Jrc
Fargo, ND

Apr 05, 2019

Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Buy of the century

For 13 bucks, you can't do better. I watched the videos and have no doubt that this knife can do some serious damage to a person. I really bought this for flipping, however. It handles really well. Even though the serrations and point look wicked, the blade does not have enough mass to hurt you if you hit your finger while flipping it. Also, since it is double-edged, you don't have to keep track of which way it's turning. If you put some force behind it, I'm sure it would be great for self-defense. This knife is really light weight for its size, but the weight is nicely balanced. I only have one minor complaint. It was stiff on one side so it did not flip smoothly. Since it is nonmetallic, I wasn't sure what to use, but Gunslick, which is graphite, seems to work well.

Kenneth
Mountainair, NM

Oct 03, 2023

Pros: Blade Material, Handle Material, Weight

Cons: None

It does what it was designed for

Let's get right to the nitty gritty. This is not a knife. You will not use it to peel an apple or clean a fish. What it is, is a shank. A stabby, rippy, shreddy shank. It is made of a fiberglass reinforced plastic of some sort and it was made to evade metal detectors. Use that knowledge with discretion! This shank is not made for flipping, since it is double sided, but because it is in the butterfly knife/balisong format the double edged "blade" is protected by the handles...or rather you are protected from the blade by the handles. It is a large shank and it will be bigger thank most balis, so keep that in mind. The description says that it is made in the USA which is always a plus for me, especially at this price point. If you had to use this knife as a weapon of last resort I would say that it is a degree of magnitude better than your plain ol' monkey mits. Even if you are the heavyweight boxer of the world this would no doubt increase your lethality. So there you go, folks. This is not a knife. This is not for practice flipping. This is a shank, and in that role it's better than the finest quality prison makes and models. It is what it is. I got one and I am not disappointed.

Brad
SC

May 17, 2022

Pros: Handle Material, Blade Material

Cons: None

Cold Steel FGX Balisong

I bought this knife primarily because of the price. I read the description, so I knew what I was getting. It is excellent for what it is meant to be, a last-ditch weapon. It will also function as a kubiton when closed. I personally think that the people who submitted bad reviews, either did not read the description or expected something different. Just my opinion.

Aj
NC

Mar 09, 2021

Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Overall Quality

Cons: None

Unsurprisingly, it is what it says it is

I bought this because I wanted to experience flipping a double-sided bali. For 13 bucks, this gets me that plus the chance to stab a bali into a tree without worrying about it. Excellent. Not sure why someone would buy this if they didn't know what it was. Completely unrelated, you can do basic openings like quickdraw and wrist pass, and even the most basic opening provided you understand gravity and momentum. I can also do the only bali combo I have so far, index rollover to zen rollover, with this double-sided bali. The novelty of a completely plastic balisong that still flips relatively well is worth the asking price for me. Will it compete with knives constructed from better materials, or hold an edge that well? No, of course not, but it's not meant to. Why would anyone expect different? Perhaps people who demonstrate a complete lack of reading comprehension shouldn't be allowed to leave reviews, but I suppose that is the hallmark of a quality website that doesn't filter out negative reviews.

Paladin
West Coast

Mar 26, 2019

Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Pocket Clip

Please STOP calling this a "toy"

Yes, the uninformed and ignorant will say that this is a cute toy, but then, this is usually coming from those who consider the Balisong to be a sharpened fidget spinner which they use to show off their flipping "skilz" for YouTube views, and not the ery efficient weapon it actually was designed to be. Lynn Thompson designed this to be a last ditch self defense WEAPON that is light weight (+- 2 oz), and as a plus, since it has NO METAL PARTS, will not trigger things that will cause you to NOT have a defensive tool when you will may likely need it. It will stab through a stack of cardboard from tip to hilt, same as ANY OTHER Cold Steel blade, and, people do not have layers of cardboard as skin. The serrated edge is sharp enough to break skin, even with light contact while flipping, so, a slight adjustment in technique is called for, unless you don't mind some fluid seepage where it does what it's designed to. Look up the Cold Steel Balisong video if you have any doubts. Another winner from the folks at CS.

Tommyboy
Greenwood, Mo

Mar 27, 2019

Pros: Weight, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Great Purpose-Built Tool

What some other reviews fail to recognize about this Bali, is that it was designed and built with a single purpose in mind - personal protection in areas where you probably need it most. This is for venues like concerts, sporting events, etc. where metallic tools might draw unwanted attention. It achieves this purpose exceedingly well. The blades are sharp - much like the arrowheads CS recently released. They will produce devastating cuts! The tip is reinforced and sharp and will have no problem getting through a heavy leather jacket. It is everything you could ask for in discreet personal protection.

Ivan The Tolerable
Lurking in the undergrowth.

Sep 20, 2022

Pros: Handle Material, Blade Material

Cons: None

Working tool

It's a purpose built working tool, not a toy. If you want to wave it about and show off, get a trainer. It's bulkier than most others of the type, but light and easily stowed. There are certain other advantages which are obvious given the construction, along with the associated drawbacks. It does what it says on the can.

Kaz
Home

Apr 04, 2019

Pros: None

Cons: None

Cold steel FGX Bali-Song awesome

Awesome Bali-Song for light weight flipping action and super smooth and enjoyable also could be weapon for self defense love it great price. Better than more expensive Bali-Song knives out there super hard plastic just awesome.

Judge 454
Culloden, Wv

Apr 19, 2019

Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Not a practice balisong

Both sides are serrated and sharp, so be safe when flipping knife. No metal anywhere, so you “could” defend yourself in places that restrict weapons for law abiding citizens. (Metal detectors). Of course that is purely speculation and I would not suggest or do myself. Blade is strong and capable of self defense in a situation where you are limited to what you can carry.

Connor B
Kansas City Missouri

Apr 18, 2019

Pros: Weight, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

For 12 bucks you can buy a burger or you can buy this awesome blade

Durable light and good for flipping. Comes sharp and handles well when sawing or stabbing. Good knife for a good price. Good beginner flipper as well

Quick Blade
WV

Jul 03, 2019

Pros: Weight, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Handle Feel

Light weight but Big

This was one of 2 knives I ordered from Knife Center, the other was a Sog Flash FL. This was my first time ordering from Knife Center and the shipping was very fast. The Cold Steel balisong is big. Read the description. It is extremely light for is size. It is also extremely sharp. The dagger like point and the two edged serrations are sharp and should not be played with like this is a toy are you are going to injure yourself,, I hope they come out with a smaller version soon.

Genarro
Carson City

Mar 21, 2019

Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening

Cons: None

Awesome inexpensive bali

It is actually a lot better than what I expected for the price - It flips well and is basically a pseudo trainer. As a beginner flipper, I find it quite enjoyable!

T
Florida

Aug 18, 2020

Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Surprisingly Sharp! Get the Tanto version if you just want to flip it.

I just received this Balisong and I am happy with the feel and quality for the price. I was extremely surprised how sharp this thing is! It as absolutely a deadly weapon and the tip is needle sharp and sturdy. Because of this, I now wish that I had purchased the TANTO version instead. This is not a Balisong that you want to mindlessly flip, and it will cut up your hand. If you want one for self defense for some reason than get the double serrated version, if you want a Balisong to flip and have fun with, then get the Tanto version.

Adam
Szeged,

Apr 12, 2019

Pros: Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Blade Material

Cons: None

Cool Stuff

Bought for flipping, and i was curious about the knife material. The size of the knife surprised me, it's larger than expected, but fits perfectly in my palm. Weight is low compared to it's size, that's unusual, the handles are also thicker, and pretty rectangular, than usual, it needs slightly different flipping techniques, some tricks are harder to perform with it, but not impossible. The clacking is a bit weird, but not awful, i'll get used to it. The double serration looks cool, but not good, because it's too sharp, performing tricks like Chaplin, etc., is pretty uncomfortable. Blunting down the lower quarter of the blade, on safe handle side, will solve this problem, for this purpose i used polishing paper. With this little modification, i have now a perfect sized, cool looking knife, with smooth actions, it looks spectacular while flipping. Worth to buy it, if you want some interesting knife.

Peter
Titusville, Nj

Mar 29, 2019

Pros: None

Cons: None

Much bigger than expected

It's a nice design, and well made for being all polymer. It's much bigger than I expected. I guess that's my fault for not looking at the specs. I'd like it better if it was smaller.

Jason
Hawaii

May 03, 2019

Pros: Weight

Cons: Handle Material

The cheapest US made balisong KNIFE you can buy

Straight to the point on this... I have to admit, when I first saw the FGX, I had no interest in it at all. It's an extremely UGLY knife - and in person, it's even uglier. It's also flippin' thick compared to most other balis, and very impractical to EDC. That said, Cold Steel designed this purely to be a dirt cheap WEAPON. I've rammed this thing into both 10 and 50 layer stacks of cardboard, dozens of times, and it held up great save for the very tip suffering minuscule blunting. (Needless to say, my boss was not amused.) I'm confident that if it can hold up to that abuse, you could quite possibly entrust your life to this as a last resort in a defensive scenario. I only picked this up after seeing a few flippers I follow check it out themselves and approve. For the price, I figured, "Ehh, why not?" It's extremely lightweight, especially given its size, but balance isn't bad at all. It also does not fit in pockets easily, and can be pretty uncomfortable to try. Unless you have a sheath large enough for it (I currently don't), it further detracts its usefulness for every day tasks, and as a weapon. You can flip this, but if you like doing tricks with balisongs, you're a bit limited on what you can do with it unless you're willing to sand away one of the serrated edges, or don't mind having irritated skin from all of the tiny punctures of the serrations. The latch fits super tight between handles, and makes the knife feel solid when locked in place. There's a minimal amount of wobble between handles - as much as I expected there to be - and so far it hasn't gotten worse after what I've put it through. While it's functionality is limited, this was worth the money to me as a collectors/conversation piece. It would've been nice if this had a nicer finish, but I suppose I can't really complain about it for the price. If my memory is correct, Cold Steel stated they would make a more flipper-friendly FGX down the line, which I'm very looking forward to. It's also why I'm holding off from grinding down one of the edges. Hopefully it will be Cold STEEL and not Cold PLASTIC.

Larry D
Memphis

Mar 25, 2019

Pros: Weight, Blade Material

Cons: None

Responding to

Dude... you really need to pay attention to the FGX line, its made to be polymer, grivory, etc. Your review is unfair!

Iboogie
CA

Mar 20, 2019

Pros: None

Cons: None

PLASTIC

Yeah, super cheap but it shows. The entire knife is made of plastic, yes the blade too. The blade is sharpened though, like dangerous sharp. I'm not mad because it wasn't really expensive. It's a cool little toy knife though.

Jim
Cali

Apr 16, 2021

Pros: Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Made entirely of plastic but it does the job.

This knife if big don’t ignore the size. The knife including the blade is plastic, you get what you payed for. Cheap, but you don't have to worry about it dropping. Im not sure about the durability. But it does come sharp and will get the job done.

Kevin
,

Apr 03, 2019

Pros: None

Cons: None

Plastic

Did not expect the blade to be polymer(plastic). I had no idea Griv-Ex was plastic alloy.

Random Name
no just no

Feb 04, 2021

Pros: None

Cons: None

It just looks dangerous

One of the most basic openings are impossible, you have to hit the back of the knife against your wrist, just don’t buy this, get another balisong that’s one sided.

Torsten
,

Sep 22, 2021

Pros: None

Cons: Weight, Handle Feel

Not good at all

Knife is much bigger then anticipated probably double the width of any butterfly knife. I know it’s 13 dollars and I expected it to be bad but da** is it just horrid how bad it just does everything and not even to mention the fact that it’s double sided and can’t be used without poking yourself on the serrations.

Jay R
FL

Mar 31, 2023

Pros: Ease of Opening

Cons: None

Balihoo or Baliwhat?

I purchased this in order to get a feel for what handling a balisong would be like. After playing with it, I was still clueless.I finally picked up a Kershaw Lucha.I have not tried to learn any tricks because love my fingers. After all, this IS the digital age. I have read the other reviews. For a stealth self-defense tool, I feel that it would do admirably.