Remington Butterfly KNife

Butterfly/Balisong

A balisong’s peculiarity lies within its two handles counter-rotating around the tang of the blade. When closed, the blade is concealed within grooves in the handles. The balisong knife is the traditional name. Another more common name for the knife is called a butterfly knife. It is also referred to as a Batangas knife, after the Province of Batangas, in the Philippines where it is traditionally made. The balisong was commonly used by the Filipino people for self-defense and as a utility knife. While the meaning of the term balisong is foggy, a popular belief is that it is derived from the Tagalog words “bali” and “sungay” which means broken and horn in English. They were originally made from carved caribou and stag horn. Balisong is also the name of a small area in the Batangas Province, which became famous for crafting these knives.

 

Specs

There are many different types of butterfly knives out on the market. So to narrow it down, here is a few key specs on the Remington Butterfly knife.

• Product Type: Balisong/Butterfly
• Locking Mechanism: Latch
• Overall Length: 9.00″
• Weight:  5.21 oz.
• Handle Length: 5.00”
• Blade Length: 4.00″
• Blade Thickness: 0.125″
• Blade Steel: 1095
• Blade Edge: Plain
• Blade Style: Tanto
• Blade Finish: Black
• Handle Material: Aluminum
• Handle Color: Black
• Sheath Included: No

 

Now that we have seen the basic overview, let’s dive into what the knife really has to offer.

Blade

Style

The tanto blade found on the Remington Butterfly knife is a bit unusual. Normally, a tanto blade has a somewhat chisel-like point that is thick towards the point (being close to the spine) and is thus quite strong. Rather, the two different angled edges do not so much meet at a sharp point, but instead, they have a slight curving into each other. Thus it looks more like a traditional tanto blade which is inspired by ancient Japanese swords. The Westernized tanto is most often straight but may also be gently curved. This style of blade became popular during the ‘80s shortly after the blade was created and introduced. The tanto does not have a typical belly (such as that on a drop point), which is sacrificed in exchange for a stronger tip. Its design makes it great for push cuts, rather than slicing, and piercing tougher materials because of its tip’s strength.

Steel

The 1095 Steel that the tanto blade is made from is a basic carbon steel. It has a carbon content of .95% which helps harden the steel, and reduce the wear that a blade will experience over time. Despite the reduction in wear, 1095 steel is not as tough as other types of steel because of the lack of manganese, which hardens steel. 1095 steel holds a great edge and is easy to sharpen. However, because of the high amount of carbon it has a tendency to easily rust if not taken care of. As long as the blade is properly cared for, rust should not be too great a problem for anyone.

Finish

Black coatings, like the one found on the Remington Butterfly Knife, can last for several years depending on how thick the coating is. Like any other blade finish, with time, it began to look used. The way it looks is a matte black finish. Notable benefits of it are its coolness factor, and its low reflectivity. This coating can be helpful in stealth situations that require a tactical knife with low reflectivity. When the knife needs protection from corrosion, a coating has got you covered. If you forget proper blade maintenance, the coating can resist corrosion for a longer time (when compared to a satin finish). Though not the fanciest of finishes, it gets the job done.

 

Handle

Material

Aluminum, as you know, is a non-ferrous metal (meaning it does not contain or consist of iron).  It is corrosive resistant and a durable material for knife handles. It is a low-density metal that provides a nice, solid feel to the knife without adding weight to the knife. It is strong because of its high strength to weight ratio. Aluminum is often considered to be inferior titanium, which tends to be found on more premium knives. Though inferior to titanium, it is still an excellent handle material. The biggest advantages to aluminum are its strength, its light weight, its durability, and its resistance to corrosion.

A downside to aluminum is that if you use your knife during cooler weather, you might find the handle to be slightly uncomfortable.  If left uncared for, aluminum will oxidize. This oxidation appears as white residue and pitting on the surface. Some other things to watch out for with an aluminum handle is that it is susceptible to scratches and dings if you are not careful. Though it may seem to have significant disadvantages, there are many good qualities to this material.

How to Use

Opening the Remington Butterfly is easy to do and fun. Below is a step-by-step guide to help those who do not know how to open the knife:

1. Start by holding the closed knife in your dominant hand.
2. Unlock the knife. Do this by moving the latch that is being held stationary to disengage the blade.
3. Grab the safe handle on the knife (you don’t want to cut yourself with the blade).
4. Flip open the handle over your hand exposing the blade.
5. Rotate loosely in front of your hand 180 degrees.
6. Flip the blade against back of hand
7. Flip back and grab rest of handle

 

This is just a simple list of steps on how to open the knife. There are several different ways to open up the knife. Once you play around with the knife for a while, it becomes easier to open. And given time, you could probably start performing tricks. There are plenty of videos online that show how to open this type of knife.

Now closing the knife is very similar to how the knife is opened. You could almost take the same steps and just go through them backwards. Here are the steps on how to close the knife:

1. Again, start with holding the open knife in your dominant hand.
2. Unlock the knife if you locked it into the opening position. Unlike opening the knife, the lock has to be manually disengaged. A squeeze on the handle will not unlock it.
3. Flip over the handle that normally conceals the blade edge when closed.
4. Rotate the knife loosely in your hand, around the front side of your hand, 180 degrees
5. Flip the same handle against the back of your hand. Your hand will be in-between both of the handles at this point.
6. Flip it back over your hand and grab the rest of the handle.

 

It will take time getting used to, but operating the butterfly knife can be done. It is different than opening a traditional folder, or auto knife. However, with some practice, these knives can open much more quickly than the fastest of autos.

 

Uses for a Butterfly Knife

Why would anyone want to get a Remington Butterfly Knife? There are many different laws and regulations, and the populous reputation that connote a negative feeling to them. Well for one, they are so much fun to play around with. Also, they are pretty safe once opened. Unless one of the pins breaks or some other freak accident, it will not close on your hand. Another reason to get one is the fact that they can be opened with only one hand, sometimes it can be faster than many spring assisted knives. A butterfly knife is also slim, lightweight, and easy to carry. It is very difficult to open one accidentally when locked, including in a pocket. They are often stronger and more secure because of their two pins. Another benefit to having a butterfly knife is for their use with those that wear gloves when working. Such as yard work or working in the shop. This is because they are large and easy to operate with gloved hands.

Some other benefits of the owning a balisong include:

1. The shocking appearance it gives off. The balisong is impressive when revealed and wielded in a dramatic fashion. With all the tricks that can be done with a balisong, the action alone can plant fear in any opponent’s mind. Helpful for those dark alleyways at night.
2. A butterfly knife has one of the strongest locking mechanisms. There is little chance of it opening up accidentally. It can be used with no fear of the blade bending onto the hand or even closing on the hand of those that use the knife.
3. Balisongs typically can give you a long reach. This is more so true than folders that have to be more bulky and clunky to reach the same length. Having a long knife can be useful in any number of ways.
4. The handles of the balisong can provide to be a blunt impact self-defense tool without the blade ever being deployed.

 

With any knife, there are limitations to them. Some of those limitations include:

1. Butterfly knives have a greater need for space when deploying than many other knives.
2. They are not as discrete as other knives, especially when opening. They are most definitely a flashy knife.
3. There is much practice required to effectively open a balisong. Those that struggle with fine motor skills in their hands may have a difficult time trying to use this knife.
4. There are legal issues that several states/cities have against them.

 

Overall, having a butterfly knife is a great choice. The advantages greatly outweigh the disadvantages. This knife has been around for a long time, and for good reason too. It will continue to last forever.

 

Cutting Test

It’s great now that we all know about the Remington Butterfly knife, but we need to know how it performs. To show this performance, we have taken this knife and put it to the test. Nothing too serious. We don’t want to risk ruining the knife. But we still want to test its limits. So we have several tests to conduct. Those tests include cutting paper, cardboard, plastic, and finally rope. These are just a few of the basics that a knife cuts every day. If you want to find out more on how this knife works, you can always get one any try it out yourself. Let’s see how the knife did.

Paper

I was slightly let down when I conducted this test. An initial cut with the blade wasn’t the cleanest. This is due to the fact that a tanto blade has no “belly” for a nice clean cut. The tanto still got the job done when it came to cutting through layers of paper.

Cardboard

When I first started this test, the first thing I did was stab the cardboard to test the strength of the tanto’s tip. What I found was that the tip effortlessly entered into the material. Cutting with the tanto blade was a bit difficult. Again, the lack of a belly made caused me to use more force to cut through the cardboard.

Plastic

This is the best test that the Remington Butterfly knife excelled at. Here again is where the tip came in handy. Not only was it easily able to penetrate the plastic, it was also simple to control the blade. Having a tanto blade makes it easy to slice up the tough material. The grip was solid which made cutting much simpler.

Rope

Though the tanto blade has been tough up to this point, cutting the rope was slightly more difficult. The lack of a razor sharp edge made cutting this fibrous material a little more difficult. However, the steel is able to take a sharper edge. If this blade were to be sharpened professionally, then I am positive that this test would have different results.

 

Conclusion

The Remington Butterfly Knife is a great, inexpensive knife that is worth the cost. It makes for a high-quality beginner’s balisong to practice around with. Not only to practice but to use on a more regular basis. If treated right (sharpening it regularly, cleaning the blade, and not abusing the knife), then your Remington will last you for a very long time. You won’t regret getting one. Pick yours up today.