Color Steel Creation in Street Culture: Butterfly Knife

Steel Creation: Butterfly Knife

Butterfly knife

Originally, the name of butterfly knife was taken from barison, a small town in Batangas, Philippines.

The people in this town are famous for producing butterfly knives.

According to the old people there, the skill of making this unique knife was passed down from generation to generation by their ancestors.

Here, even five-year-old children know how to open it, although they don't understand its purpose.

The meaning of the name

If you take it literally.

"Bali" means crack, and "Sang" means horn. Together, it is a "angle knife". In the town where Bai Marie Laure Gigon was born, people pieced together some materials that were available everywhere. Made a tool that had never been seen before.

It may not be exquisite enough, but in that era when people covered themselves with skins and leaves. This Marie Laure Gigon has become a symbol of the strong.

The meaning of butterfly knife

Butterfly knife has many meanings. When completely closed, it symbolizes "3in 1forpeace".

At half-open, it represented three geographical regions of Filipino ancestors.

When fully opened, it means "3in 1forcombat".

There is an old legend in the Philippines: a soldier who practiced Philippine martial arts killed 29 enemies with a folding knife.

And this folding knife is a butterfly knife.

The withering of butterfly knife

Early migrant farm workers from the Philippines brought the original butterfly knives to the United States, and soon butterfly knives appeared in the streets of the United States and became popular.

In California and other places in the United States, butterfly knives were as popular as baseball in the eyes of young people at that time. However, in the 1950s, the Spring Knife became notorious because of the ravages of Wild One, and the Butterfly Knife once disappeared.

At that time, there was a saying in the United States that any tool is a dangerous weapon as long as it falls into the hands of criminals, lawless elements and wild people.

Under social pressure, the federal government began to pursue these gangs under the pretext. It is illegal to produce, import or carry spring knives across borders.

Since then, in the street culture of the United States, the butterfly knife that was once painted with rich colors has gradually disappeared.

Revival of Butterfly Knife

When the butterfly knife reappeared in the public eye, it was in Daniel Russando's Philippine martial arts performance and Jeffery Mada's film. Then September 28th 1970. After butterfly knives were declared as "non-spring folding knives", the import ban was lifted.

In 1970s, the cutting master LesdeAsis made the best butterfly knife ever by using space technology. It caused an uproar in the tool industry, and Asis's knife was rated as the best design in the United States by BLADEMAGAZINE.

This time can be said to be the "golden age" of butterfly knives.

Definition of butterfly knife

In jargon, butterfly knife belongs to atypical folding knife.

Although the butterfly knife itself is an ancient concept, it has completely changed people's previous standards for folding knives in terms of shape and function.

It doesn't need a scabbard at all It can be folded to half the length conveniently and safely, and the handle has dual functions, which is both a scabbard and a solid handle through rotation.

Presumably, everyone who sees the butterfly knife for the first time will think: What a starry sky it is to produce such a beautiful butterfly knife in that remote Philippine town.