Construction

The construction of a balisong refers to the construction method of the handles.

1 Construction types

Balisongs currently have 3 different types of construction.

1.1 Channel

Channel means that the knive is usually made out of one single block of metal. Usually the metal in question is either Titanium, or 7075 Aluminium. An example for this type of construction is the Krake Raken.
In some rare cases, channel knives can also have scales. For example, the Nautilus is a channel knife with scales, which are held in place by the pivot screws, and by the screws at the end of the handles.

1.2 Sandwich

The handles of sandwich knives usually incorporate some form of spacer. Spacers come in different sizes pins/standoffs/chunks and can be made from different materials for example: Aluminium, Titaniun, G10, Ultem and many more. Spacers get sandwiched between 2 handle halves. Those handle halves come in two sub-categories:

1.2.1 Liners

Liners are the part that touch and sandwich the spacer. If a balisong uses liners, it will also require some form of scales. Those scales sit on top of the liners and sandwich those. The construction for sandwich balis which use liners looks something like this: scale-liner-spacer-liner-scale. An example for this type of construction is the Replicant.

1.2.2 Slabs

If the balisong uses only one solid, single piece to sandwich the spacers, those pieces are called "slabs". Slabs are usually made either out of Aluminium or Titanium. An example for this type of construction is the Titanium Barebones.

1.3 Chanwich

Chanwich means that a handle is made out of 2 handle halves, with no spacer in-between. An example for this type of construction is the Tsunami

2 Comparison and Trade-offs

Every construction method has advantages and disadvantages, so there is no best choice. As a rule of thumb: the more parts the balisong has, the more points of failure it will have, making it less rigid compard to a balisong that has a channel design. That is why it is recommended to use a knives which have a channel design for beaters and Every day carry use.
That said, sandwich designs are highly regarded for their modability. For example you can swap out the G10 scales of a Replicant for scales for ones with a different look or feel.
Chanwich handles also has an advantages: they try to combine the rigidity of channel construction, with the flexibility to incorporate hidden zen pins into the design.