Pinoy Steel.
The best handforged Filipino blades right to your door.
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Morado, Mun Ebony, Kamagong and Bubinga.
Balisongs 3 and 4 are still available: balisongs 1 and 2 and the balicomb are sold.
We have wood from three continents on five very well made pieces to start the week off with! All five were made by the best balisong makers in Batangas. They are all very well ground and put together. Several hours of my own labor went into getting these knives looking their best. I think you’ll agree that these are the nicest Filipino balisongs you’re going to find anywhere!
From top to bottom:
1. This balisong is 28.8 cm long. It features a buyod grind with a nice, deep, thin swedge. This is really an outstanding grind, and I can say the grind on this knife can hold its own with the best knives anywhere. This is a beautiful piece all around.
The blade is hand forged carbon spring steel (5000-series). There is a nice amount of belly on the blade. Two extra thick tang pins improve lockup and durability. The ‘wings’ (guard ground onto the end of the blade) prevent your hand from sliding onto the blade under heavy use. This baby is absolutely razor sharp.
Unfortunately, there is some very light pitting on the blade from storage in the Philippines. I have buffed and hand polished the blade, but the pits remain, so this beauty is discounted.
The inserts are beautiful morado, or Brazilian Rosewood, that I carefully hand finished to 2000 grit. There is lovely chatoyancy, lengthwise figuring and color in this wood. It has been treated with mineral oil to bring out the best in the wood.
The bolsters, liners and latch are stainless steel. The top bolsters are double pinned for increased durability. The latch is also beautifully fileworked by the maker, and is nicely beveled for comfort.
There is also some minor spotting around the pivots.
This is a beauty: unfortunately, it wasn’t stored as well as it should have been before I picked it up from the makers. 6 oz. Discounted at $165.
2. This beautiful balisong is exactly 29 cm long. It features a hollowground tari (cockfighting blade) grind with a long swedge. The swedge is very thin: this is not a knife I’d stab into a coin, but it will stab softer materials just fine. The carbon spring steel blade is absolutely razor sharp.
There are two pits on this knife’s blade: one is tiny and the other is barely noticeable, but I’d still like to point them out. Two extra thick tang pins for strong lockup.
This knife again features incredible Brazilian rosewood inserts. I hand finished the wood to 2000 grit, and it looks truly incredible. It is lighter than it appears in the pics.
The bolsters, liners and latch are all stainless steel. Each of the bolsters is double pinned for durability.
This, again, is a very, very nice grind.
This is an absolutely beautiful knife for the tari lover: this is perhaps my favorite profile of all, and the swedge on this one is incredible. 5 oz. SOLD.
3. This extra slim balisong packs a big punch for such a slender package: it measures in at 28.8 cm. It features a buyod blade with a short, slim swedge. The blade is hand forged carbon steel that has been truly beautifully hand ground, and it features two extra thick tang pins for extra durability.
The inserts on this knife are Laos mun ebony. There is incredible figuring and chatoyancy in this wood, and even a tiny eye that looks incredible. I hand finished the wood all the way up to 2000 grit before applying several coats of mineral oil. This wood is truly stunning. It is lighter than it appears in the pictures.
The bolsters, liners and latch are stainless steel, and each bolster is pinned twice for longevity.
This is a beautiful piece. It is slim and lightweight, but absolutely solid. The grind is truly beautiful too, and can stand with knives that cost four times as much. There is one tiny pit on the blade that is barely noticeable, but here I am pointing it out anyway. :) 4.5 oz. $165.
4. This bente nueve is nice and simple. It measures in at exactly 29 cm (a true bente nueve). The blade is in the popular bayonet grind, which is convex ground rather than hollowground like the labaha (straight razor grind). One tang pin (like most Filipino balisongs) and each of the stainless bolsters is only pinned once. The liners and latch are also 300-series stainless steel.
The inserts are beautiful, almost pitch black Philippines ebony (kamagong). I hand finished this wood to 2000 grit and really brought out the black beauty inherent in this wood. It is smooth as glass. Nobody else puts this much into the wood on Filipino balisongs (or even most foreign-made balisongs, for that matter)!
5 oz. $125.
5. This comb was previously posted on pinoysteel.tumblr.com, but I decided to refinish it now that I know how to really get the wood looking its best. It is only 18.8 cm long. The wood is beautiful African bubinga that I hand finished to 2000 grit. The comb is 300-series stainless and each tooth was sawed into a stainless steel bar by hand.
This batch of bubinga is a darker reddish brown than most and it looks great! There is even some faint chatoyancy in the wood.
The bolsters, liners and latch are all 300-series stainless steel, just like the comb.
This is one of the first combs I’ve ever refinished the wood on, and it truly takes the combs to the next level. 4.7 oz. SOLD.
