, they all adjustments to be made to change the tightness of the knife. The knife rest in between the handle in this construction as well.

If you plan on making your own, you may wish to go with channel. I prefer sandwich, but its all a matter of personal opinion and many people prefer channel over sandwich. I advise you to try both and see which suits you better.

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.

What is a Butterfly Knife? What is a Balisong? - Introduction to Butterfly Knives

A Butterfly knife (otherwise known as a balisong) are knives with two handles which counter rotate around the tang, the blade is concealed in the handle. Even a beginning knife flipper can get the blade out from the center in a couple of seconds. You can find a wide variety of butterfly knives across blade stores and a nice selection online.

 They come in all sizes and shapes. Beginners usually start with a light and dull blade, if not a training blade. If you aren't experienced its not hard to cut your hand, or get your fingers stuck in between the handles. I never used a training knife, but they either have a completely dull blade, or a tool such as a bottle opener. I find these completely unnecessary, although some people appreciate it.  

Butterfly knives are a lot of fun. Once you get the hang of it, you can start with some more advanced tricks. Many tricks have names, some don't have any name at all. Once you get competent with your knife (which usually doesn't take long,) you can start making up your own tricks.