November 19, 2023
Description
My son wanted a trainer balisong (aka butterfly knife) for his Halloween costume. I found a few 3D Printable designs out there and printed them. But the weight and size never seemed right. So, I figured I would just custom design one for him.
Print Settings: I printed the first few layers with an accent color, no bottom layers, and 30% honeycomb infill. Then I did a M600 color change and switched to 100% rectilinear infill for weight.
The only hardware required is Qty:4 M3x10mm button heads, and Qty:4 M3 hex nuts. If you want more weight you can swap the printed pins for 5mm OD metal pins (qty:6 x 10mm, qty:2 x 12mm).
I have included the plate of STL's as well as a STEP, the original Solidworks files (sorry can't upload the assembly… MakerWorld still doesn't support the .sldasm file type). I also included a link to an Onshape import.
Video of my feeble attempt at a balisong flourish: https://photos.app.goo.gl/tg8wC2idECXPQcQW6
Modify and customize it to your hearts content.
Update: Added a rounded tip version of the blade as an optional download (More Kid Friendly)
Update 2: Hardware notes since I have had the request a few times:
"I get pretty much all my stainless metric hardware from Trimcraft Aviation RC. Gino there is amazing and so is his family. And the prices are crazy cheap for reasonable quantities. I have essentially built up an entire stainless metric hardware store with them over the years and different projects. Here is some example links.
https://www.trimcraftaviationrc.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=24_2_27&product_id=37
https://www.trimcraftaviationrc.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=14_35&product_id=133
Pretty Sure Gino buys from a wholesaler like Brighton-Best (https://www.brightonbest.com/download/catalogs/usa/BBI_USA_SS.pdf.), but breaks them down into reasonable quantities for hobbyists. And if you need something not listed just ask him, he can probably source it and add it to the website."
License:
BY-SA