Okay so many of you have asked about the Flipping experience between these. Here's something to know: Yes, the Falcon flips good. No, it's not as good as the Kraken. You have to consider that Squid literally invented the idea of a aluminum channel balisong. They did all of the work when it came to prototyping and creating that idea, the Falcon just exists as a design that stands on the back of their work. With something like the falcon, they design it but they don't iterate on it. They don't tune every single one out of the factory for you and they don't quality check it like a smaller manufacturer would. The Kraken is on its 2.5 version with more potential updates in the future. This is because Lucas at Squid is always listening to community feedback and making much needed changes to his products to improve with time. This is something you do NOT get with the one. They are not part of the community, and they don't care about improving their products for us. This is one of the biggest reason to support smaller makers, because they support you back. The alien does not flip 700 bucks better then the falcon. It is worth that much because of the love and effort that was put into designing and creating it. If it's not worth that much to you, that's okay! It's all about what you find value in. All I want to point out is that comparing prices between a giant industry company like The One and a small business like Squid Industries is silly, they do not operate on the same scale at ALL. The price difference does equal more quality, but it also means a lot more then that.

stich must be an absolute giga chad to do all of that by JUST HAND holy bro

I think it is going to be really interesting to see how aliexpress balisongs flip

As a knife maker I can appreciate this video. Not many people understand why price are so high but THIS ⬆️ IS WHY! beautiful knife and great video. Thank you Will.

It's basically hand-made vs machine-made, hand-made is always going to be higher quality but more expensive

Finally something to send people when they say the standard knives are too expensive.

handmade knife mostly just for collector, as a normal flipper all i care about is p/p, a $50 with 8/10 and a $250 with 10/10 i already know what i'm gonna get

Honestly after hearing about the work put into the $750 knife, it seems like a pretty reasonable price and even a good price for something of that caliber.

Orange nails still so cleeeeaaan for 4 vids in a row

So what I'm hearing is other than the 'spirit' and manufacturing process. The knifes are basically the same.

I think another point that has to be kept in mind with the more expensive offerings is that partially, you are also paying for insurance on these knives / balis. With Squid and Stitch, I'm sure that if something is not right or something was machined wrong or went wrong in your experience, contacting the manufacturer will allow you to get your item looked at or tuned up with no additional charge (or a low charge), since they know their product inside and out. However, when it comes to the Chinese manufacturer who just ordered parts to make the knife and send it to you and it ends up breaking or having issues (which is much more likely in the long run given how the knife is manufactured), who can you really contact? Plus, the response will most likely be: "Well, hey, it's $50. You can just buy another one."

Now i can explain to my friends why i spend so much on balisongs. Thank you so much, i love you will!

Love seeing the explanations as to how these are made! Thanks Will

So it's more expensive because you have to pay the workers more in America than in China, and those expensive knifes are created by a small group of people, but how is quality involved? I get that the $750 knife was created by one person, but how is its quality any better just because it was handmade instead of a machine? I was hoping that u would describe the feels of flipping an expensive vs a cheap knife.

i bought the new triton for christmas with money i got and had to explain this to my dad why i paid 150$ fir three pieces of metal i drop on the ground

Great video Will. Was trying to find something to explain this to a friend of mine who’s just getting into flipping and this is perfect

Nails look nice

Great video. I'm curious to here more about how the different builds impact flipping performance. Like what details improve what parts of flipping etc.

You explained a big problem in the knife making business in general very well, I use to do blacksmithing and bladesmithing and when people see the price tag they freak out. And with all things in life you get what you pay for. And thanks for introducing me into a new hobby now I have something else for people to think I'm weird for knowing how to do lol

you just very passionately discribed,a standard issue machinist/tool and die/mold maker. which i am damn proud to be. we are a dying breed as everything is now n.c. controlled. manual machining practices are an art form that take a life time to learn and master. its sad that no one really wants to continue this life choice, but younger gen people are just not capeable of serious work and good work ethics.

Idk how out of the box Raken flips like, but my Falcon has crazy handle play and taps. It took me half hour of taking apart and reassembling to figure out that the factory made bushing is too thick. Luckily I have a super fine grinding stone so I actually had a lot of fun grinding the bushings to the perfect size. Now it flips perfectly and it doesn't have any handle play unless I press it hard.

Man I got the Marcolo trainer on Amazon from your last video on the main channel and it flips so good

TLDR: $50= Made in China by giant factories and workers paid almost nothing $250= classic American made, independent company and consistent quality $750= Work of art

I get both arguments but as a consumer I just want what is going to flip good for cheap, I own a Squiddy B and Falcon One and love both of them.

The fact that the ones with trainer blades are the same price as the real blade is really confusing. It is so much easier to make a trainer blade than a real blade.

Very nice explanation of top down production vs horizontal production vs custom one offs. Look up your YKK zipper and see how they are produced for similar vibes.

Right on Mr. Hirsch. If you don´t want to pay the price for a balisong, don´t. No one forces you to buy that one in particular. If a cheaper knive is good enough then buy a cheaper one. If you only look for good flipping performance, there are some amazing deals out there. Some examples are some of the stuff form Nabalis (Vulp, Vulp Pro, Wing, ...) or if you can get your hands on one an LDY (Orion).

As a mechanical and aerospace major who does machining regularly, I really appreciate this video.

So basically just go watch a crash course on the economy and skilled workers. Supply/Demand, the way it's made, etc.

Ok so I totally get it for these companies like Squid or creators like Stitch, my question though is in terms of big companies like Benchmade or Kershaw. Granted the lucha is under $200 but it's made largely at the same level as Theone. And the same can kinda be said for Benchmade. Those are the companies I take issue with. These multibillion dollar companies who have far greater ability to make these things on a large scale and who often outsource some of the manufacturing to China, and yet the charge quite a bit more than it seems they should. I think Benchmade is the worst example here as lets the honest, the "Butterfly tax" isn't just a made up thing. I don't know, maybe I'm totally wrong, but when it comes to these huge companies I think we let them get away with a lot in the way of price gouging.

Im sure the Krake Raken is good but i dont think the manufacturing process being more complicated makes it worth 5x the price of the Falcon, like, thats a huge difference

Also, the Kraken and The Alien flip much, much better than the One and other clone-like knives. Its almost night and day how nice the other 2 are.

Kann you make a video about tap? Pleas🥺 love your vids man

Great video, also digging the orange nails, Will. 👌

Shit, a lot better than the main channel videos imo. Was expecting the same "high energy" video but got an actual sit and talk with some good points. I shit on the more expensive brand products a lot, but I'm just butthurt that I can't afford a sexy nautilus. Once I can my problems with squid industries will go away.

I hear people comparing knives based solely off materials all to often and attempt to value them the same bc they are both say Ti and m390 or whatever while one is 150 bucks and another is 300 just bc its the same or similar materials but a product made in China and one made in American are not synonymous as you nicely illustrated in easy to understand terms . Great subject and one that needed addressed.

bro got cheese on his fingies

have you got your hands on the BBFireFly it looks sweet. i just ordered one to test it out.

How did you enjoy the cyoz?

Really good video! How do you not say umm or so for 20 minutes long?

But Will, is there a substantial increase in quality. There is more work put in but does that mean is it's a much better knife? I'm sure the more expensive one is much better but if I had a titanium knife made in China that flipped and felt the same as a hand crafted one, would that be of worse quality? I mean this in no way against you or any balisong knife maker, I'm just genuinely curious. I love your stuff man and I am beyond impressed with the effort and quality that goes into stitch's knives.

1:30 hehe cat

I can’t wait for the main channel video

Hey Will, I just got a Squid Triton and I know some basic tricks like chaplin, simple openings and a fanning, but would like to ask, how would I improve?

Damm, I did not understand how hard this process was, thank you for helping me understand

the stitched steel alien is actually the cheapest one, given the context of its origin. He could charge up to 2k, and that would be a fair price.

Oh so that's why dual tone has an extra cost

Really interesting lol, cant wait for the Ali express video

what about the performance tho? how do i know which one is just better for the money im going to be spending

Your so passionate about this topic I love it, you know how to make a good point and you do it well I have more respect for you than I did before (not to say I don’t respect you lol)

Nummy nummy nummy more content from Sir. William Hirsch

Exited for the vid

Your breakdown is 100% accurate

I know I'm late, but they say that the one's alien is bonkers

having to pay more for the process(employees, tools) is irrelevant on quality. All your paying for is the “soul” of the knife. Which isn’t worth it for a lot of people.

Got my sub!

What would you recommend for a first live blade in the $100-150 range? I’ve been thinking either the Lucha or an Atropos knife but all I’ve flipped so far has been my $30 trainer you recommended. Love the video keep up the great work!

Atropos is another custom balisong company owned by Konstantine and sell awesome balisong for china price

When he was describing stitch making the knife, why did I think of jayce in arcane

As someone who cannot at all afford to spend the money on a proper balisong, not even enough for the Falcon, clones are a great help to me. They may not be as of upmost quality of built in the USA but I see it in this way: I am not ripping off squid industries if I buy a kraken clone because it is either a clone or nothing.

Not even gonna cap. The one on the left seems infinitely better.. atleast to my eyes.

if balisongs weren't filled with so much drop culture I wouldnt even consider a clone or alien but I just dont see a purpose for spending $250 on something that is even comparable to a $50 option

yay, aliexpress balis !!

Family : The kitchen knife is to costly Me : Are you sure about that?

Going back to watch this, post Vulp launch, is very funny. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a hater, I own 2 Vulps, it's just funny that these points about TheOne can all tie back to the Vulp.

Please can someone tell me when do glider co restoke

I just bought my first knife and it's only $20 🤐 stainless china.. heavy.. lots of wiggle.. I can't imagine it's very good for a beginner.. or anyone.. but.. I'm happy to actually own a real balisong. It is a sharp knife..

Wait, so you're telling me im a cooler guy for buying the mako because it helps small businesses which have been proven to help trickle down the money stimulating the economy? Dam, im a cool guy.

About to watch this on the toilet 🥶🥶😤😤😩

can i ask where you got that bag? it looks super cool

Machine shops charge a lot of money, especially with the cost of power and tooling. Those handles out of aluminum take like 2 minutes per cycle to machine. The titanium ones probably take like 5 or more minutes but the tooling is more expensive and you go through a lot more. With aluminum you almost never have to change tooling and don't need specialty tooling like with titanium

Very informative but is everything done by hand?

Love the nails

I want to get into this but I don’t know if I want to commit to it so I don’t feel spending $750 is appropriate for me at this time. I’d love to have one because I appreciate stuff like that, but if I’m not committed to it then idk. So I’ll go with a squid for now and if I end up committing to it then I’ll consider it, because if I’m not committed then it’ll go to waste and I don’t want that to happen

Just saying i love your content ❤️

the orange nails tho kinda go crazy

Will Hirsch, I have a question. I got into flipping recently but I already got a strike and a vid taken down, I was using a trainer, and when I appealed it was declined, do you know of any ways that I can post about flipping without it getting taken down?

Ok Im impressed

So they all function the exact same, it’s just the time spent for insignificant to minor design details that don’t impact the functionality? I tend to care more about functionality than design, and will spend the most on what operates the best, regardless how long it took to do something by hand vs machine. So which balisong functions and operates the best?

My man even has an orange cat. Lmao

Good video. Toast knows it.

butterfly combs are the sword breakers of the balisong world

where the matt cook custom at

"supply and demand" to make that short

What happened to the balisong list, it's still in all your descriptions yet the link doesn't work anymore?

Hi can you do tutorials of these tricks?

The manufacturing process may be totally different, but is the flipping experience between those also totally different? Or is the difference not that big and paying 200 bucks isn’t worth it?

Where can I buy these knives?

Thanx for the lesson in mass production. It might be time for Stitch to get a real job......

so your entire argument is summed up as one essential thing.. when you buy a mid level product at quadruple the price you're getting arguably the same thing but paying extra to support some random Joe in his business growth. save money and support myself.... or spend money to support someone else.... decisions decisions..

Lol Penney is just like gimme one a dos

Kinda off topic but I think your cat is really cute

Can u please try out the Baliyo

Is it basically man made vs factory

Those balisongs are more expensive than me

showing this to my parents so i can get a kraken😂

I have so many grails and its true that a $800+ doesnt flip any better than your standard kraks, abs, and reps. The grails may in fact feel extremely different, but if you're a serious flipper then you wont necessarily find a grail to be the better flipper at the end of the day. Everyone's preferences are different when it comes to balis though. For example I think the nami sucks and I'd rather just flip a kraken

when the new vid coming out on the main ?

I’ll take factory made over hand made any day tbh

i cant belive this was 8 months ago and damn i miss penny