Butterfly Knife: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

The [[Butterfly Knife]], also known as a ''balisong'', is a traditional Filipino knife. Its design, with two rotating handles, allow it to be flipped open and closed. It will usually appear in the hands of a [[Knife Nut]], who will perform a complex, flashy and [[Kinetic Clicking|noisy]] flip. Anything beyond a simple and quick opening is [[Awesome but Impractical]] as the hand is vulnerable to a strike disarm throughout the manipulation.

 

{{examples}}

* In a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIUNYuSmWe8 commercial for San Miguel beer], [[Stephen Chow]] performs a manipulation with a butterfly ''bottle opener'' that impresses and attracts all the women in the bar. The bartender assists by [[Bar Slide|sliding the bottle over]] in a bucket of ice.

** Butterfly bottle openers do exist, but the design used in the commercial (flat, large rectangular hole) must be wider than bottle caps. This extra width over knife blades adds weight, affects balance, and throws off flipping. Due to this inherent flaw, nearly all are cheap novelties.

* Buckingham is playing with one when he is talking to captured D'Artagnan in ''[[The Three Musketeers (2011 film)|The Three Musketeers 2011]]''.

 

* In the ''[[Law & Order|Law and Order]]'' episode "Knock Off", Dianne Cary (guest [[Katee Sackhoff]]) has a butterfly knife sitting on a shelf open, next to a pair of [[Fighting with Chucks|nunchaku]]. She became obsessed with martial arts and self-defense after being raped.

* In the ''[[Nikita (TV series)|Nikita]]'' episode "Pale Fire", a Gogol mook flips a butterfly knife open and slashes Alex, but she traps it and [[Hoist by His Own Petard|kills him with it]].

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Sword Tropes]]