Once you reach a certain age, you find yourself prone to dreaming about all the could-have-beens you've had between then and now. What would have happened if you moved to the other town instead? What if you went to the other school, married the other girl, bought the other car, took the other job? All those decisions, compromises made in the name of circumstances or convenience or, more usually, your finances.

In these long nights of quiet retrospection: Did you miss out? Did you make the right choice? Or did you just settle? Just what, exactly, did you compromise?

This is an easy trap to fall into in our hobby. Part of the reason knife nerds have so many knives is because we're forever trying to find whatever the perfect knife is, and that always engenders some kind of compromise. Price is the usual one, of course. Even if you do it in nickels and dimes, which is the way most of us try, you can spend any amount of money chasing the damn unicorn and still never catch it.

And then, if you're a balisong dork it's even worse. All the household names are extremely collectible, and they're without exception limited production items that start off shockingly expensive and only get ludicrously more so over time. The venerable Benchmade Model 42. The BRS Replicant. The HOM Basilisk. The Flytanium Zenith. And if you want anyone to take you seriously in this gig, if you want to have the right experience, you just have to get your hands on one of those, don't you?

Well.

What if I said you don't?

This is the Böker Tactical 06EX229. We can excuse the completely unmemorable name plus the fact that yet again Böker has forced me to remember how to type an umlaut over the O, for one simple reason, which is this:

The 06EX229 is at present hands down one of the best values in a balisong knife at the moment. It may just be the best value, period.

Unicorn: Slain.

You may recall that I kinda-sorta reviewed this knife already, in the form of its smaller sibling the 06EX227. That is the "tactical small" variant of Böker's design, in a more pocket friendly size that's rather akin to the rather spectacular (in my opinion) but now very collectible Benchmade Mini-Morpho Model 32. This, however, is the "tactical big" version. Exactly as you would expect, it's... bigger. Precisely like Benchmade's Morpho Model 51 is unto the 32.

There is of course a critical difference, since we were talking about compromises just a few paragraphs ago: The Model 51, just like the 32, is now purest unobtanium. It's discontinued, no longer available anywhere, a valuable antique, and even when it was new it last listed for damn near $400. Nowadays you are unlikely to get your hands on one for less than $500.

I already posted a deal alert on the various Böker balisongs a few weeks ago, and imagine my surprise when I just clicked and learned that these are still (at the time of writing) on sale for $40. This despite several weeks of procrastination and staring at my proverbial typewriter with no output. All that's still relevant.

Not $400 -- $40. Drop that zero right off the end.

Yes, you can certainly buy a clone of the Model 51 (although curiously not the 32, at least so far as I can find) for a lot less dough than the real thing, and I am and have been keen on that sort of thing in the past as well.

One of those can be a competent poor man's stand-in for a Benchmade, sure. But the Böker tacticals share the distinction of actually being better in at least one critical aspect than not only the clones, but the genuine Benchmade models you may be tempted to substitute with them.

Which is astounding.

Physicals

The 06EX229 is a full sized balisong knife constructed of steel and G-10, similar in proportion to the Benchmade Model 51 and quite a few other traditionally sized flippers ostensibly in its class.

It's the spitting image of its smaller sibling, as you can see here. It sports the same type of harpoon profiled blade made of D2, understated black G-10 scales with the same double-X embellishment carved into them...

...And the tail end shows off precisely the same type of spring loaded squeeze-to-release latch, which is of a similar design and intent to the latch found on the Benchmade Morphos.

The incessant comparison to the aforementioned Benchmades is impossible to escape. I'll be bringing it up a lot because there are incredible design similarities between those and this. Not only the spring latch and the very way in which it works, but also the big knife/little knife dichotomies in both brands' lineups. The blade steel is the same across both brands as well, D2 on each, and they're all kickerless designs with concealed Zen pins in the handles for the rebound instead.

It's easy to see that the smaller 06EX227 is roughly Mini-Morpho sized and this 06EX229 is the proportional twin to the full sized Morpho 51. I don't actually own one of those, but I do have the TheOne clone of it, because I'm poor. So that's what I'm showing off above all the way on the right, there.

The 06EX229 is 9-3/8" long from tip to tail when opened, with a 4-1/4" blade, 0.119" thick, which has a roughly 3-3/4" usable edge. And indeed, a usable edge is what it has, exhibiting ruthless sharpness right out of the box which for most people won't require any going over before being put into service.

It's clear that putting this knife into service is precisely what Böker expect you to do with it, since it also includes a reversible steel pocket clip. I can respect this even, if as usual, it comes out of the box on the wrong side of the handle which is where it appears in most of these photos. I fixed that when I took the knife all apart for my usual disassembly photo, which we'll get to later.

The presence of the clip, oft omitted on collectors' or competition balisongs, plus the immensely satisfying spring loaded latch put the 06EX229 once again in the same camp as the Benchmade Morpho, or at least the camp the latter was in 15 years ago: Namely that of an EDC capable balisong that's designed to be carried and actually used rather than just locked in a cabinet and gazed at wistfully, lest you scuff its collectors value.

One critical difference is the weight, since due to its all steel construction rather than the titanium of the Morpho it is heavier: 149.6 grams or 5.28 ounces. That's 1.98 ounces more, or about 37.5%. Weight is one of those things that balisong nerds get super hot and bothered about, so that's sure to ruffle somebody's feathers somewhere. Since the 06EX229's liners are steel for their entire length and are completely solid, not ventilated in any way whatsoever, that makes it a slightly slower spinner than lighter knives and also moves the point of balance a touch further towards the tips of the handles. Latched shut, that point is 1.693" by my measure which is 3/8" or so further back versus just for sake of example my BM51 clone, since the blades are roughly the same density as each other. Probably by no accident, this is directly on the crosshatched portion of the handles.

But enough about the Morpho. Where the 06EX229 shines is all the differences, all the places it's allowed to stand on its own.

For instance, it has concealed pivot screws that live underneath the scales, and make it appear to function by magic.

And rather than plain utilitarian round cutouts for the Zen pins, it has elongated stylized ones that form and merge with the choil, making the entire length of the edge usable.

The pins themselves are visible peeking through the handles.

Ephemerals

It should be obvious to anyone that the 06EX229 must be a budget knife even at its full list price of $126, at least compared to its contemporaries.

So how much play has it got in the pivots, and how much blade tap against the inside of the handles?

Would you believe none?

Like its sister 06EX227 but completely unlike the vast majority of balisongs not only in its class but even considerably above, the 06EX229 is a ball bearing equipped knife. Both pivots ride on a pair of thrust bearing assemblies each, which ensure not only impeccable low resistance action but also a completely wiggle-free pivot assembly. The key is that traditional balisongs are highly sensitive to pivot screw tension and the tighter you make them the less they wiggle, but also the more resistance you encounter up until the point that they won't pivot freely at all. Bushing equipped knives typically aren't, but they have an inbuilt amount of lash that can't be adjusted out, because their bushings are always a hair longer than the blades are thick by deliberate design, which ensures a free action but a guaranteed minimum amount of rattle.

Bering knives are constrained by none of the above. You can crank the ever living fuck out of the pivot screws to the point that any lash whatsoever is not only squeezed out of the mechanism but also driven by horsewhip clear into the next country, but the handles will still pivot freely.

Achieving no play and no tap is the holy grail of balisong knife design and it's always the sort of thing manufacturers try to put at the top of their bullet point lists, even if they have not in fact actually technically managed it. An excess of either is the first thing that makes a knife feel cheap, and this one doesn't have any.

And thanks to, rather than despite, its full length steel liners and especially the thick G-10 scales, the handles are incredibly rigid and resist flexing to a large degree. This even though it is a sandwich construction, consisting of two separate steel liners and scales per handle, rather than each handle being channel milled out of a single slab of material.

The 06EX229 is pure functionality. Unlike most of its peers its styling is very understated, with just these two lacelike crosses milled into its scales.

It has few other embellishments. It has no speed holes or channels, nothing on it is anodized, nor engraved. Nothing's neon or holographic or glows. But it doesn't need any of that. Other knives may be a flamboyant Ferarri Daytona, but the Böker is a BMW M3.

The balance and heft of any particular balisong knife is highly subjective, of course. People have preferences -- lighter, longer, shorter, whatever -- So it's certain that someone out there will be displeased by the 06EX229's action for some reason or another.

But in some ineffable way, the action feels right. I find the 06EX229 to be extremely controllable, moreso even than knives which the hive mind of the internet assures us to be perfect. I don't know why this is. Maybe it's the bearings. Or the weight distribution. Maybe I'm just predisposed to like it.

All of its attributes taken together make this preeminently qualified for use as an EDC knife, despite the typical drawbacks inherent in being a balisong. The clip is small, but in this case small enough to be unobtrusive -- It's the same part as the one on the smaller 06EX227, but with the longer handles on this it's much less in your way when manipulating the knife -- it draws cleanly and easily, and the spring latch allows you to put the knife into action right away. The ability to reposition the clip to either side of the handle also ensures you can draw your knife with it in your preferred orientation which is a big help.

The only oddity is the 06EX229's only concession to flamboyance, as it happens, which is that weird harpoon profile on the blade. The horn of the back of it is fairly pronounced and is just pointy enough to be distinctly uncomfortable if you windmill it right into your finger. Typically it's far enough away that you don't, but for specific types of finger roll tricks it's possible to get hung up on the hook. If you're really going to be Captain TikTok Flipper Showoff Bro, you might want to grab your grinder and round the point off on it slightly.

The Bits

The 06EX229 is dead easy to take apart.

This is good news for habitual balisong twiddlers, which I suspect is a neat cross-section of basically all balisong owners to begin with. There's no recalcitrance nor screws that refuse to come undone. Nor do you have to employ any tricks. This puts the 06EX229 head and shoulders above quite a few Chinese clones, while still cheekily occupying the same price bracket.

Every screw head on the knife takes the same T6 Torx driver, even the pivot screws.

The pivot screw heads as well as the Zen pin holes are hidden beneath the scales. The heads recess into pockets on the back side of the scales. The only knock against this is that you need to remove the scales to tune your pivot tension, but conversely since this is a ball bearing knife you realistically should never have to do that anyway, provided you remember to re-threadlock the screws if you ever have occasion to take it apart.

You only need to dismount one side anyway, because the female sides of the pivot screws don't have any driver heads.

You'll find those on the other side. Not also the ball bearing assemblies, two each on each pivot. The pivot screws have anti-rotation flats so undoing them is no trouble, even without screw heads on the other side. The Zen pins also live here and are captive, with shoulders preventing them from falling out.

The spring latch assembly is dead simple, and Böker lifted this directly from the Benchmade Morpho. (I did, too, with my Rockhopper printable knife.) The pin here isn't captive and can fall out when you dismount either of the scales on that side, so watch out.

The cammed heel on the latch pushes on that pin, which is sprung by the natural tension in the steel liner. Note that this would be absolutely impossible with a one piece channel milled handle design. But due to this, not only can you easily kick the latch out by simply squeezing the handles together, but it's also handily stopped from hitting the blade and, by and large, even from contacting either handle when you're swinging the thing around.

Treachery

As part of Böker's "Plus" line, this is not actually technically manufactured by Böker themselves and is rather actually subcontracted to any of a potential number of outfits worldwide.

I can't quite come up with a definitive origin for this knife. At least one source claims it's made by CobraTec which, if true, adds another interesting layer because that would then mean that this knife is made (or at least assembled) in the USA. Score one more, then, against the Chinese knockoff brigade if you care about that sort of thing.

The rub is that this is heavily discounted and seems to be so everywhere, by and large. Not just on Böker's site but at other retailers as well. When I see that sort of thing on a particular model or another that indicates to me that it's poised to get the chop, which in this case is highly disappointing. Some day soon this too will go away, and the world will be left slightly worse off because of it.

The Inevitable Conclusion

Because you see, the Böker 06EX229 is exactly the knife the world needs. A competent and highly usable, potentially US made, well built, and extremely featureful balisong that can wrest or hopefully at least steer the whole damn hobby away from insanity, even if just by a little bit.

Because the balisong market is famously insane, and probably many of its participants no less so.

As it is, it's also a spectacular entry point for non-insane people looking to get into the swing of things. To get more people included, rather than excluded. And, without shelling out for a cynical knockoff or ghastly non-brand piece of junk. And don't get me wrong, I like a good non-brand piece of junk sometimes. But there's a lot of room for something in between limited edition collector's pieces that are never meant to be used, and flea market card table crap.

The 06EX229 is the unicorn after all. Just, nobody noticed because it wasn't shaped like one in silhouette.

So maybe you never bought that Ferrari. But the insurance on the Subaru is a whole lot less, it's taken you way more places over all those years, and you don't have to have a heart attack if it gets bird shit on it.

Maybe you didn't marry a supermodel. But the girl next door's been here the whole time, and she's a hell of a lot more fun to be around. And she's down for a whole lot more.

Don't get caught up in being sold a dream, and don't get wrapped around the axle if you think you've missed out, or you can't afford it. In the end, all of that's just marketing. It turns out you really can have it all, even without getting lucky -- provided you're looking at it the right way.

Columba livia, or the common pigeon.

I imagine this is not the usual angle people are used to seeing pigeons; rather, you probably picture them from above, staring up at you from sidewalk level, begging for a piece of whatever it is your eating, in the dingy second-hand light found at the concrete bottom of your urban canyon.

In this light their iridescent neck feathers are quite striking.

Canon R10, f/14, 1/640sec, ISO-500, the full 400mm using the Bird Lens.

Bonus picture:

Dafuq you lookin' at?

Columba livia, or the common pigeon.

I imagine this is not the usual angle people are used to seeing pigeons; rather, you probably picture them from above, staring up at you from sidewalk level, begging for a piece of whatever it is your eating, in the dingy second-hand light found at the concrete bottom of your urban canyon.

In this light their iridescent neck feathers are quite striking.

Canon R10, f/14, 1/640sec, ISO-500, the full 400mm using the Bird Lens.

Bonus picture:

Dafuq you lookin' at?

Rather, it is a wascawwy wabbit.

An Eastern Cottontail, to be precise.

Canon R10, f/8, 1/200, ISO-1600, 270mm. Which may have been a tad underexposed, come to think of it, being shot in the shade in the early evening. But that's how it is.

Y u no put the paper towels in the fucking dispenser rather than leaving the half torn open pack on the countertop?

Getting the new brick of towels out of the supply room and dragging it all the way to the bathroom is like 99% of the effort already. Just stuff them in the damn box.

(This is right up there with the old classic, getting out a new bog roll and leaving it delicately balanced on top of the old empty cardboard tube rather than just installing it on the damn spindle.)

You'd think I work in a building full of toddlers.

In the form of loaf.

Canon R10, f/14, 1/640 sec, ISO-1250, at the full 400mm because I don't feel like being hissed at today.

The enemy.

That's because there's one minor problem here, which you've already guessed: I'm not in Europe.

Starlings are an invasive species in North America and a destructive one at that. They're even specifically excluded from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for that reason. So, much to the consternation of aviphiles everywhere, these are generally shoot-on-sight on my property.

This one wasn't on my property, though, so I took at shot at him with my camera instead. I think it's a him. It's kind of hard to tell with starlings, but he was screeching at the top of his little lungs at the top of that pole which is typically male bird behavior. He stopped when he saw me.

At the moment the starlings and I have an uneasy truce. I think I've either blown away or scared off all of the ones that were hereditary nesters in my eaves and soffits. I care because they push out native birds, but also because they insist on trying to rip my soffit cladding off and otherwise destroy bits of my house in the course of their activities. So the ones that keep their grubby beaks off of my stuff get left alone for now.

Canon R10, f/8, 1/1600 sec, ISO-1600, at the full 400mm. This is about as far out as I can reach and get any acceptable detail on a songbird sized object with my current lens, at least notwithstanding a focal length extender or something. Or spending a lot more on glass, which I can't afford at the moment.

Okay, okay, this one wasn't in my yard.

I managed to get this guy far enough away from the cage walls that they didn't interfere with the shot too much.

Canon R10 as usual, f/14, 1/500, ISO 1250, 300mm.

Want to see what the cage walls look like while they are interfering with the shot? In that case, bonus picture of a Sandhill Crane:

Awk!

That's right, negative one sentinel units in play.

Yes, this did have the predictable result of not allowing any additional Sentinels to spawn in and also locked me in the Sentinel "combat" state forever until I left the planet. Whereupon I was immediately jumped by a Sentinel capital ship which I summarily blew up.

I'm with the Vy'keen on this one, these guys need to go to hell already.

...Or maybe he's traveling in disguise.

He says, and I quote:

AAAAAAAAAAAA

Canon R10, 1/640, f/9, ISO 200, 400mm.

Additional bonus picture:

"What are you doing over there, you big silly flightless thing?"

The Impending Spring continues to Impend.

Canon EOS R10, Fv mode again. 1/640, f/9, ISO 200 if you can believe it. Through the Bird Lens at full 400mm extension. And for once the autofocus manged not to fuck it up.

This pair (or perhaps the descendants of the original pair) build a nest in the channel under the awning outside my kitchen window every year. They're quite unperturbed by my opening the window and waving my camera around at them.

Bonus picture of Mr.

And Mrs.