Moon Boat 2PCS Butterfly Training Set Metal Flipping Practice Tools for Beginners & Advanced Users Safe Design with Skeletonized Handles Black & Silver

So at one point I played TeamFortress 2 (yes I am a gamer) and one of the characters the "Spy" carries this weapon. I was curious, so I looked it up and it looked even better thandle I had imagined. Eventually I had the wonderful joy of going to Stan Lee's Comicon (formerly known as comicazi) and I saw one for sale. I decided to buy it, but it broke within the first day. If you ever see one of those Balisongs with the colored handle, it is likely that you will have a similar experience. But this Balisong has provided a much more satisfactory experience. I was rather surprised at the weight of the object. I now come to realize that this has to do with the high quality of the metal. This thing will take much abuse and the inevitable dropping that comes with getting a balisong. At first, it is extremely stiff and you cannot flip it properly, although holding one handle and moving the other back and foreward will help it, and likely WD40. Something that people have complained about in the past is the screws loosening. I have flipped this knife for hours, and they have not come out. As you likely know, this is a trainer, and the blade is not sharp. Also it comes with a nice case for it.

I’ve had it for around a year so my review should speak a lot of truths about this product. It’s a good trainer. It turns well, the weight is nice. But the latch broke, and the dummy blade wobbles funny now. But I also only spent ten dollars, so it’s getting five stars. It did exceptional for its price. Don’t expect the world from this cheap of product, be aware it will work well after a year of use, but don’t expect benchmade quality. And yes the sheath/cover that comes with it is very cheaply made. But it matches reasonable expectations perfectly.

If this is your first practice balisong or butterfly knife then it is probably a good start. This was purchased for my son since he didn't take to the whole fidget spinner fad. Since he has ADHD, I wanted to find something to help him focus and provide a distraction from too much screen time. Or am I the only parent with screen time challenges? Well, in about 2 months, we gone from his first homemade, Popsicle stick butterfly knife to now his fourth metal practice one. Here in CA butterfly knives are legal to collect but illegal to use, don't ask, I just live here. Since these practice ones don't have a sharpen blade, technically they are not knives so I felt comfortable with getting him some. He has 2 curved ones, similar to the ones in the CS-GO video games (ask your kids if you don't know what I am talking about) and another straight handled one from M-Tech (made in USA?). He spends an incredible amount of time practicing all these different flipping hand tricks and has gotten proficient. But in the journey there, these practice butterfly knives have hit the carpet, sofa and bed literally a thousand times. The problem with the majority of the ones available on Amazon or the "bay" auction site, are they are from Asia and are assembled with TORX screws. Now TORX screws in themselves are not a bad thing. They are easily tightened (with the correct tool, which some of the practice butterfly knives come with) or disassembled to clean and lubricate. But the problem is, with every flip trick and drop on the ground it loosens up. So you either keep tightening the screws or eventually loose them. You can apply some thread locking fluid but with such small surface area on a 2mm thread, I have had very little success with it staying secure. So this was my reason for choosing this Moon Boat practice butterfly knife, like some "real" knives was it is assembled with rivets and not screws. In theory it should be better quality or at least last longer right? Well, not so much. When we first received the Moon Boat, the handles were slightly tight, so I lubed the handles and it loosed up nicely within the first dozen or so flips and performed wonderfully for a few hours. The picture I uploaded is less than 24 hours of ownership and the handles are quite a bit out of alignment. With the exception of the "Squid" brand practice balisong at 20x the price, I don't believe any on the market practice balisong knives are of industrial quality. Bear in mind, the loose handles don't seem to impair most of the basic flipping tricks but if your user has aspirations to be a professional flipper (you'll know it when you see it) having handles out of alignment can mean the difference between successful tricks or frustrating misses. PROS: cost - can't complain about the price of entry. Construction - the weight and heft feels good in one's hand. Fit and finish - decent, very little paint chipping but then we are dropping it on soft surfaces. CONS: wear - the handles loosed in what was probably less than 200 flip tricks. The tang pin or pin that is in between the handles when opened, wore the cut outs on the handle in short order. So this means the handles are softer material than the blade or pin. Latch does not secure after a few dozen flips. OVERALL: for the very beginner or casual butterfly trick flipper, there is a cost / benefit than investing in a much robust offering. But for a serious trick flipper, I would say spend the extra and save some room in the junk drawer.

This balisong trainer is great for the price and has held up very well over the 3 months I've owned it. It's pretty heavy and takes a bit to get used to but the weight is distributed well. I've tried my fair share of trainers and this one is by far and away the best one I've owned; all the others either broke after a couple days, were too uncomfortable to use, or some combination of the previous conditions. The only issues I have with this product is that the paint has started flaking off a little bit (though this is purely a cosmetic problem) and there is quite a bit of play in the handles after using it as much as I have (also not really a problem in terms of functionality).

I ordered this knife a few days ago and it came earlier than expected, which is always a plus. It came in neat packaging, especially the box containing the knife itself, which is a huge bonus, considering the fact that many practice balisongs are shipped in damaged ripoff boxes from Benchmade. The knife came with a nice sheath, and the knife itself was a beauty. Amazing balance, great weight, perfect for flipping. If you came from a thinner trainer like I did, there is a bit of a learning curve, but nothing you can't overcome in a few hours. The only tiny problem I've experienced with this knife is that the latch may come loose after a certain period of time, as would happen with any trainer under 30 dollars. You can place a rubber O ring on the end of it and problem solved. Overall, a great knife worth every penny. *EDIT So I constantly used this knife, and at first, it held up great. But after 4 weeks of about an hour of flipping per day, my latch snapped off completely. I thought, "No problem, not really a need for a latch." But it made me a bit curious about the material. After closer inspection, my knife had these little scratches, which didn't bother me, until I realized these were hairline cracks. Turns out, the material was a bit brittle, and I now have a giant crack along the top of my handle, and it's nearly falling off. Was good while it lasted.

Very smooth