I talked a little bit already about the Benchmade balisongs (the BM42 and BM32 Morpho), but Benchmade’s main competitor Spyderco also makes some balisongs or “butterfly” knives.

The first that Spyderco made was the Spyderfly.

The Spyderfly has stainless steel handles which give it a heavier feel than the BM42 and BM32 Morpho. The BM42 has titanium handles, which are very light. The BM32 Morpho has G-10 scales on titanium liners, and are also very light. That makes for easy flipping and very little hand pain. However, it is harder to generate speed and momentum with lighter handles. The heavier stainless steel handles of the Spyderfly are great for fast flipping. However, they can wear down on the hand a bit.

The Spyderco Spyderfly does not lock/latch in the open position, but most balisong users do not care about that. In fact, many favor having no latch at all.

The Spyderco Spyderfly has a very unique design and the Spyderco “holes” are integrated into the handle (as opposed to the blade). There is also a rainbow anodized version available that has very “out there” looks. Spyderco now also produces the Szabofly, designed by acclaimed balisong designed Laci Szabo. This assymetrical balisong is very unusual, but is reported to have very good ergonomics.