A balisong makes every missed catch rather memorable. CRKT’s new M16 trainer keeps the moving parts and removes the sharpened edge, which is exactly the trade a beginner needs while learning the motion.

The trainer uses an unsharpened 3.37-inch 440C steel blade, aluminum handles, a locking latch, a removable pocket clip, and CRKT’s IKBS ball-bearing pivot. CRKT lists it at 7.75 inches open, 4.56 inches closed, and 2.6 ounces, the same overall length, closed length, and weight it gives the sharpened M16-02BALI. This is not an everyday cutting tool. It’s equipment for learning openings, closings, and flips without the risk of cutting yourself on a sharpened blade. You can still pinch a finger or drop it on your foot, but that’s a considerably better tradeoff for beginners.

At $150, it is not a throwaway practice toy. The case for spending that much rests on how closely the trainer behaves like the knife it imitates. Those matching measurements are encouraging, although identical dimensions and weight don’t necessarily mean the two will feel exactly alike when flipping. We have not handled the two side by side, and a careful buyer should not mistake a spec match for a hands-on verdict.

Why Matching the Balance Matters

Squid Industries’ balisong guide explains that a trainer’s dull blade is meant to mimic a live blade’s weight and feel. That is the key distinction from simply buying any blunt butterfly-shaped object. A flip is a sequence of rotations around the pivots; change the mass distribution and the timing in your fingers changes with it. CRKT’s cutouts and matching listed weight suggest the company paid attention to that problem, although only practice with both versions could establish how closely they behave.

There is a neat design detour here too. CRKT says Kit Carson’s original M16 family helped popularize its finger-operated flipper on production folders. A balisong opens by moving two handles around the blade instead. The trainer preserves the M16 family resemblance while asking you to learn a completely different mechanism.

What You Need to Know

• Price: $150 at CRKT;
• Purpose: Unsharpened trainer, not a cutting knife.
• Size: 3.37-inch blunt blade; 7.75 inches overall; listed weight 2.6 ounces.
• Construction: 440C training blade, aluminum handles and IKBS ball-bearing pivot.

Practice Without the Sharp Edge

It gives the M16 balisong a sensible learning partner instead of asking buyers to practice with the sharp version. The interesting part is the attempt to preserve familiar handling, not the absence of an edge by itself.

Sources: CRKT trainer product page, Squid Industries trainer guide, and CRKT M16 design history.