The Ti Bali-Song from Benchmade.
For more information and details, check out Benchmade.
Overview
All closed up.
A $600 butterfly knife? Doesn’t that contradict the storied history of these much-maligned self-defense knives?
I mean, when one thought of a butterfly knife, one typically thought of a cheap, poorly-made blade used by street thugs, tattooed bikers and the young ruffians from S.E. Hinton’s “The Outsiders.” My point is that Bali-Song knives were synonymous with the criminal class for many, many years. But not anymore. These blades have gone mainstream.
At SHOT Show 2017, Benchmade introduced their Ti Bali-Song, a 4.5-inch Wharncliffe-style blade made from CPM-S30V stainless steel that sits in a sand-blasted, single piece of billet titanium.
When I was talking to the gentleman working the Benchmade booth, he told me that the titanium handles take upwards of 45 minutes to make because, again, they’re fashioned from a single piece of titanium! That’s pretty cool because it greatly increases their toughness.
Other features include thrust bearing washers (for easy opening), a secure magnetic latch that pops open when you squeeze the handle, and a gray nylon sheath.
Specs
What it looks like in the hand.
- Overall Length: 10.00″
- Blade Length: 4.50″
- Blade Thickness: 0.12″
- Blade Material: CPM-S30V
- Blade Style: Wharncliffe
- Blade Grind: Flat
- Finish: Satin
- Handle Length: 5.50″
- Handle Thickness: 0.46″
- Handle Material: Titanium
- Color: Gray
- Weight: 5.37 oz.
- MSRP: $600
Impression
This knife is badass. It’s well-made, it feels great in the hand, and that magnetic lock is really, really cool. I want one. But at the same time, I’m having trouble envisioning how I would use it and carry it. It’s too big, IMO, for pocket carry and I’m not sure I’d want to carry it every day in its sheath. Between that, and it’s price point, which I’ll get to in a moment, I’m a bit torn.
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That magnetic lock pops right up when you squeeze the handle.
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It’s a really cool locking design.
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I will say that I love the blade design and the materials are top notch. It doesn’t get much better than titanium and CMP-S30V. Benchmade’s got a real winner with the Ti Bali-Song.
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It comes with the Nylon sheath.
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The sheath has straps on the back.
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Price and Availability
The MSRP is $600. However, I’ve seen it available on BladeHQ for preorder for $510. Yes, that’s a lot of money for a knife, especially one that has a limited daily carry application. I’ll have to think about this long and hard before I pull the trigger.
For more information and details, check out Benchmade.
Great to see titanium butterfly knife shot show.
Thank you for sharing this useful information.Rammy
DMA Inc.
LOOKS LIKE A CHEAP BOXCUTTER , NO STYLE AT ALL ,WOULDNT GIVE $100
I can think of no practical use. $600 and it will sit in a drawer.
Nice to look at, but it is NOT legal to carry in my city…
If it doesn’t have a titanium blade, you can’t really call it a ‘titanium’ knife! Knives with titanium handles are a ‘dime-a-dozen’ in the knife industry. So are knives with G-10 handles which are not referred to as G-10 knives.
They made a version of this knife at least 15+ years ago, the Tanto blade was reversed with a beveled tip.
I believe It cost me about $160 back then, and I haven’t seen them sine. But the handle is polished like my stainless, just much lighter with a darker shade.
If you get this you have to much money to waist .
Just a straight razor with a tanto point ! Vegas trip for free if one sales !
Since I asked, where are the knife reviews from Shot Show, I thought I should say, thanks. Thanks.
That said, I never did get butterfly knives. They look good bringing them into action, but other than that, what advantage does it bring. There are fixed blades, autos, and assisted knives that can be deployed just as quickly, and they have quillons/hilts/guards to keep your finger from sliding up on the blade. I’ll leave them to the martial artists to dazzle us with. Could buy a nice Randall, or a custom made knife for that price.
Butterfly knife AKA Fan knife, Balisong and Batangas knife. Balisong USA (1972) is actually the origin of Benchmade.
Just an old Phlippino tool that that happened to be much faster the folders and could take much more abuse then the sometines fragil mechanism of a switchblade. Today there are much faster knives to get into action without using a partial grip. There is some artful “fanning” done with them but other then aan expedient opening would not be used in defense. Some might say “fanning” the blade is a show of force to deter a aggressor. You can fan while somebody else draws and shoots or just starts to perforate you whit his blade.
Historical tradition mandates blades to be 29cm. Blade shapes vary but traditionally a good portion of the tip will be sharpened to cut in both directions and ease penetration, which this one lacks. Buy a cheap dull training knife or a well stocked first aid kit first.
The only advantage of the butterfly over other knives is when you use it closed as a striking device since it provides a 360° grip and won’t accidentally open.
Put a titanium pocket clip on it and I will buy two!