Balisong and the town of Taal
 

Just came back today from Batangas (with wife and kids), for a fast and furious overnight vacation.

On the way home to Manila, we passed by the town of Taal, in Batangas province. Taal is supposedly where the best balisongs in the Philippines are made.

And which part of Taal can it be? Well, how about a barangay called Balisong? :D

Upon reaching Barangay Balisong in Taal town, balisong stores can literally be found left and right ...

The store I checked out (pics below) appears to one of the oldest and most respected in the area.

Note in one of the pics the raw materials used for the balisong hilt (deer and carabao horn).

Most of the balisongs cost just anywhere between Usd 2 (6-inch overall length [OAL], i.e., unfolded) to Usd 5 (11.5-inch OAL). The latter model translates to 29 cm in the metric system -- it is the most popular model locally (commonly called balisong veinte-nueve).

But let not the low price mislead anyone -- the quality of these Taal-made blades are excellent. I actually bought seven of them today.

The steel used for the blades are old ball bearings, hence they are very tough.

Occasionally, damascus steel (raw material form) arrives from abroad. And that's the pricey balisong in the line-up. The one shown below (about 8 inches OAL) is being sold for Usd 120.

The karambits hanging on the wall are priced at Usd 20 each.

Just love the pics. I would be a kid in a candy shop if I were there. :D Too bad these guys don't have a website. :(


Thanks for sharing.

Lew

Below are the seven balisongs I bought today.

The ones on the left are the 11.5-inchers (overall length, unfolded), and the one on the extreme right is a 6-incher (overall length, unfolded). The other pic is shown with a cellphone to give a sense of scale.

The one on the extreme left by the way is a trainer model. With that you can practice un/folding all you like without cutting yourself. Its hilt is made out of the thighbone of a horse (while the hilt of the rest is made of deer horn and/or hardwood).

As for the balisong in the middle and as mentioned in this old thread, the holes in the blade are purely for decorative purposes.

The blade serration is likewise decorative and was inspired by Rambo's (the movie) jungle knife, according to the old Batangas folks. The deeper indentation on the blade near the hilt is a bottle opener.

Thanks, Lew.

Yup, I was on a drool-mode too all the time I was there :D As for the contact info of that store I bought from, I'll PM you their number in case you'd like to get in touch with him.

Full disclosure: I don't know the guy from Adam! Just met him today. :)

Man, those look great! I'm so jealous. $5 for a good balisong? Incredible.
Steve

Yes a $5 foot long :D

Hi Steve, Hi Lew,

Yup the price is unbelievable. In fact I have to ask the storeowner 3 to 4 times as I can't believe my own ears :shrug:

But upon closer examination, the Taal, Batangas pricing of Usd 5 looks logical -- about 30 miles (50 km) away in the neighboring Laguna province, there's this roadside balisong store in Alaminos town (pics below).

I also checked out that store and they sell their balisongs (made also in Barangay Balisong, Taal, Batangas) for Usd 10 each (the veinte-nueve kind).

So it's Usd 5 if it's "farm gate price" right in Bgy. Balisong in Taal, and then the price doubles at a store merely 50 km away.

From Bgy. Balisong to Manila, it's about 120 km (70 miles) away. Am sure that in a Manila store that pays rent in a mall with hired storekeepers (vs. a mom and pop operation in the provinces with no rent & overhead to cover), the same balisong will go for anywhere between Usd 15 to 20.

And make the same balisong cross the Pacific Ocean, then I guess the retail price would already be anywhere between Usd 40 to 60.

Which perhaps is just right given that the crappy smaller balisongs sell in the US for Usd 10 to 20:

Video of a crappy balisong that you can bend with your bare hands!

More balisongs of the Usd 10 to 20 (local US price) kind

... more pics from the same Alaminos, Laguna store:

With nothing else better to do on a New Year's day holiday :D I put one of the Batangas balisongs under the acid test -- the piercing of the local one-peso coin via the blade's tip.

The long and short of it is that it's so far so good (pic below).

I think though that I lack the technique because the coin is supposed to be pierced through to the other side. My furious stabbing of the defiant coin pierced the coin only halfway at best! :D

I don't have a good camera with me at the moment thus the pic below is crappy. But the tip of the balisong even after that mindless ;) stabbing episode remained sharp and pointy.

I realize that we're supposed to focus here on ethnic weapons.

But I can't help but mention how the balisong has evolved into modern day "tacticool" knives. And some of those are pretty exotic designs that baffles one's imagination!

Most if not all of the images are taken from the blades board of a Filipino shooters forum.

Here's another interesting modern balisong, obviously inspired by you-know-who, and with real diamonds! :eek:

I'm not into these exotic stuff as it's not my cup of tea ... that is, aside from not having the sufficient funds to even entertain the idea :D

So I am posting all these for academic interest only! :)

Lovely pics of Taal and the balisongs. I'm heading there in two weeks specifically to pick up a bunch. :)

For those that keep track of such things, the blades made from ball bearings are most likely 52100, a very good steel;
Carbon 0.98 - 1.1
Chromium 1.3 - 1.6
Iron Balance
Manganese 0.25 - 0.45
Phosphorus 0.025 max
Silicon 0.15 - 0.35
Sulphur 0.025 max
Reference from metal suppliers online.

Just thinking out loud, I'd love to see these on the swap forum!

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/attach...id=37691&stc=1


These bolos are making me droooool


Would you be willing to do a pickup? I'd be VERY interested in some blades :D

Now you've planted a seed in my head as well! :mad:

:D was going to avoid buying more than 1 blade this summer... :shrug:

I also went to Taal Batangas and visited Barangay Balisong. This place is a lot smaller then I thought. :D Still had a blast visiting there though.
I visited several of the vendors, but decided to buy most of my blades from a family whos father passed away. The two teenage sons took over their blade making business. Felt sorry for them. :(
Some of the blades I bought. $2-4 a piece.
http://fototime.com/64935DFCD34F5D5/orig.jpg

Are you a foreigner to the Philippines? Just know, it is legal to have Balisongs packed with your check in luggage, BUT they only allow a certain amount. I forgot the amount, I believe it was something like 6. You might want to ask them.

Since we sharing, heres my meager collection of modern day Balisongs. :p

http://fototime.com/F60E38B7EA9A842/standard.jpg


My family stems from Batangas too. hehe

Hi,

Yes I am. I bought two in January and the Customs guy at the airport tried to get a bribe out of me when he saw them in my suitcase. He tried to be discreet in the way he asked me, but I pretended I didn't understand what he wanted and he finally gave up. lol

I will be picking up quite a few items there. What would you guys like? PM me and I might be able to help you out. My first stop will be the guy Miguel bought his from. :)

Expect a PM later today about some pickups, harimauhk!

When are you heading down to taal?

Houston, we have a problem ... :rolleyes:

There's going to be a presidential election soon here in the Phils. And every election period, there's a total ban on carrying firearms and edged weapons in the country.

Thus, while the storeowners will readily sell anybody balisongs, transporting them to Manila might be a problem because the local police have mobile checkpoints, precisely looking for people carrying firearms or edged weapons without authorization.

And then at the Manila airport, the balisongs will be subject to confiscation if detected.

Dimasalang must have bought his balisongs early Jan. 2010. At that time, the gun (and blades) ban is not yet in force ... or Dimasalang was just lucky. Yes, I think he's lucky because he just recently got a nice Phil. dagger for a very good price ... but that's another story ;) :D

Just thought that I should mention this, so that people will get forewarned (and I sent harimauhk a PM).

Please see also this thread in a Filipino forum.

ooh, unfortunate.

Thank you very much for letting us know, Miguel. It's most definitely not worth the risk to pick up a couple of balisongs if there is a ban in place.

Hi Miguel,

Thanks. I picked up two in Jan without issue. I don't live in the US and balisongs are legal at home--I'm going to have them mailed out from Batangas directly so I don't have to worry about bringing them back to Manila. :)

Sorry guys, I have no intention of sending balisongs into the US.

Miguel,

I found footage of the Panday Balisong you posted pictures of. This man is FAAST! I have an uncle from Banagas, who carried a beinte-nueve all of his life, and he was nowhere near as fast as this man is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7OjNyYfWx0

Love ko Pilipinas
 

Check your e-mail. I hung out with him today and bought some of the best balisongs he had to offer. :) He taught me how he opens them that fast too. He told me he was inspired to work on his openings after someone pulled a balisong on him on a bus in Manila in the '70s. The guy tossed it in the air and it hit the floor, so he bent down, picked it up and opened it the barako way (with two hands). He got really close to Mang Ona, who then pulled out his own balisong, and said something like, "I'm not joking to you!" in Taglish, The guy backed off, sat down and got off the bus at his stop. Ona's biggest worry at the time was the police, but fortunately, nobody called them (this was prior to the era of cell phones).

I also showed him my Emerson Combat Karambit which I carry practically everywhere. He loved it (but not the price). He said he thinks the karambit is the best fighting knife you can get because of the finger ring.

What an experience! I was so happy and proud to meet him and he told me he was happy and proud to meet me! :)

Love ko din ang Pilipinas! :)
 

Yes sir, the man sure is fast. Reminds one of the samurai who can fell an opponent as he draws his katana ;)Looks like you are definitely having fun :) And congrats for the apparent smooth 'operation' you just did back there in Batangas.

Salamat Miguel! Still waiting for the three I bought to show up by EMS, so hopefully they will. I was at Quiapo Church yesterday, so hopefully my prayers will get them here safely.

http://www.fototime.com/18C0825357AE733/medium.jpg

This was the first picture I took at Barangay Balisong. I took a jeepney there from Lemery after hopping in a van at Buendia LRT.

http://www.fototime.com/3FBCE97648BD56E/medium.jpg


This is the second stall I visited in Barangay Balisong.

http://www.fototime.com/55DEECCA43AFF10/medium.jpg

L. Rivera's stall. I really wish I'd gone back for a balicomb or two, but I hadn't had lunch and I was getting a bit dizzy. Next time I'll make sure to try some bulalo.

http://www.fototime.com/21545F15AACD7E2/medium.jpg

A small chapel right by the balisong stands.

http://www.fototime.com/49F707E7F1CAA37/medium.jpg

Me and Diosdado Ona outside his stand! Unfortunately the other pics I took of his stand didn't get saved--I think I turned the ol' camera off too quickly.


An old American machete Mang Ona had at his store:

http://www.fototime.com/8942342D300EFFB/medium.jpg

The kris dagger I bought there and the trainer balisong I got from Mang Ona. It was the last one he had, and he said he didn't want to sell it, but he knew I needed it. Got it for 210 Pesos ($4.60)

http://www.fototime.com/022165981292DFB/medium.jpg

Blades out. I got the kris for 1000 Pesos. They wanted 1500 Pesos for it at Liza Villareal's store, but I made them an offer and they accepted it. It is surprisingly light. The bottom two were purchased in Manila for 400-500 Pesos each. Sorry Miguel, but AFAIK all the handle materials are horse bone. I bought one made with antler--if the other ones make it home safe, I'll put pics up of them.

http://www.fototime.com/8E0A54B7635E6B5/medium.jpg

Got my new balisongs :)
 

On the right: 23 cm deer antler balisong. In the middle: my only veintenueve. Kamagong inserts. On the right--a kris blade balisong with narra wood and horse bone inserts. :) Assorted balisong keychains all around!

Blades out...
 

Here they are open and latched. :) On the 29 and the deer antler balis, you can see grooves left from the bearings that were used to make the blades!

Here are pics of the bearing groove on the stag-handled balisong, the actual stag inserts, the narra wood and horse bone on the kris balisong from Liza Villareal and a group shot of my FHM collection, with my balis ordered from left to right chronographically (oldest ones first). :) I put a balisong keychain next to the 29 for scale.

I actually think the grooves from the bearings are interesting from an ethnographic point of view. Who knows what will happen to the beautiful, sleepy town of Taal and the balisong industry in the future?

It's good to know they're not just making ones with the blade serrated at the back and with a bottle opener. you know, the "rambo" ones that were so popular a while back?

I quite like the simpler ones.

The three I bought from Ona were stamped "ONA'S" on the bottom--you can just about make that out in the first pic. I tried to get a pic of the marking, but I couldn't make one. I personally prefer bearing steel and brass (the kris bladed-one is all brass, while the rest have aluminum channels), but Ona carries aluminum-handled 29s with deer inserts and 440c blades. I guess his are good for EDC because of the light weight and corrosion resistance, but I like the durability of the brass and the razor edge I can put on the bearing steel. :) Just have to keep them oiled.

That's exactly how I feel. I didn't even want a "Rambo" bali. ;) I carry a Victorinox Huntsman for when I need to open a bottle!

Mang Ona is a great guy and a real Batangueno barako! He's in great health for his age too--I think he's in his late 60s! Going to have him make me a matching pair of custom balisongs with clips soon. :)

It might just be the kopeng barako, but I can almost smell the jeep and trike exhaust when I look at this thread!

Yeah, I'm not too enthused about stainless blades. They're okay for EDC folding knives, but even in balisong knives I'd probably want ball bearing/carbon steel of some sort if I wanted one. They'r illegal here so there'd be no use in me having a Balisong for every day carry though.

He looks like one of my uncles, except my uncle is in his early 50's

(also, did you get my e-mail?)

I don't EDC anything stainless aside from my Nalgene and my SAK. :) I replied to your last e-mail last night.

The test was performed with the old 1 Piso coin--the new ones are harder I guess. ;) I picked up seven balisongs this time and I'm waiting for them to arrive by EMS and post...hopefully they make it through OK! :)

The Customs guy at the airport said "kris!" when my bag went through the X-Ray--I had a two foot long kris and a bolo in there too, but he didn't comment on the bolo. A few minutes later, he came up to me and said, "you know, the fan knife in your suitcase is prohibited. The other guy said I should confiscate it." I told him I only had one and he said, "it's probably better you check in early. I'll tell the guys that you're a good guy. Don't worry." He didn't ask me for money (I thought he would), which was pretty cool. Apparently lots of balis get seized at NAIA, but I always seem to get through just fine (although I did get asked for cotong (is that the right spelling in Tagalog?) in January.

The shipment should get to you I'm sure :)

Because reading the shipping rules thru the balisongs in post no. 31 above, the balisongs don't fall under any of the prohibited items :D

Those guys at the Manila [NAIA] airport customs & security are inconsistent, but they tend to be more forgiving especially to tourists and foreigners.

PS - "kotong" is the usual spelling, but "c" is also ok. but of course kotong is not ok :o

On a related matter, I passed by Lipa City, Batangas yesterday. I took that opportunity to go to the public market to look for some utility bolos.

I was with my wife and both of us know the routine -- I check out the sharp and pointed things, while she checks out the household goods which I think we have enough already. The feeling is mutual as I'm sure all can surmise, and the modus vivendi works out very well :D

The bolos' price range is from US$ 4, to 10 (the latter being the "disubo" [literally, "was made to swallow"], that is, a bolo with a harder steel metal insert along the cutting edge side.

Here's a pic I took of the some of the bolos, with shop assistant taking the opportunity to pose with his goods:

Thanks for posting that pic up Miguel! I was in Lipa twice last week and I never thought to check the palengke...I went to Robinson's looking for Batangas t-shirts with balisongs on them, but they were sold out. :( BTW, that kris and bolo (and the sheath I can see) look like the ones I bought in Taal--I was told by Sir Ona that they are from Pangasinan. The kris I bought was a lot bigger though. Ona was ready to sell me his kris for 500 Piso, but I was like, "No thanks. One basura kris is enough." ;)

I also saw similar kris and bolo on Raon in Quiapo on Friday.