My friend Ray Lum is a popular entertainer and magician. Among other things, he occationally uses a balisong as a prop in his magic. Click HERE to see a video clip (Windows Media Format). Ray tells me that the Bali-Song used in that clip is a custom Weehawk with black micarta inserts and that it was one of the props used in the movie "The Big Brawl."

The Mother of Pearl Company

Mother of pearl is a very popular insert material for balisongs and other knives. This site will teach you all about this beautiful material.

If you play with fire, you're gonna get burned. If you play with balisongs, you're gonna get cut -- hopefully not very often, but it is gonna happen. So folks, take it from a balisong artist: cuts do heal faster with Neosporin. And here's the official Neosporin web site. It's not much. What do you expect from a drug company? Not only do balisong cuts ("butterfly bites" as I refer to them) heal faster, but all kinds of minor cuts and scrapes heal faster with a dab of Neo. I always keep a tube handy (which is, I suppose, a sad commentary on my life).

BTW, one of the components of Neosporin is Neomycin. A small fraction of the population is allergic to Neomycin and should, obviously, not use Neosporin.

API International Combative Arts Association with Guru Kurtis Goodwin is where I study Arnis. If you're looking for a place to study Filipino combative arts in the Portland, Oregon area, check out API. It's your chance to beat up on The Balisong Collector himself and have fun in the process. Tell Guru you found out about API on my site. I get ten less push-ups for every referral. (Guru does not welcome "walk ons". You have to call ahead for an interview and appointment.)

Believe me, nobody knows more about lubricating folding knives than balisong artists. In three minutes, I probably work the pivots in my knife more times then average folder gets worked in a year. The inside of a balisong's pivots will actually get hot from friction if you don't use a good lube. I've tried a lot of different products and I've gotta say that this Militec-1 stuff is the best I've had. WD-40 will keep a balisong working smoothly for two to three minutes of high-speed manipulation. Tri-flow maybe a couple of hours. White Lightening or Tettragun about ten hours. But this Militec-1 stuff just keeps going and going. And it doesn't gum up. I've been using it on my conventional folders and it doesn't attract pocket lint as badly as other products do. I recommend it. It's kind of expensive, but remember you're just gonna use it a drop or two at a time. If all you're doing is lubing your balisongs, then the one ounce bottle for five dollars will be a virtual life-time supply. Unfortunately, you'll quickly start lubing everything else with it too, so spring $20 for the 4 1/4 oz. kit.