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| I removed the "Benchmade" off the pocket clip and added what it should say |
So, back in the 1980's Balisong's or Butterfly knives where all the rage mainly for their movie appearances. I remember seeing my first balisong in the movie Outsiders and like many kids, I had to have one. My first was a Japanese made Fury which I still own. I learned to flip, twirl and spin with the best of them albeit with many a cut knuckle and/or finger. As I grew older the realization of the (lack of) utility became obvious. At this point in my knife collecting adulthood, they're pretty much fidget spinners for the knife world with the added element of danger. On that note, the obligatory disclaimer should read: REAL, sharp balisongs are NOT toys and are not recommended for beginners or anyone under the age of 18 (or anyone not able to make an adult decision). These knives can cut you and cut you badly. You can easily be cut to the bone, loose an eye, lop of things you don't want lopped off and/or seriously injure those around you. If you don't know what you're doing, I HIGHLY recommend getting a trainer first. I have the scars to prove it.
Arguably some of the best and most collectable bali's are made by benchmade. Afterall, their butterfly knife is what got the craze started in the 80's. There are other balis that are very well made by makers such as microtech, spyderco, protech, Brous and the bali nut's favorite BRS (Blade Runner systems). All of these companies make great balis and unfortunately for almost all of them, the Chinese makers have been hard at work copying them, often with very similar materials. Benchmade of course has been the most copied. I'll start off by saying that most of the clones you can buy off of the various chinese websites are pure 100% unadulterated junk. One maker however I had read had stepped up their game and SUPPOSEDLY been putting out some good knives. The maker Ken Fong, had made quite a name for himself on youtube, some written reviews, etc.
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| Opposite side view |
Well, a while back a friend brought his Benchmade bali to work to show me and showed me the two tricks he'd learned. Upon handing it to me, I dusted off my ninja skills and impressed him with some old school flips until I flipped it right onto my desk (hey I'm not as ninja as I used to be). While we discussed the fact that they weren't much good for EDC, tactical, etc. we did agree that they were fun to play with. Thus started the inevitable desire on my part for a new bali. I hadn't researched them in years and I was surprised that the benchmade I had bout in 1989 for about $50 was now worth around $600! Even new ones that were similar were costing upwards of $300. I just wasn't ready to spend that kind of money on a knife that I wasn't going to actually carry and use. Enter the Ken Fong idea. While I didn't want a $10 convenience store bali, I did want something nice to flip and leave on my desk for fidgeting purposes. After reading some reviews and seeing the specs on the Ken Fong knock off, I did something I never thought I'd do, bought a clone from a well known Chinese vendor.
FROM THE BOX
After ordering and waiting about 4 weeks for my new bali to arrive, I was somewhat surprised at the quality that can be had for a mere $83. The weight was great, the smoothness was good and to be honest, it looked good. Then I noticed a missing screw and there were no extra's in the box. Well an email to Ken Fong through the same website and about a 4 week wait, I received a complete set of screws to cover the whole knife. I inserted the new screw and began playing with my new bali. To be honest, in eight weeks of waiting, the bali itch had worn off and I'd wish I'd just bought another Spyderco or REAL benchmade :) That being said, after some flipping and twirling, the itch slowly came back and I was happy....for a moment. After about 10 minutes of flipping, I noticed two more missing screws. They were ALL loosening and falling out. Fortunately I found the miniscule screws and replaced them. I live in the sticks so I had to drive about 70 miles to pick up some loctite blue, remove ALL of the screws on this bali and replace them. After adjusting their tension and letting the glue setup, I was back to flipping.
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| All screws required loctite application to prevent them from falling out
MATERIALS
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The handles and liners are evidently titanium. I have many Ti knives and I'm relying on my experience with Ti to make this determination. The blade is supposedly D2 steel but I have little experience with it so I'm taking their word. D2 when properly done is a good steel but it can rust. I have no idea what type of heat treat Senor Fong uses so you get what you get. Being basically a fidget spinner for me, it won't make much difference; I won't be doing much cutting. The catch pin I believe is aluminum and the spring that pops it out of battery is pretty good. All of the screws are torx screws and (thus far) seem to be of good quality. The clip I believe is Ti as well and it does not work good for this purpose. Unlike a steel clip, there is little flex. That combined with the length don't allow it to be clipped into the pocket without some serious struggle. The color scheme is a personal thing and I thought this one looked good.
SIZE
This is a good sized Bali, The overall length is 9.3 inches, the blade is 4.25 inches and the handle is a little over 5 inches. It's a good size for a flipper. See below for some size comparisons to REAL knives; Hinder XM-18 3.5", Spyderco Native, ZT 0620CF and Spyderco Endura 4.
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| Size comparisons to some commonly carried knives. |
FLIPPING
Flipping this knife after customizing it with Loctite Blue and many adjustments before it sets up is nice. Make no mistake however, if your comes like mine did, you will be Loctiting every screw and adjusting every one to your desired tension. Post adjustments however makes this knife a fine flipper. I can do any of the tricks I used to with my old Benchmade. Top that off with good looks and we have a fine sharpened fidget spinner for the knife nut.
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| Centering is good |
CONCLUSION
So is the Ken Fong Benchmade Clone/Knock Off worth the price of admission? If all you are wanting is fidget spinner, not for cutting anything and DEFINITELY not for collecting, then this knife may work for you. If you want a cutter, you're going to have to rely on the word of a company that does not respect copyright laws that the steel they claim is what they say. Even then, we have no idea what their heat treat is and ANY steel can go from great to crap depending on heat treat. If you're looking for a collectors item, this ain't it. Save your money and buy the real thing. If you just want something to flip and play with and don't care about collectability, resale, or even blade steel quality, this would make a fine flipper. It is definitely better than your average flea market bali, your convenience store bali or even some lower end decently made bali's. It is NOT top of the line Benchmade, Microtech, Brous, Spyderco, et al quality and definitely not anywhere collectable as the others are. In short if you want a toy, this aint bad. If you want quality, save your money and buy the real deal.
The last question I have is, if Ken Fong (if there is even any by that name) has the materials and skill to bring this fake to market, why not build your own brand. This isn't a bad knife. It just pretends to be something it's not. The are many Chinese companies doing it right such as Kizer and Reate. They build their own (or collaborations) designs and let them speak for themselves. I really believe Ken Fong could do the same. Until then, it's a toy.
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| One toy plays with another. |
