Washer

Bushing Balisong With Washer Cross section

Material

Washers used in balisongs are typically made from one of three metals: phosphor bronze, brass or stainless steel. They sit between the handles and the blade in order to reduce friction and minimize the damage to the blade which makes them expendable wear items.

Phosphor Bronze

Phosphor bronze (often shortened to "PB) washers are the industry standard for balisongs these days because they offer low friction, decent wear and corrosion resistance and are not going to abraide the blade.

Stainless Steel

Stainless steel washers are much harder than phosphor bronze or brass. This property has upsides and downsides: It is good because it means that the stainless steel washers won't deform and will only need replacting very rarely, or not at all. The downside is that that washers are supposed to be "sacrificial" to protect the blade as explained in in the #Material chapter. However, due to it's much higher hardness the washer is no longer "sacrificial" becuase instead of the washer being worn down, now the washer AND the blade are being worn down.

Brass

Some cheaper balisongs, especially Clones use bronze washers. Bronze is a lot softer than phosphor bronze and stainless steel, meaning it will bend around the bushing a lot more, allowing for a balisong which has a lose tune, to feel tighter. It however lacks the low friction and wear resistance which PB offers.

Size

The two most important measurements for washers are the height(/thickness) and outer diameter. The inner diameter usually isnt as important, as long as it's close enough to being slightly larger than the sexbolt.

Thickness

Most balisongs use washers that are 0.5mm high. There are however exceptions to this, like the Replicant, who require thinner washers of 0.4mm, or the Sirius V4 which requires 1mm washers.

Outer Diameter

When you swap out your current washers for new ones, make sure that the new washers have the same outer diameter as your old washers. That is because the outer diameter of washers can play a crucial role in a balisongs tune. To learn more about this, read this chapter: Pivot_System#Different Outer Diameter Of Washer.