The Ti Bali-Song from Benchmade.
For more information and details, check out Benchmade.
Overview
All closed up.
A $600 butterfly knife? Doesn’t that contradict the storied history of these much-maligned self-defense knives?
I mean, when one thought of a butterfly knife, one typically thought of a cheap, poorly-made blade used by street thugs, tattooed bikers and the young ruffians from S.E. Hinton’s “The Outsiders.” My point is that Bali-Song knives were synonymous with the criminal class for many, many years. But not anymore. These blades have gone mainstream.
At SHOT Show 2017, Benchmade introduced their Ti Bali-Song, a 4.5-inch Wharncliffe-style blade made from CPM-S30V stainless steel that sits in a sand-blasted, single piece of billet titanium.
When I was talking to the gentleman working the Benchmade booth, he told me that the titanium handles take upwards of 45 minutes to make because, again, they’re fashioned from a single piece of titanium! That’s pretty cool because it greatly increases their toughness.
Other features include thrust bearing washers (for easy opening), a secure magnetic latch that pops open when you squeeze the handle, and a gray nylon sheath.
Specs
What it looks like in the hand.
- Overall Length: 10.00″
- Blade Length: 4.50″
- Blade Thickness: 0.12″
- Blade Material: CPM-S30V
- Blade Style: Wharncliffe
- Blade Grind: Flat
- Finish: Satin
- Handle Length: 5.50″
- Handle Thickness: 0.46″
- Handle Material: Titanium
- Color: Gray
- Weight: 5.37 oz.
- MSRP: $600
Impression
This knife is badass. It’s well-made, it feels great in the hand, and that magnetic lock is really, really cool. I want one. But at the same time, I’m having trouble envisioning how I would use it and carry it. It’s too big, IMO, for pocket carry and I’m not sure I’d want to carry it every day in its sheath. Between that, and it’s price point, which I’ll get to in a moment, I’m a bit torn.
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That magnetic lock pops right up when you squeeze the handle.
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It’s a really cool locking design.
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I will say that I love the blade design and the materials are top notch. It doesn’t get much better than titanium and CMP-S30V. Benchmade’s got a real winner with the Ti Bali-Song.
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It comes with the Nylon sheath.
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The sheath has straps on the back.
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Price and Availability
The MSRP is $600. However, I’ve seen it available on BladeHQ for preorder for $510. Yes, that’s a lot of money for a knife, especially one that has a limited daily carry application. I’ll have to think about this long and hard before I pull the trigger.
For more information and details, check out Benchmade.