Bone Relic Skeleton-Flow Butterfly Knife - Black Steel
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This isn’t a generic butterfly knife; it’s a bone-styled steel balisong built for flow practice and display. The skeletonized handles echo vertebrae, adding grip and visual drama without throwing off balance. A 4-inch stainless clip-point blade with spine cutouts keeps the weight centered for smoother flipping. At 5.5 inches closed and 5.31 ounces, it feels substantial but controllable. This is best for enthusiasts who want a striking, all-metal butterfly knife that looks like a relic and flips like a modern trainer.
What Makes the Best OTF Knife — And Why This Is Actually a Balisong
If you came here searching for the best OTF knife, it’s worth clearing one thing up first: this is not an out-the-front automatic. The Bone Relic Skeleton-Flow Butterfly Knife is a balisong — a two-handled flipping knife with a pivoted blade. That matters, because the criteria for “best” are different. Where the best OTF knife is judged on deployment speed, button safety, and pocket carry, a butterfly knife lives or dies on balance, pivot smoothness, and how confidently it flows through tricks.
So while this knife won’t replace the best OTF knife for everyday carry or duty use, it earns its place as a serious, low-cost balisong for flow practice, collection, and occasional EDC. The value is in how the design supports flipping, not in spring-driven deployment.
How This Skeleton-Flow Balisong Earns Its Place in a “Best” Rotation
When I talk about a butterfly knife being among the best in its price class, I’m looking at a handful of specific factors: balance on the pivots, handle geometry, lockup security, and how the steel tolerates repeated openings. The Bone Relic Skeleton-Flow does a few of these unusually well for an all-stainless budget balisong.
Balance and Flow: Handles and Blade Working Together
The bone-style stainless handles are lightly skeletonized and shaped into segmented “vertebrae.” That’s not just cosmetic. The cutouts reduce a bit of handle weight while keeping enough mass toward the ends to help with momentum on rollovers. Paired with the 4-inch clip-point blade and its elongated spine cutouts, the whole knife feels neutral to slightly handle-biased — a sweet spot for beginners learning basic openings and aerials.
At 5.31 ounces and 9.25 inches overall, it’s heavy enough that you always know where it is in the air, but not so heavy that it punishes missed catches. Compared to ultra-light aluminum trainers, this steel build feels more like a traditional balisong, closer to what collectors and flippers think of as a “real” butterfly knife.
Pivot Feel and Latch Security
The dual pivots are simple screw-fastened joints — nothing exotic, but they arrive reasonably smooth and secure. The handles swing freely without gritty spots, which is more than some entry-level balisongs can claim. The end latch snaps over the handle confidently in both open and closed positions, so it doesn’t flop loosely while you’re carrying it.
Is it as glassy-smooth as a high-end balisong on bushings or bearings? No, and it doesn’t pretend to be. But for a steel butterfly knife at this price, the pivot feel is good enough that you spend your time practicing tricks rather than fighting sticky handles.
The Best “OTF Alternative” for Flippers Who Don’t Need a Spring
If you’ve been browsing best OTF knife lists but realized what you really want is a knife to flip, this is where the Bone Relic makes sense. It offers the visual drama and mechanical interest that draw people to automatics, but in a mechanically simpler, user-driven package.
Unlike a double-action OTF, which hides its mechanism inside a rectangular handle, this balisong shows everything: pivots, blade cutouts, and bone-styled segments. That visible motion is a big part of why collectors and fidget-oriented users reach for a butterfly instead of yet another push-button OTF.
Steel and Edge Reality
The blade is stainless steel with a matte finish and a plain edge. The steel type isn’t advertised as a premium alloy, so I treat it as a functional, workmanlike stainless. In practice, that means it’ll hold a reasonable working edge for light cutting — opening packages, light utility, casual EDC — but it’s not the knife you buy for aggressive hard use or extended backcountry work. It sharpens easily and shrugs off normal carry moisture if you wipe it down.
Compared to the higher-end steels some of the best OTF knives use, this is clearly a step down in edge retention and toughness, but entirely acceptable for a budget balisong that’s more about flipping and aesthetics than sustained cutting duty.
Best For: Budget Balisong Enthusiasts and Skeletal-Theme Collectors
This knife is not trying to be the best OTF knife for everyday carry; it’s better viewed as the best skeleton-themed butterfly knife you can beat up without guilt. The bone-style handles and blade cutouts create a cohesive skeletal look that stands out in a collection, especially alongside more conventional metal or G10-handled balisongs.
Closed, it’s 5.5 inches long — very much in the standard balisong pocket size — and the 5.31-ounce weight rides fine in a bag or pocket if you’re used to carrying metal-handled knives. There’s no pocket clip, so this isn’t a discreet EDC in the way a slim OTF with a deep-carry clip would be. Instead, it’s the knife you toss in a pack or keep on a desk to flip when your hands need something mechanical to do.
Honest Tradeoffs
- Not a true OTF: If you specifically need spring-driven, out-the-front deployment for gloved use or defensive carry, this will not fill that role.
- All-steel weight: Some flippers will love the heft; others who prefer ultra-light handles may find it fatiguing over long sessions.
- Budget steel: Adequate for casual EDC, less ideal if you demand top-tier edge retention.
Those tradeoffs are acceptable — even desirable — for buyers who want a tough-feeling, visually striking balisong they can flip and carry casually without babying it.
Common Questions About the Best OTF Knives
What makes an OTF knife the best choice for EDC?
The best OTF knife for everyday carry combines three things: safe, positive deployment; reliable lockup; and pocketable dimensions. A good OTF should deploy with a firm, deliberate push on the actuator, stay locked open without blade play, and ride low in the pocket with a secure clip. Materials matter — better steels and well-machined internals hold up to repeated firing. That said, if your main interest is fidget value and flipping, a butterfly knife like this Bone Relic can be a better fit than even the best OTF knife.
How does this butterfly knife compare to a true OTF?
Mechanically, they live in different worlds. A double-action OTF uses an internal spring system to launch the blade straight out the front; this balisong relies entirely on your hand motion to swing the blade from between two handles. OTF knives are faster and more convenient for one-handed deployment, especially under stress. The Bone Relic Skeleton-Flow, by contrast, is slower to open but vastly more interactive — better for learning tricks, building dexterity, and enjoying the physical feel of the knife rather than just pushing a button.
Who should choose this butterfly knife?
Choose this knife if you’re balisong-curious, on a budget, and drawn to darker, skeletal aesthetics. It’s well-suited to collectors who want a visually distinct piece, beginners practicing flips on a live blade, and EDC users who occasionally carry a butterfly knife more for feel and fidget than for heavy cutting. If your priority is rapid deployment, duty-focused reliability, or strict legality in areas where balisongs are restricted, you’re better served by researching the best OTF knife options instead.
If You’re Looking for the Best Skeleton-Themed Balisong for Budget Flipping, This Is It
If you’re looking for the best OTF knife for hard-duty EDC, this isn’t it — but if you want the best skeleton-style butterfly knife for affordable flipping and eye-catching display, the Bone Relic Skeleton-Flow earns that spot. The bone-inspired stainless handles, spine-cutout clip-point blade, and solid weight create a balisong that feels like a metal relic in hand while still flowing smoothly through basic and intermediate tricks. As long as you understand you’re choosing a balisong instead of an OTF, it’s a smart, low-risk way to add a distinctive, all-steel flipper to your rotation.
| Blade Length (inches) | 4 |
| Overall Length (inches) | 9.25 |
| Closed Length (inches) | 5.5 |
| Weight (oz.) | 5.31 |
| Blade Color | Silver |
| Blade Finish | Matte |
| Blade Style | Clip Point |
| Blade Edge | Plain |
| Blade Material | Stainless steel |
| Handle Finish | Matte |
| Handle Material | Stainless steel |
| Theme | Bone Style |
| Latch Type | Latch |
| Is Trainer | No |