Basilisk A New Line of Balisong Knives by Jerry Hom The Basilisk blade declare this to be a serious knife. It's a 0.170inch (4.32mm) thickness of 154CM Stainless Steel (an excellent blade steel) with a frosted, bead-blasted finish which comes from the factory with a very keen edge. Each blade is individually-numbered. The one in these pictures is #003. Production is limited to 105 pieces. Notice the hefty, double tang pins and the sharpening choil. The blade profile is an excellent example of what is commonly called an upswept bowie. This is a good utility profile and also a great combative profile.
The other end of the knife sports a fairly simple, classic, T-style latch. Skeletonizing the latch beam is a nice detail touch. The latch works very easily and firmly to lock the knife both open and closed. A simple latch-gate design prevents the latch from striking the blade. While mine is set up in the classic Manila style, the latch can be remounted on the other handle for a those who prefer a Batangas-style latch or it can be removed entirely if you prefer latchless.
Basilisk is a "sandwich-style" balisong. Each handle is a sandwich of two major pieces of 301SS Stainless Steel separated by spacers made of 303SS Stainless steel and covered on the outside by micarta scales. Micarta is a man-made material originally confected, and still widely used as, an electrical insulator. It consists of layers of paper or cloth embedded in an epoxy resin. It's very durable and quite attractive. Micarta can be had in a wide variety of textures and colors. My Basilisk has a dark-gray/black canvas Micarta which has excellent grip and a rugged look. Notice the Phosphor-Bronze washers, that hint of a gold color between the blade and the handles. Phosphor-Bronze is a metal alloy that is naturally- slippery. It's almost as if self-lubricating. Deeper inside the pivot joints, you'll find bushings to further reduce the friction. There's an excellent article on Mr. Hom's website which explains the whole design http://www.twirl-designs.com/engineering.html Between the Phosphor-Bronze washer and the hardened bushing -- not to mention the easily- adjusted joint tension -- the Basilisk manipulates fast a easily.
