Anybody else here do it? And could someone maybe help me get a new knife?
Illegal in CA… >:(
May I ask why? I mean… they let you have axes and hatches and steak knives and all that, but not a balisong… I thought the Balisong’s just a nice little spinny knife right? It’s not like it stabs better…
I own one (ed’s old BM-42) and can do some basic stuff with it.
go to bladeops.com
I haven’t bought one yet but someone told me that bladeops ships balisongs to CA. And, you’re allowed to have a balisong in california, as long as you don’t carry it around and keep it at home. I guess you could carry it if you have it inside a military case or something as secure as that.
And, there are tons of youtube videos on tricks. The hardest one I know is helix. I just learned it because I do filipino martial arts and I used some tricks as flourish for my balisong form during a tournament (quite obviously, I used a trainer balisong).
A skilled user can draw the blade much faster than human reaction time, which gives them the upper hand, now if the person with the Balisong was to be in a scuffle with someone else, Yes, I suppose you could stab better, considering the fact that you could draw the blade faster and stab or slash faster. Same type of reason why switchblades are illegal in a lot of places.
Oh. But… enough to make them illegal? Like they aren’t so much better than normal knives and hatchets and all that that those are legal and balisongs aren’t? And switchblades are legal… so long as the blades are 1" long… >:(
Illegal if blade is more that 2inch because any bigger can hit your heart. They are illegal because it is a concealed weapon. I have a like 5inch and a 2 inch but they broke and I need a new one.
It’s because they can be concealed easily.
HAH, beat you to it.
No… I hope not… I can conceal my pocketknife quite nicely… (4inch long blade)
Pocket knives are nowhere near as fast. And anyways, a hunting knife is way more dangerous.
There is no single, specific reason why they’re illegal. The federal switchblade law was enacted In 1959 after a bunch of popular movies featured switchblades, and the general public freaked out about them. The federal law only prohibits shipping across state lines and carrying them on federal property and a few other select places. Every other law concerning them varies from state to state.
edit I forgot to mention that balisong knives fall under the switchblade category in most states.
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Yes, and the specific laws are the reason why they are illegal in California, we aren’t talking about other states.
People asked a question. I gave them an answer. In order to understand one law, you need to be able to compare it to other state laws. California, like other states, didn’t have a specific reason when they made them illegal. It was a knee-jerk reaction. All the reasons given were added later in an attempt to justify the law.
So, they are still reasons.
No, there aren’t. The reasons given later were weak attempts to justify the law by congressmen and representatives. They were never a part of the law. Why are you trying to argue this? I used to teach a concealed carry class. I’m very familiar with the law. Do you think I’d just make this stuff up?
I love this man.
YES, you big sinner!!! 
That’s me! I’m going straight to heck! ;D
Fine. Don’t acknowledge me. >:(
hehe