History Main / ButterflyKnife

* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'''s Spy has a butterfly knife as his default melee weapon. It can be used for a relatively weak stab[[labelnote:*]][[FanNickname labeled "butter knife" by fans]][[/labelnote]], or an [[OneHitKill instant-kill]] BackStab.

** In "Though The Looking Glass", Alice has to [[EnemyMine team up with Kate Kane]]. She starts to flip around her balisong while bored, then encourages Kate to have a try. When Kate refuses, Alice claims it's because she doesn't know how to use one and doesn't want to admit it. Later Alice [[GiveMeASword throws Kate the balisong]] and it turns out she can use it quite well.

** The WeaponOfChoice for Alice, who lampshades the advantage of being able to [[EvilIsHammy flip it around in a menacing fashion]] while explaining your EvilPlan.

* ''Series/Batwoman2019''. The WeaponOfChoice for Alice, who lampshades the advantage of being able to [[EvilIsHammy flip it around in a menacing fashion]] while explaining your EvilPlan.

* Frank gets a minor awesome moment in ''Film/ThePunisher2004'' when an abusive boyfriend of Joanie's pulls one on him while drunkenly mumbling threats. Frank [[TalkToTheFist immediately punches the dude's nose in]] and takes the knife, expertly closing it and admonishing the guy not to play with knives before smacking him hard on his already broken nose with the hilt.

* Taken UpToEleven in ''Manga/BattleAngelAlita''. After losing her motorball racer body, Alita has its BladeBelowTheShoulder converted into a Butterfly [[BladeOnAStick Polearm]].
* ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'': Rui Habashira uses a butterfly knife, since the [[GangOfHats hat]] of the Zokugaku Chameleons is playing up stereotypes of Japanese delinquents.

* ''FanFic/ThisBites'': After the Thriller Bark arc, Usopp and Franky forge weapons for the crew laced with [[PowerNullifier sea prism stone]]. Robin gets one of these and wields it like the master assassin that she is.

* Appears as a fairly common weapon in ''VideoGame/{{Postal}} 2'' under the name Balisong. Not particularly powerful in a straight fight, but it will kill any civilian (that is, not a soldier, police officer, or Taliban) in a single BackStab.

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The first butterfly knives have been manufactured in Spain in 1550. The oldest surviving dates to France 1710. The traditional balisong is said to be called the ''veinte y nueve'' because they are 29 centimeters long when opened, while another story goes that it is named after a lone Batangueño who fought off 29 assailants using one.

* ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'': One of the street thugs has a butterfly knife styled to resemble a Japanese blade, one of the many historical anachronisms in the show.

* ''Manga/SoulEaterNot'': Mai Thi Hoang, a.k.a. Eternal Feather, is a UsefulNotes/{{Vietnam}}ese Demon Butterfly Knife. She can transform her arms into butterfly knife blades, and it is even hinted that she might be an Autonomous Weapon.

[[folder:Film]]

* Joey Pants' character pulls one on ''Film/TheGoonies'' when confronting them at the waterfall. He doesn't even bother with any fancy opening tricks and simply unfolds it because, hey, pulling a knife on a bunch of kids is probably going to scare them anyway.

* Frank gets a minor awesome moment in ''Film/ThePunisher2004'' when an abusive boyfriend of Joanie's pulls one on him while drunkenly mumbling threats. Frank [[TalkToTheFist immediately punches the dude's nose in]] and takes the knife, expertly closing it and admonishing the guy not to play with knives before smacking him hard on his already broken nose with the hilt.

* Creator/ChowYunFat's Gou Fei uses one during the first major fight of ''Film/FullContact''.
* One of the Lords of Death brings one out in ''Film/BigTroubleInLittleChina'', along with a telescopic baton. He doesn't actually use them though, just waves them at Jack until another guy trips Jack up from behind.
* Hannibal Chau brandishes a gold-plated one during a few scenes in ''Film/PacificRim''. [[spoiler: He later uses it to cut out of a {{Kaiju}}'s stomach.]]

* In ''Battle Creek Brawl'', Jerry's second-to-last fight is against Leggetti, a treacherous mob goon who likes to hurt people with the twin butterfly knives that he carries. Jerry ends up neutralizing the blades by tying Leggetti's hands together with a strip of cloth.
* During the torture scene in ''Film/SharkysMachine'' (1981), a thug played by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Inosanto Dan Inosanto]] brandishes a balisong to intimidate Sharkey, who only asks if he's auditioning for a job at [[https://www.benihana.com/ Benihana's]]. Then the thug starts using it to [[MutilationInterrogation cut off Sharkey's fingers]].
* Martial artist and stuntman Jeff Imada has written a couple of books on the history and use of the balisong and puts his talent to use in several movies.
** ''Film/BigTroubleInLittleChina'' opens with Imada doing a balisong/stick routine.
** ''Film/NiceDreams'' has him playing a waiter who uses a balisong to [[MundaneMadeAwesome open a bottle of wine]].
** In ''Film/{{Payback}}'', the Chow's Bodyguard, played by Imada, flips a butterfly knife and prepares to [[GroinAttack cut]] Porter before being interrupted by the [[DirtyCop corrupt cops]].
** Imada was stunt co-ordinator for ''Mission of Justice'', which has plenty of balisong usage.
* In ''Film/LethalWeapon4'', one of [[Creator/JetLi Wah Sing Ku]]'s {{mook}}s wields a butterfly knife. Oddly, Jeff Imada plays the other mook.
* ''Film/MissionImpossibleFallout''. Concealed as StockingFiller by the White Widow and used against several knife-wielding assassins [[EstablishingCharacterMoment to show she's not just a pretty face]].

* In an early episode of ''Series/BurnNotice'' Michael uses one to puncture a tire.

* In the ''Series/WhiteCollar'' third mid-season finale "Countdown", Keller [[TheSnackIsMoreInteresting snacks on a mango]] while threatening Mozzie, cutting pieces off with a butterfly knife. It is locked open and not flipped, which would be difficult to do while coated in juice.

* A 1980's made-for-TV movie "Trial of the Incredible Hulk" (the Bixby-Ferrigno version), introduced the character Daredevil. A mook attempts to threaten Daredevil with some noisy balisong flipping, to which The Man Without Fear simply comments "Your knife hurts my ears" before pounding the guy.
* ''Series/Batwoman2019''. The WeaponOfChoice for Alice, who lampshades the advantage of being able to [[EvilIsHammy flip it around in a menacing fashion]] while explaining your EvilPlan.

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* ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations'' has a special variant that converts into a key. It even has a butterfly motif.
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* Brayko from ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' uses a butterfly knife. He flips it during combat when he goes on his [[TurnsRed cocaine-fueled stabby rampages]]. After dealing with him, you get it as a souvenir in your safehouse, with Mike noting that there's still enough coke residue on it to get really high.
* In ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' a butterfly knife is one of the many melee weapons the protagonist can use.
* Appears as a fairly common weapon in ''VideoGame/{{Postal}} 2'' under the name Balisong. Not particularly powerful in a straight fight, but it will kill any civilian (that is, not a soldier, police officer, or Taliban) in a single BackStab.
* Certain {{mook}}s carry them in ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber''. Idle guards can be seen flipping them open and close.
* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' has an odd example; From ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance'' to ''VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon'', resident KnifeNut Kano's [[StanceSystem weapons fighting style]] was marked as "Butterfly Knives", despite him DualWielding what looks more like a pair of Bowie knives. This is due to developer error: the weapons in question are actually known as butterfly ''swords'', meaning the devs made the mistake noted in the description of confusing two unrelated weapons.

* In ''VideoGame/Payday2'' a butterfly knife is Sydney's signature melee weapon under the name of "Wing". It is not very powerful or fast, but is easy to conceal for stealth.

* Creator/ChowYunFat's Gou Fei uses one during the first major fight of ''Full Contact''.

* In ''VideoGame/Payday2'' a butterfly knife is Sydney's signature melee weapon under the name of "Wing". It is not very powerful or fast, but is easy to conceal for stealth.

* ''VideoGame/MortalKombat'' has an odd example; From ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance'' to ''VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon'', resident KnifeNut Kano's [[StanceSystem weapons fighting style]] was marked as "Butterfly Knives", despite him DualWielding what looks more like a pair of Bowie knives. This is due to developer error: the weapons in question are actually known as butterfly ''swords'', meaning the devs made the mistake noted in the description of confusing two unrelated weapons.

* ''Series/Batwoman2019''. The WeaponOfChoice for Alice, who lampshades the advantage of being able to flip it around in a menacing fashion while explaining your EvilPlan.

* ''Series/Batwoman2019''. The WeaponOfChoice for Alice, who lampshades the advantage of being able to flip it around while explaining your EvilPlan.

* One of the street thugs in ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'' has a butterfly knife styled to resemble a Japanese blade, one of the many historical anachronisms in the show.

* Mai Thi Hoang, a.k.a. Eternal Feather from ''Manga/SoulEaterNot'' is a UsefulNotes/{{Vietnam}}ese Demon Butterfly Knife. She can transform her arms into butterfly knife blades, and it is even hinted that she might be an Autonomous Weapon.
* Rui Habashira from ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'' uses a butterfly knife, since the [[GangOfHats hat]] of the Zokugaku Chameleons is playing up stereotypes of Japanese delinquents.
* In the first episode of ''Anime/YashahimePrincessHalfDemon'', one of the delinquents that takes Towa's family hostage pulls a butterfly knife (and fumbles when trying to open it), then uses it to threaten to hurt her little sister. Unfortunately for him, this just causes Towa to decide [[TheGlovesComeOff to stop holding back]].

The butterfly knife, also known as a ''balisong'', is a traditional Filipino knife. Its design, with two rotating handles, allow it to be [[WeaponTwirling flipped open]] [[RetractableWeapon and closed]]. It will usually appear in the hands of a KnifeNut, who will perform a complex, flashy and [[KineticClicking noisy]] flip. Anything beyond a simple and quick opening is AwesomeButImpractical as the hand is vulnerable to a strike disarm throughout the manipulation. Less frequently, a character will flip one open without fanfare and [[MundaneUtility use it to cut something]].

* Two-Bit in ''Film/TheOutsiders'' carries a butterfly knife. In an early confrontation, he [[GrievousBottleyHarm smashes a bottle]] on a fence, passes it to Ponyboy, and flips his knife open.

* In ''Battle Creek Brawl'', Jerry's second-to-last fight is against Leggetti, a treacherous mob goon who likes to hurt people with the twin buttefly knives that he carries. Jerry ends up neutralizing the blades by tying Leggetti's hands together with a strip of cloth.

* Martial artist and stuntman Jeff Imada has written a couple of books on the history and use of the balisong, and puts his talent to use in several movies.

* In ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'', Gabriel Tosh flips a butterfly knife during some of his conversations. Since it is computer generated, his manipulations are fast and crisp. [[spoiler:If the player picks Nova's mission, she will flip the knife after assassinating him.]]

* Angelina Jolie has a pair, and demonstrated how to use one on Conan O'Brien's show.

* Another non-weapon variation is the butterfly knife bottle opener. The more common variety has the wide spoon-shaped end usually seen on bottle openers, and is distrusted as a mere novelty for its lack of balance as a result. A rarer variation is made from a section of metal with bottle opener hooks cut into the side. This version is substantially better balanced and therefore handles trick performance much more easily, but is harder to use in its intended drink-serving function.

* ''Film/MissionImpossibleFallout''. Used as StockingFiller.

->'''Mindy:''' Look, I'd love a Benchmade Model 42 butterfly knife.\\
'''Damon:''' [in relief] Oh, child. You always knock me for a loop. You know what? [...] I'm gonna get you two.\\
'''Mindy:''' Two?\\
'''Damon:''' One balisong. Two balisong. That's what you get.

Not to be confused with [[{{UsefulNotes/Swords}} butterfly swords]], which are single-edged short-swords that are [[DualWielding dual-wielded]] and used in Chinese Kung Fu.

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[[folder: AnimeAndManga]]

* Mai Thi Hoang, a.k.a. Eternal Feather from ''Manga/SoulEaterNot'' is a [[UsefulNotes/{{Vietnam}} Vietnamese]] Demon Butterfly Knife. She can transform her arms into butterfly knife blades, and it is even hinted that she might be an Autonomous Weapon.

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[[folder: VisualNovels]]

[[folder: VideoGames]]

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--> '''Marilith:''' "Oh, I got your hall pass... here in my pants!!"

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
* [[{{CoDragons}} Co-Dragon]] Xever from ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 TMNT 2012]]'' [[DualWielding dual wields]] and [[DanceBattler dances]] while he fights, as you can imagine it looks pretty [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome awesome]].

[[folder:RealLife]]

* [[{{CoDragons}} Co-Dragon]] Xever from ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 TMNT 2012]]'' [[DualWielding dual wields]] and [[DanceBattler dances]] while he fights, as you can imagine it looks pretty [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome awesome]].