Balisong Supply

[Dr. Snubnose]

Seems like the inexpensive Balisongs supply is drying up mighty fast...and I'm not talking Spyderco here...my suppliers are telling me that the Balisongs from overseas are now banned for importation...I haven't any news on this front as to the real truth...but I can tell you this....hardly anybody has them for sale and the supply is drying up real fast, one of my suppliers is doing a double-time to try and locate some for me as we use them in my FMA classes, so far he found me two of them:eek: ..... More expensive Balis with retail prices exceeding $250.00 are still gottable....Doc::(

[Th232]

Even more reason for Sal to get Spyderfly production back on track!

Of course balis are still illegal here without a prohibited weapons permit... *grumbles*

[Michael Cook]

:spyder: Does Sal have any intention of continuing production after being burned so badly?:spyder:

[Dr. Snubnose]

Don't quote me on this one...but I think he is considering limited runs for sale to law enforcement and military only...but I could be wrong....best to wait for a response from Sal before speculating......Doc:D

[KaliGman]

Doc,

I believe the supply will be OK in a few months or so, though probably a bit more expensive than before. The current interpretation of the federal "switchblade" statutes bans the importation of parts for balisongs or complete balisongs. I expect some people to be making some cheaper balisongs in the good old USA with USA made parts, which will be legal--except for sending them through the US Postal Service. I would expect, with all US parts, for the price to escalate a bit. It appears, as of now, that the convolutions necessary to make production of balisongs a reality are: a) make all parts in the US b) put the knives together in the US c) ship them via UPS or FedEx. Very strange interpretations of the law in my opinion, and there may be a crackdown on "loopholes" later. Then again, I would think that the interpretation that a couple of Assistant United States Attorneys have reached in regard to this law would be hard to justify if it ever went to court (courts are such a strange battlefield, though, so you never know).

As for Spyderco--the last I heard, when I inquired about a Spyderfly trainer or two that I wished to buy, was that Spyderco was going to be making all of the flys in the US, with US made parts, in the near future. I expect Sal and company are currently having their lawyers get a couple of opinions from prosecutors, etc. and drafting a few legal briefs to make sure that the interpretation of the law doesn't shift again after they have invested more money in flys. I would think that, if the legal situation stays static for a time, Spyderco will produce flys in a year or so, but that they will be wary of stockpiling parts which may later be deemed illegal through another switch in interpretation of the law, so flys will probably not be a big production item. Of course, that last guess about part stockpiling is just pure speculation on my part, but Sal didn't get where he is without a lot of business sense.

As for cheap flys right now, Bear cutlery still seems to have some in stock--check knifecenter.com or the Bear website. Knifecenter shows some flys in stock and I have found that, unlike many, their "in stock" tag on the web usually means "in stock" in their warehouse.

Take care.

[Dr. Snubnose]

Thanks KaliGman...I have some balis coming from Bear...I hope what you say comes about real soon would hate to see the balisong become a dino....Doc:D