Balisong (knife)

Balisong (knife)

The Balisong or the P-L knife, also known as a butterfly knife, fan knife is a folding pocket knife with two handles counter-rotating around the tang such that, when closed, the blade is concealed within grooves in the handles. It is sometimes called a Batangas knife, after the Tagalog province of Batangas in the Philippines, where it is traditionally made. In the hands of a trained user, the knife blade can be brought to bear quickly using one hand. Manipulations, called "flipping" or "fanning", are performed for art or amusement. The knife is illegal in many countries such as the Netherlands, Australia, the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Germany.

Balisongs are useful for situations where it is inconvenient to use both hands to open a knife. For example, a worker who is using a single hand to hold on to something as protection against falling will not wish to use that hand to open a knife. In such a situation it is useful to have a knife that can be opened with either hand.

The Balisong was commonly used by Filipino people, especially those in the Tagalog region, as a self-defense and pocket utility knife. A stereotype used to exist that every Batangueño carried one everywhere he or she went. Hollow ground balisongs were also used as straight razors before conventional razors were available in the Philippines. Due to legislation, they are no longer as common in urban areas as they were in past decades.