Elb balisong prototype review

cardoso5fr

Well-Known Member
I received the beast last Thursday :D

It’s the Emmanuel Lebrun Balisong Prototype

http://www.elbcouteaux.com/

Technical data,

RWL34 4" blade, ta6v4 handle, stainless spacer, IKBS. Tlatch. 144g.

Review

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The knife arrived in a nice pouch. With the toxic green logo from Manu. It’s really pro :D

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That is very clean, the line are smooth and nice, everything is sweet. The milling on the handle is great, the blasting give something really nice too. That is only the prototype, the completion level is a bit under the production one that Manu will do :D
The screw are put in the handle with a soft and nice milling. I enjoy the spacer and latch handle , they go through the handle and spacer to screw in the other part of the handle. I enjoy really that sort of building I use myself.

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Everything is perfectly cantered, well build, that is solid and strong. Nothing special to say. Stainless spacer give some inertia. They are really great.

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The latch is simply a Tlatch because Manu don’t find some stainless steel spring not too much expensive. But he is working on various solution to have something really better. (I gave him one or two idea :D))
It’s clean, it’s soft, it’s well anodized, the T from the latch seem to be in 440c as the zen pins. That is perfect, it’s functional as open than closed. But as there is no washer , the latch move a lot during the flip. That will be change for the next balisong from manu :D. The latch gate was in the project, but Manu forgot during the work :D. That will be change too for the production balisong :D. But the latch gate won’t probably be useful because of spring or other systeme :D

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440C zens pins not hardened. That is the use piece of that balisong. If they are used, it’s easy to change them. They aren’t hardened to avoid to marked too much the blade and to put the latch too soft. It’s easier to change the pin than to solve a problem on the blade zen cup :D. The bump is a bit less strong than with stainless hardened pin, but that is not very important :D. That is not a bad idea to keep them annealed.

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The blade is realy awesome. The hand rub is nice (and it’s not the best that manu has done, that is simply the proto….). The visual balance of the blade is perfect for me, her highness is ok to be a real knife (not only to flip but to spread some French paté or rillette). I find the blade not too much aggressive and that is a plus for a balisong :D. The two choil give something more that I enjoy :D. A part of the blade back is round as on some straight razor and that is confortable when you flip. Everything is in line when the tlatch is put in place. The next one will maybe have a bit more space between handle but I will speak about that after.

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Manu Logo and IKBS one don’t make too much literature on the blade and i like manu’s one :D. And if there is IKBS logo, that is because there are a lot of small ball around the pivot :D

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It fit perfectly in hand, it’s smooth, it well build, there is some weight (144g a bit over than a 42)

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I thought that the bali was a bit smaller than a 42 but there is the same size, the blade is a bit longer and the handle a bit smaller.

FLIP.

The feeling is really awesome. The bali is heavier than a 42 and you find it in the finger. That is not a pandayan, but you feel the weight and the inertia. I enjoy the balisong with a bit more weight and that one is freaking good.
Stainless spacer give a good inertia, (i will take that idea for my next balisong :D)

IKBS drive alone J, it flip, move perfectly. I’m fan of balisong on bearing. And IKBS has been developed for balisong :D. The zen pins take the hit and the bump is ok. The general balance is good too.

The small problem I have is the zen cup, I’m used to flip near the heel of the blade and I pinch myself with the cup….But the bali is for nothing, that is the zen pins system….

The small space between the handle pinch a bit if you don’t pay attention, with IKBS, the handle move really fast and if you don’t pay attention…. The handle come fastly to pinch you :D. That is why Manu will make 1-2mm more space on the next one.
The latch move, but some of you know that is don’t support latch (to do or to use….). It’s functional, but it move in all the way possible, and you need to make rubber around to avoid to see him flip everywhere. But it’s the prototype and the problem will be solved with the next one. .

It flip very well, nothing to say. With the weight and even with loctite, the screw move a bit, that is less than a 1/8 or turn. I have the same problem on all my balisong and that is more or less after 1 hour of good flip :D, that is not something impressive, if you don’t try to move the handle vertically , you don’t know the screw have moved a bit, and even after that the play is far under the one you can have on a bm out of box…..

A small video that show that the bali move not too bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKjhx3sF79Q

The toxic green flipper is not awesome, but the bali is good :D. I did the video fastly last Saturday after the breakfast

It’s a real impressive work for a first balisong, i’m happy Many give a try on that project, i’m happy that a French knifemaker (high tech) is interested in balisong :D

I’m sure there will be some other balisong from Manu Lebrun in the futur (the second one is already on the bench). For a first one, that is a big hit :D
 
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