History
of the Balisong
The term "Bali-Song,"
with the hyphen, is a registered trademark of Benchmade Corporation and was
previously used by Pacific Cutlery and originally by Bali-Song Cutlery before
that. But the word "balisong," without the hyphen, is a generic word.
There are a lot of myths
and rumors that surface and resurface with various explanations for the meaning
and origin of the word "Balisong," but one thing is agreed: it originated from
the Philippines.
In
the contemporary language of Tagalog, the most common of many languages spoken
in the Philippines, "balisong" means "a folding knife with two
handles that counter-rotate around the tang."
Here
in the United States, as well as in other English-Speaking countries, the term
"butterfly knife" is used to describe such a knife. But where does
the word "balisong" come from and what does it mean? A written theory
from authors Tom Wei Ding and Tom Wei Toi claim in the book they wrote in 1983,
The Manipulation Manual for the Balisong Knife, that balisong means "sharp
knife." On the other hand, an author, Jeff Imada, who published the 1984 book,
The Balisong Manual, theorizes that "bali" means "break" and
"sung" means "horn," and that the handles of the balisongs (originally
called "balisungs"), were made from broken animal horns.
This
theory was coraborated by Tai Jo in his 1985 book, Balisong Knife, where
he explains his theory that the word "balisong" can be translated
in variables as either "broken horn" (referencing the use of horn as a handle
material), "breaking/rattling horn" (referencing the "clicking" sound
that balisong knives make when manipulated), or "to break the horn" (referencing
the use of a closed balisong as an impact weapon). Other sources have reported
that "balisong" is a proper name and has no meaning at all.
Recently
another knife maker who grew up in the Philippines, was trained in the knife
making business in the Philippines, plus studied the origins of these unique
knives, explained that there is a commonality in the Philippines as within The
United States of America, of the country being broken down into states and cities.
The nation of the Philippines have provinces (like States) called "Batangas."
In Batangas there are Barrios (like cities). One of these Barrios is called
"Balisong."
This city is famous for making knives much like the city of Sheffield in England,
and Soligen in Germany are famous for knifemaking. Or like the American city
of Detroit, Michigan is famous for making automobiles.
This Filipino-American claims that "Balisong" is just the name of
this city and has since come to be synonymous with the butterfly knifes made
there. Incidently, the city of Balisong is still a thriving city and making
butterfly knives is still a prominent industry there. The city even has a semi-professional
basketball team named "The Batangas Blades."
As
many claims surface and resurface and as new facts are uncovered in this mystical
search for the meaning of the word "Balisong," we at 888 Knies R Us
will continue to offer Butterfly knives from quality manufacturers at our very
affordable prices. Don't forget that we also offer custom partial serrationas
as well as custom dull and blunt trainer blades on most of the balisongs for
the begnner enthusiast.
