American butterfly knives
Benchmade/Crawford w/ mother of pearl insets
Pacific Cutlery w/ Imada High Hollow blade
Microtech Tachyon
Spyderco Spyderfly
Balisong USA started manufacturing butterfly knives in the late 1970s, then changed its name to Pacific Cutlery in the early 1980s, before finally becoming Benchmade. The earlier knives featured a wide variety of custom blade designs (many of which were hand ground by master knifemaker Jody Samson, well known for making the swords in the movie Conan the Barbarian), as well as a number of exotic inlays for the handles (ivory, prehistoric ivory, scrimshawed ivory, mother-of-pearl, ebony, tropical woods, etc.) — in mint condition, some of these early balisongs are worth thousands of dollars. Used, with skeletonized or micarta handles and the standard “weehawk” or “Imada high hollow” grind, they typically start at around $300 and go up from there. Unusual grinds, like the “scimitar”, “cutlass”, “kris”, “weehawk tanto”, “Spanish Bowie”, or rare “mariner” cause the value to increase significantly. These early American balisongs are highly sought after by collectors, who frequently purchase them as investments and store them in airtight safes. Benchmade stopped producing custom butterfly knives in the late 1980s, but regularly offers “Limited Editions” with special features. Other American makers of commercial balisongs include Bradley Cutlery (Mayhem), Spyderco (Spyderfly and Szabofly), Roton (Monarch), Microtech Knives (Tachyon), and SWAT (Tiger).
[edit] Legal status
Because of its potential use as a weapon, and possibly due to its intimidating nature and rapid deployment, it has been outlawed in several Western countries.
* In Australia, folding knives designed to be unfolded with only one hand, including the balisong, are considered to be Category M weapons, prohibited for possession or use by most citizens. [1]
* In Canada, although not specified by name as a prohibited weapon, the balisong is often considered by courts to fall under the “gravity knife” classification and is therefore illegal. (Unless grandfathered in before prohibition)
* In the UK, The Butterfly Knife has been legally classified as an offensive weapon since January 1989.[6] Possession of one is not a criminal offence, but sale, lending, hiring, giving or importing is prohibited. 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 Germany, the butterfly knife 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 any illegal weapon - is punishable by from 1 to 10 years imprisonment.
* In Hong Kong, the sale of full-size butterfly knives is illegal, but miniature versions can be legally obtained.
* In the Philippines, the sale of a 29-cm balisong is illegal.
* In some U.S. states it is illegal to possess and/or carry such a knife in public. In certain jurisdictions, butterfly knives are categorized as a “gravity knife”, “switchblade”, or “dagger” although they are also occasionally outlawed by name (”butterfly knife”). The knife is illegal in California if blade length exceeds two inches. In a recent US Federal Court case, Spyderco, Inc. pleaded guilty and was fined $75,000 for sending butterfly knives through the United States Postal Service. Spyderco admitted that from June 2005 through January 2007, it had mailed butterfly knives, after importing the knife components from Taipei, Taiwan, through the Port of San Francisco and the Port of Oakland, to Golden, Colorado. [7]
* In New York, the butterfly knife has been determined not to be a gravity knife. [8]
* In Pennsylvania, the butterfly knife is legal for conceal and open carrying. See Commonwealth v. Miles. [9]
* Butterfly knife trainers feature a special blunt and unsharpened “blade,” and are legal in areas where butterfly knives are not.
* To Find US State Laws refer to the Switchblade Page on Wikipedia and all state codes concerning knife laws are listed
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