Bushing System 6061 Aluminum Channel Handle Bottle Opener Training Tools for Practicing Flipping Multifunctional Tools (cyan)

The media could not be loaded.  I am a mechanical engineer and I have been a flipper for 10 years and this trainer is exciting to me!TLDR: I don't think there is another balisong that is a better beginner knife than this if the Nabalis Vulp is out of your price range.Pros: The first most major pro is that this trainer has bushings while being under 50$. This means the tuning process and tune stability is far above other knives in this price range, resulting in a flipping experience that is predictable and fluid. The quality feels good, far closer to my Antarctic 2 than the Nabalis G10 I have previously recommended as a starter balisong. Lastly, and this is subjective, but I find the sound to be a nice combination of base-y and clack-yNeutral observations: This is a very heavy trainer which is helpful with flowing between tricks and maintaining energy, however it will tire out your fingers faster and will slow down your tricks. This could be a pro or a con depending on your preferences.Cons: The balance of the balisong makes it difficult to do fans or parabolics in my experience. Additionally there isn't a ton of grip which can make ladders difficult when it's cold or your hands are sweaty.This knife excites me because it is pushing the boundary of price to performance and demonstrates that Vudwson is a company that is willing to give up on terrible trainers and follow Nabalis in pursuing quality at a budget, while also experimenting with their own designs and having something new and unique to offer.Get this balisong if you are buying your first trainer, get this trainer if you are looking for an inexpensive beater, get this trainer if you are filling out a gap in your collection (as I did) and most of all get this trainer to encourage companies to invest in innovation and quality products.I would love to get in contact with customer support and learn what the next step for Vudwson is and give my compliments as well as more detailed feedback directly.

Great buy does not hurt to hit knuckle

It felt nice in the hands when I got it, the glass breakers on the bottom of the handles make the balance pretty weird so I took them out (literally cut them off) and it just felt weirder, fans and rollovers feel like they don’t carry enough momentum, the tolerances were also questionable but over all it flips, just not the best flipper obviously.

This is a good trainer for the price. If you read to the end, please be aware that I like it and am happy with it and I think the $35 price is reasonable, but I wanted to write a thorough listing especially in case the seller might want some feedback. I also almost gave it 4 stars though, so clearly I wasn't a total fan.It's well designed and is a serious attempt to deliver a quality product at a budget level. It's got to be one of the best metal budget training balisongs under $40.But there are downsides. The glass break ends are not good for something that is going to be dropped while you are working on improving your skills. Working over a carpet or a couch or something is required - not over hardwood floors or concrete or ceramic or tiled floors or anything else that would show damage forever. If I could remove them, I would.....which brings me to my second issue - it's a handle heavy bias. Not by much, but fans tend to spin up the blade because the weight of the handles pulls it up. And on the flip side (no pun intended) the glass break points do make fans easier.Contrary to the listing, there is tap (about 4mm) and play (about 6-7mm). This might be due to drops, but I've dropped it less than 20 times and I don't remember any really hard ones (but it's possible I forgot one). It's definitely not been through anything overly traumatic, yet it did seem to start out tighter.It's noisy and clacky, mostly because of the tap/play but also the ends of travel make a metal popping sounds. I don't mind that - I kind of like it - it's the interim sounds I don't like. That said, I've done nothing to try to tighten it up.Which brings me to my next issue, no spare parts. Not a huge deal on something so nicely and tightly assembled and cheap but I wouldn't even know where to get a new pivot screw for example. Also the Zen Pins are not removable (with a screwdriver, I guess anything is removable with the right hammer). I've also gotten a full set of replacement parts on cheaper trainers.The reason I haven't tried to tighten it up is because it's a bushing design (which is a big plus) and if it's wobbly that usually means bad things, and either the bushings or the blade have a defect and require replacement. But every once in while, tightening does the perfect clamping down and the washers remove wobble. So if it works when I do tighten, I'll come back and edit.I did lube it up with some KPL (which I always do) and it did make it a bit smoother - but it came pretty darn smooth.I do like the training blade/bottle opener a lot. Probably my favorite of my low end trainers, period.I'm seriously considering drilling out the glass break ends and plugging them with some other weights that won't be some damaging. Like rolled up hundred dollar bills to be gangsta. Or something actually real.The only better metal trainer Bali that I have in this price range is a Marcoli that was $5 or $10 cheaper with wood handlegrips almost no tap or play at all. And I've dropped it a bunch. It's not available anymore, so it may come back at a higher price - it's worth it if it does. It also came with an cheap L T-screwdriver (like T8 and T6 ot 5) and two replacements for all hardware (bushings, pivot screws, zen pins, handle pins, latch pins, etc) which is good because I forgot to locktite everything and lost a little one in a hurry.Which reminds me, I haven't used locktite on this one. If the screws don't loosen on a Bali, I normally don't mess with them until I need to. I do check every screw every five minutes on every Bali that I'm using and after every big drop. I've just made it a habit.Overall, it performs great and serves the purpose it's meant for - to help you train your moves and improve without cutting into your fingers or other things. Given the lightweight comfortable aluminum handles and the smoothness overall, this is a trainer any newbie (or oldbie) would be happy to have in their low budget collection. I think they would make excellent gifts as well. I do wish I knew where to get official replacement parts, but it's a low enough price that grabbing a second one is an easy call.It's a great product and I look forward to more coming from the brand.Recommended.

The media could not be loaded.  While safe enough for beginners, this thing handles very well. I love that it's also a bottle opener. Hello new party trick!