A King's Balisong 
by Pabu Knife

You may click on most of the pictures in this exhibit to see
a higher-resolution view. The high-res pictures average
about 450K. Each will open in a new window, so you may
need to disable any pop-up blocking software you use.

Wow, four pages into the exhibit and we're only
now seeing the knife.

  The contoured inserts are Jim Ferguson Bold Twist
Damascus steel.  Damascus steel is made of 
alternating layers of two different kinds of steel.
Very often, one is a high-carbon alloy while the
other is a high-nickel alloy.  When etched in a 
mild acid, the high-carbon steel oxidizes and
turns dark gray/black while the high-nickel alloy 
is actually polished and turns bright silver/white.  

Modern Damascus steel makers such
as Jim Ferguson use a wide variety of techniques
to create interesting patterns in the metal.  The 
important point here is that this is not just a 
surface finish; it's not, for example, painted
on.  The pattern is part of the metal and goes
all the way through.

The handles are milled out of solid blocks of 
aerospace-grade Titanium.  And each Damascus
insert is fastened by a screw from the back.  This
is an innovative technique that Pabu pioneered and 
introduced to the balisong community 
a few years ago.



Notice, also, how exactly the inserts fit in the
handles.  Everything fits exactly... after all, this
is a Heros and Kings Knife.

You may be wondering, if this is a Heros and
Kings Knife, what that scar near the top of
that picture is.  That's not a scar at all; that's 
how you adjust the pivots.  This is a totally
new, totally novel way to make a balisong 
pivot joint.  I've never seen anything like it.  And
this is the first knife that Pabu has used it on.

All parts of this new pivot system are hand-made
by Pabu.  The load-bearing parts are carbide
steel for high wear resistance.  And, on the front
of the knife, they are covered with Damascus
steel caps.




The tang pin, by the way, is also carbide steel.

Most knifemakers hope to make maybe one or 
two truly unique innovations in their lifetime.
Most will not even make one true invention.
Pabu has already made more innovations and
inventions in the balisong world than any other
maker I know of.  And, on this Heros and Kings
Knife, they are introducing not one, but 
two in one knife!




Click on the finger icon to read more about this heroic Pabu balisong

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