LATEST UPDATES:
5/7/2011
Don't forget to give your mothers a great big hug tomorrow!
I finally have the prototype in hand and will be starting production next week! This is the BEST knife I have ever flipped. Love both the Basilisk and the 4x? This knife is the best of both worlds. Seriously.
I have Ti spacers instead of G10. We might wind up going this route if it's less messy.
Ok, some quick stats on the weight balancing:
G10 handle weight: 1.1 oz
Titanium handle weight: 1.4 oz
Steel spacer weight (2): 0.7 oz
Titanium spacer weight (2): 0.4 oz
The weight has been much more evenly distributed and flipping now is a little faster and with less energy. Those of you who liked the old Basilisk flipping will LOVE the new dynamics!!
4/12/2011
Titanium prototype is a go! Next up, G10 spacers for weight balance!
This is still the original run of 106 knives. There is misinformation that there are 400 Basilisks out there but that is wrong. I know that there will not be many available and these are all already spoken for, but with new parts can come new opportunities for new knives in the future. Stay tuned for more updates..
3/7/2011
Hey guys. First I want to thank everyone who has emailed me. I think it's great to have such a strong following on this knife, despite the limited run. To answer the most commonly asked questions-- unfortunately there are no Basilisks available for sale right now. And despite not having time to reply, I do categorize each email onto a list for when future knives are available.
I am still working on a plan to get handles made. Like the rest of you, I cannot believe how many machine shops simply do not want this job. Titanium and G10 are less common than aluminum, sure, but it's not from another planet. The current status right now is that I am shooting to get a prototype handle set within the next couple of weeks.
2/9/2011
Time for a big update. Although I was able to squeeze out a couple more knives, I think ultimately with the incredible demand, finding ways to get that extra knife or two out is not the solution here. What I am working on is assembling a plan to get production going again.
It is very frustrating being a "regular joe" and going for a small order at a machine shop. Many just scoff at the idea of a "small" $8000 order, as it pales in comparison to large corporations shoving hundreds of thousands of dollars at them. That is why we all see very talented people with fantastic ideas and even some impressive skill sets and 3D modeling knowledge that never are able to bring their knife to light.
I have some great ideas for several new semi-custom production knife runs. The Basilisk was my first knife design, and I am absolutely positive that any new knives designed by me will be your favorite flippers. Your absolute keepers. I hope to one day have the larger players endorse my designs so it will be available to everyone at under $200. Different colors. Anodized or powder coated. Spring latch.
Don't worry. The quotes are still coming in. Emails are being sent out. And when I have spare time, I'll sit here and find a way to get together another slotted green and black Basilisk for old times sake.
7/27/2010
Well, the silver lining is that all 105 blades were produced. Rob was nice enough to add some variation to the newest blades, so I have some nice serrated blades, blades with file work, or both serrations and filework (but no handles!). I still have to reach out to those of you still waiting to see if you are all still interested in the handful of knives left. I am going to pull out the file and the dremel stone bits to see if I can create some liners to squeeze out an extra knife or two. Unless of course, someone can point me in the direction of a titanium machining shop with reasonable rates :)
5/19/2010
So unfortunately there has been quite a bit of setbacks with getting the Basilisk up and running. I cannot seem to get the new hand-made handles to a point where they are acceptable. Although they may be okay for Basilisk "seconds", I have not made a decision to sell discounted sub-par knives yet.
The good news is that a large box of Version 2 handles cut-outs were found that were not fully shaped yet. So I went ahead and had slots added to them, so these are as close to the original Basilisk handles as they are going to get. I have enough stainless liners to make roughly a handful more Basilisk
knives before I would have to go out find a waterjet cutting service to
create more. I will be reaching out to people who requested knives soon.
While I hate to disappoint anyone that wants a Basilisk, I am unsure if I want to sink even more money to continue the run. With Dalton Combat out of the production business, things just do not work the way that they used to. I am basically stuck without liners and cannot seem to find a way to get new handles up to snuff. I have tried spending quite a bit of money towards CNC alternatives and it does not appear that they are working out. If anyone has any information that can help, please send it my way. I would love to finish the run and have the rest of the blades available to anyone who wants one (legally!!).
I want to thank all of you for your support and interest. This has truly been the first knife that was created by the balisong community with the help of all the members. Like many of you, I am not an established knifemaker or a cutlery tycoon, but just an individual who has a love for the balisong. I wanted to create something that was truly different in appearance, construction, and that was still great to flip. The Basilisk turned out to be a great knife.
Not bad for a first try right?
Ok big update. The first set of handles to come out of the fixture is shown below. There will be some changes to the handles:
1) the hole above the upper slot was removed for increased rigidity.
2) slots no longer have a fillet/chamfer as this process was done using a ballnose on the CNC.
The good news is that the handles look and feel great. Unfortunately, without the CNC, the shaping is not 100% matched up to the liners as they used to be. While it is not immediately noticeable from the picture below, the handles do need some material removal on the sides and pivot pin area to be more flush with the liners. This will probably have to be done using some good ol fashion sandpaper but I may pick up a belt sander to make this process easier.
As always, I will be continually looking to improve things along the way. I was very excited to receive the handles. If I can get some work done on the red handles pictured below, I may offer it for sale as a prototype knife.
1/13/2010
The big delay in handles has been because the handles are now being produced by hand instead of CNC. These handles should be every bit as mechanically accurate using precision fixtures, however the process to make them is much more labor intensive. Better late than never! The creation of these handles are still in the testing phase.
Unlike previous handle runs, a few colors will be made, followed by another set of colors, etc. Numerous colors will not be made at the same time. So if you see a handle color that interests you, please let me know you are interested asap as once they are gone, they will not be remade.
The first of these colors will be Red/Black
12/4/2009
It has been brought to my attention that there have been associations of some Dalton Combat knives with offensive symbols/logos. While I cannot speak on Rob's behalf about this very serious issue, Twirl Designs, Jerry Hom, or the Basilisk line, does not bear any connection whatsoever to any politically incorrect or offensive symbols and meanings. The Basilisk line is a knife that was designed based on ideas gathered from enthusiast knife forums.
9/12/2009
Some new pictures below of the new blades. I have six of these full satin blades and am not sure if I will be getting more. The good news is that even though Dalton's etching machine broke, some blades may now have a nifty stamp on them. I messed around a bit with the black smooth handles and have a one of a kind Basilisk with some "obsidian" G10.
8/26/2009
Patiently waiting for the new blades. The ones arriving this week should be beautiful.
I am thinning down my Benchmade balisong collection. If anyone is interested, I have listed some pretty hard to find Benchmade balisongs below. The knives are brand new, never flipped, and come with the Benchmade box:
BM42-400 spring latch, Ti handles, zen pins, pocket clip, no pouch $SOLD
BM 41-SS spring latch, SS handles, zen pins, pouch $SOLD
BM46MCD2 spring latch, Ti handles, spear point, no pouch $SOLD
All of the above are limited editions and very hard to find now. I have a BM42 and BM47 Ti, spring latch versions that I may consider selling too, they are very(VERY) lightly flipped. (sorry all have been sold)
7/23/2009
The reason for the big delay has been that Dalton's etching machine is dead. I spoke with Rob today and he will have the new blades stamped with "HOM". I will still have blades with "HOM/DALTON" on them so there will be a good bit of variety.
After the blades are done, the handles should wrap up.
Please do your research and determine the details with the legality of balisongs in your area. I realize our constitutional right allows us to own collectibles such as my knives, but let's all do our best to abide by the law as well.
6/16/2009
There is currently a bit of debate on the legality of bali-song knives in some specific areas right now. For now, please email me for availability, as my knives are still available to law enforcement and other specific individuals(ie. FFL dealers).
2/26/2009
Although I have been busy as hell lately, things are not stopping in terms of new updates for the Basilisk.
There will eventually be a third and final handle set with the knife. All handles will be slotted and have very interesting G10 colors.
I may still have handles left in unslotted form, so please contact me right away as they will not be remade. As everyone knows, once something is gone, it's very hard to get a hold of, such as the original slotted 3D green/black G10.
I have half satin/half bead blasted blades available now. They have quite an interesting look. The contrast is not as apparent in person.
1/29/2009
Happy new year! I have decided that everyone could use more info on how to order in what kind of configuration, so the Sales page has been overhauled.
I have also updated the Design page, so the process of designing this knife is now completely listed with pictures!
I now have proper bushings, plenty of colors available, but as always, customization may take time and handle sets are extremely limited. Once a color or style is sold out, it will most likely not be remade. There are about 1-3 sets of handles available in each color for the Basilisk handle set 2.0, so if something gets your attention, it is best to order or pre-order as soon as possible.
There continues to be a wait on Satin finished blades, but hopefully these will be available soon.
11/07/2008
I apologize to everyone for the lack of updates. The Basilisk Balisongs have been put on hold for several months due to a lack of parts. Parts were recently received, but knives are still on hold as the bushing diameter was incorrect. Rob Dalton will be sending the parts back shortly. Although customization has gotten more difficult for those looking for specific looking handle configurations, I will start posting available configurations that I can provide.
Currently on hand, I can produce knives with smooth blue/black handles or smooth red handles. These are unblasted handles and have a smoother feel and cleaner look to them, but do not have the grippy texture of the blasted G10 handles. The red handles are actually dark red, and look brighter in the picture. They really are stunning.
The black set of handles shown above are also not blasted, and are being used for an experimental "mirror polish" right now. The goal is to have an appearance similar to obsidian. I will post pictures on the progression on a forum.
Handles without slots and grippy G10 will soon be available in black, red, blue, green/black, and black/blue. As always, handle colors are limited and if something interests you, it is best to email me as soon as possible to reserve it.
Handles in the future will most likely be slotted again. I may have some exciting new G10 colors in the works in the future.
I want to thank all of you who have emailed me, and I will try to get the responses out to all of you soon.
7/14/2008
For those of you that know, I have been dealing with a difficult situation for the past month. But I have not forgotten about those who are waiting for knives. A box with orange/black handles(that many of you mistaken as wood), and green/black slotted handles should be arriving tomorrow or Wednesday. I need to check over the green /black handles to make sure they work, but anyone waiting on an orange/black knife should be pretty set. Thank you for your orders.
6/24/2008
The package from Dalton Combat arrived, but unfortunately came up short in the parts that were backordered. I will hopefully be getting orange/black and slotted green/black handles rushed over to me this week.
The good news however, is that for those looking to purchase unslotted green/black handles, I have them available. The blue/black handles that arrived do look quite stunning as well. Dalton did a good job getting the color out of them.
6/12/2008
I apologize for the delay in the arrival of parts. Rob Dalton told me that the package is together and shipping out tomorrow, and should arrive in the middle of next week.
6/05/2008
I would like to thank all of you who ordered. I am still waiting for the new parts to arrive from Dalton Combat, and will update again when it does. I will eventually incorporate a reviews section to this website, but for now, here are two links:
http://web.mac.com/ptelep/iWeb/Balisong/Basilisk.html
http://balisongcollector.com/jerryHom/basilisk1.html
Thanks to Chuck and Peter for taking the time to post these.
4/25/2008
After a long delay on getting new parts in, I now have new knives available! Please check the Basilisk Gallery for new photos.
I have Basilisk Balisongs available in Blue G10, Orange/black G10, Red G10, and Black/Blue G10. Blue, Orange/black, and black /blue knives have unslotted handles.
Please email me for availability and pricing.
10/17/2007
Forget the paypal fees. I have decided to just eat all of the fees if anyone decides to pay with paypal.
I am experimenting with offering a color option as well as a blade finish option. There may be a slight bump in cost for either the handle colors or the satin blade finish. The green/black remains to be my favorite, of course-- but I know not everyone has the same taste.
Here is a small preview:
8/22/2007
A new balisong is coming from Dalton Combat..
Please email Rob (daltoncombat@aol.com) about "Wings".
New Basilisk pictures are now on The Basilisk Gallery.
Still working on getting a reviews page going. The new Basilisks are being slightly more tuned with reduced width bearings to truly have a lack of blade play.
8/6/2007
Very large update coming on the week of the 13th. Most of the blades are with Rob Dalton right now getting etched, and they will be available again next week. New pictures and content to come, as well as links to reviews. Thanks!
7/26/2007
Etched blades are here! For those who have previous blades and would like the etching on them, please email me and I will work out something to have the etching put on.
I will be on business for the next two weeks and will be coming back in mid August. Until then I can still take pre-orders, and of course answer questions. I got a handful of bearings, and they will be on their way to owners of the older Basilisk knives shortly.
7/23/2007
Been a while since my last update, but I've still been working on the next batch of knives to arrive. Blades #30 and on will have HOM/DALTON etching on the blade, but of course not everyone prefers this so I still have several blades that are not etched. It is also possible to get the previous numbered blades etched as well. Just email me and I'll take care of it!
I have been really trying to wrap up the rest of the blades, and get the bearings sent to me so I can send them out to those who have contacted me with that request. As soon as they arrive, I'll send them out. Thanks to those who have ordered.
And by the way, new video :)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SA9ZK4EU
7/10/2007
I have been speaking with the soon to be proud owner of Basilisk #008, and we had worked out something where I'd experiment a little to make his knife more solid.
After speaking to some owners who attempted a little DIY with their Basilisk knives, I had purchased a simple draw file and added some hand work to reduce the thickness of the already-thinner new bushings. The end result is that the blade play is further lessened!
Word of caution though-- one of the bushings that I had filed down had made the blade stick, even though it was the same thickness on the micrometer as the other bushing that worked just fine.
7/5/2007
I have heard great things about Breakfree CLP, even protecting from saltwater exposure. All bead blasted metal parts will be lubricated with this.
"Engineering" now explains the knife features more in detail, including the bushing system and G10.
"Design" is under construction right now.
"About Me" has a few tidbits added in.
"Maintenance and Care" section added with how to protect your knife from rust
and of course, just a small new photo in "The Basilisk"
7/3/2007
Something very important that I keep forgetting to mention is that this knife is manufactured in the USA by Dalton Combat. The "Engineering" section will be undergoing some changes in the next few days to highlight the features of the Basilisk and explain more in detail on how the bushing system works. And of course "The Basilisk" is always constantly updated with new pictures.
7/2/2007
Preordered knives are shipping out tomorrow. Depending on what I have available, I am offering a choice of colors of either more green or more black. Each set of handle scales still looks incredible, but just in case someone had a thing for green or really liked black, the option is there, for now. I also have #25 in an equal mix of both(like #1-13) available as well.
Please check "Sales" for what numbers are assembled and ready to ship, and please check "The Basilisk" for pictures of the latest knives.
6/28/2007
Apparently I can't count. 16 knives would be.. #14-29. Those who emailed me with preorders will have their knives built tonight for shipping on Monday.
Changes are slightly tighter bearings, and a slightly smaller latch.
After preorders are filled, I will still have some knives from this run available for sale. Please send me an email if interested!
6/27/2007
#14-#30 are arriving tomorrow. All pre-orders for those who have requested serial numbers within those numbers will have their knives shortly! Will update the page tomorrow with a report on how the improvements worked out.
Two new pictures uploaded to "The Basilisk".
6/25/2007
The next batch of knives that are arriving at the end of this week are knives numbered #14-#30. Those who have contacted me first that requested these serial numbers will receive their knives as soon as I can build them.
I am also working on improvements that will appear on all new knives, and also be easily fitted into knives #1-13.
6/22/2007
I have a temporary solution for paypal users at the moment. I will split the fees, 1.5% each way. That way it shouldnt deter anyone from purchasing one of my knives with any form of paypal.
Email address has changed. Please email me at hom.jerry@gmail.com for further inquiries.
With all this updating and assembling(#4-13 is now on the truck to their new owners!), I havent had much chance to flip the Basilisk. I just gave #002 a good flip and I think you all will love the G10. It is functionally grippy, but aesthetically beautiful as well. The solid stainless spacers give the handles a good hefty swing and the THICK blade helps counter balance that!
Thanks!
12am midnight:
Yeah, I think I'm done for today.
6/21/2007
Basilisk, Engineering, and Sales pages updated-- Please check the Basilisk page for new pictures!
First batch #1-14 has been sold. Second set arriving soon!
6/20/2007
Got the parts in! Looks like it's going to be a long night of assembly.. will update tomorrow will official pictures. For now here's an idea of what I'm going through:
#2 and #3 are done so far, and the G10 came out great! Major updates tomorrow..
6/14/2007
New content added in "Design"
Just got word that the surface radius of the handles are going to cost an extra $25 a knife. I plan on sticking very closely to $280 however and will most likely increase the cost by only $10 and eat the rest of the surface radius cost. I apologize for any disappointed feelings, but I promise that the rounded handles are worth every bit of it.
The remaining parts are arriving next week, and I will be building #1-12 on Wednesday or Thursday. You can bet that I'll have a ton of pictures of the final product!
Thanks to everyone who handled my knife at Blade Show 2007!
6/8/2007
Prototype #3 is arriving at BladeShow tomorrow morning!
Now taking down emails for an official contact list for the release.
Just for fun.. a 60fps CCC video I took:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=0XC5D2BS
23.97 mb
6/6/2007
Prototype 3 is in! Many new pictures on "The Basilisk"
See the video here:
http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b158/brightfish/T400/?action=view¤t=basilisk.flv
My knife is being shipped to BladeShow 2007 tomorrow!
5/31/2007
"Sales" information added
Content added to "Design"
Flip my new knife at BladeShow 2007! Please contact Duane at EDCknives.com for details.
5/29/2007: Spacers and Pouches have arrived.