Editing Washer (section)

==Material==

Washers used in balisongs are typically made from one of three metals: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphor_bronze phosphor bronze], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass brass] or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_steel 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===

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 [[Clone|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.