Okay so a few updates! Julian has said that anyone with my issues should contact him and he will take care of it! That's great to hear. Also, I was wrong about the orca going down in price aftermarket, that was my mistake! They seem to appreciate a bit after sale! Finally, Julian told me that the Orca actually takes a lot more work then the Monarch in terms of machining and construction. I think my experience tainted my view here and wasn't totally fair, and it's important to realize when that's the case. The level of finish and care on the Orca is absolutely top notch and not to be understated!
Hey Will, I want to express the level of care I have for my customers’ satisfaction. Any one of you guys who have issues needs to make it known to me. I answer 100% of my DM’s on Instagram. I cannot help if I don’t know how I’m failing you guys. In regards to your Monarch, I have it ready to give to you at blade as we discussed. See you there!
I totally respect the effort Julian puts into each of his balisongs. However the biased treatment of his customers and balisongs in general has made me second guess buying his product. It portrays itself as favoritism and gives off the "cool kids club"/"elitist" vibes that ruin the community. I can understand the price tag on balis from Atropos, Stitch, Hom designs or even Squid Industries as an honorable mention due to the controversy surrounding their pricing on products. But all of those named are reasonably priced and even in StichedSteels case they sometimes underpriced for what you're getting. But $1.2k+ for a bali that develops handle slap and depreciates in value kind of seems like a slap to the face and kick in crotch to the community/potential buyers.
I'm absolutely glad Will posted this video. Any pinless design you buy from JK you are setting yourself into a money pit. Not only are they expensive for a full CNC bali, he also charges 300$+ for replacement if the handles start slapping. I don't understand why people follow JK.
I haven't seen an orca slap unless its been brutally beaten show me 3 or more orcas with slap ill wait. Now the monarch developed slap but I've never heard or even seen an orca slap.
@@jamesgrady6555 im not talking about the orca when It comes to the context if handle slap. The Monarch takes the cake for that title. However the orca is $1.2k and only depreciates in value. BRS, Hom, and other bali companies create affordable product that appreciates in value. You can't say the same for Julian's product. Especially when the clone cost a 10th of the price and flips as well as it does.
@@jamesgrady6555 like Will said its more worth it if you can find one of JK's orcas' on the second hand market for less than the value price. They're great balis and do what they were made for. Flipping and cutting, however they're not great in holding value for as expensive as they already cost at retail price. Its not a good practice to have especially when both of his best selling balis have either handle slap or depreciates in value. You'd think he would've made the changes to fix at least the handle slap on the Monarch by now with how many unhappy customers have been dealing with that.
@@thebitehandle360 Hey man, I've done several things to fix the Monarch handle slap and none of the new ones have that problem. If you want details on the fixes Joe and I have made, feel free to DM me on instagram. None of them depreciate in value either. Will pinned a comment about that above. Orcas are $1100 new and going for $1500-$2k secondary.
I don't think lowering cost is his goal, I think he just really likes the idea of pinsless.... I mean look at how freaking beautiful his machining is. When JK designed the Orca the pinsless is a reiteration of that style, that nipple in the tang should theoretically prevent handle gap closure, at the very least significantly reduce it.
Finally someone who's actually honest about it rather than everyone who is in the boat of "jk is literally God and his products make every other knife shitty by comparison just because it costs a lot"
So the current production JK ‘forever grail’ becomes the Embargo (bushings, HIDDEN ZEN PINS, slab handles). Maybe a bit minimalist to some eyes. But I think they’re beautiful, and can’t wait to try one out!
Difference between JK Design and Machinewise is that JK design balisongs look sexy as hell. The serif and maryn are great flippers, but they look average at best. The attention to detail, sound, and blade shapes of Julian's knives are unmatched.
Idk man that's all preference. I personally think jks balis look a little ugly for my taste but the serif looks great to me. I guess that's good for me because I pay half what orca flippers pay and no handle slap ever.
no the difference is machinewise balisons actually last and continue working while being half the price. JK Designs all die and become a useless paper weight ..
I’ve also owned 30 orcas and they are phenomenal, they sell super high second hand, and is one of the best knives I’ve owned, I’ve had over 2000 balis at this point and it’s tied for #1 with my dedicated flipper v2 by balibalistic
@@GrandmasterHobbyist I've never seen a warn out orca even after years, I've owned over 50 and even the people who beat them to death still have handle gap and no issues as long as they keep the hardware fresh, it's the same for most nice things
That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. You're supposed to RAISE prices until people stop buying then lower it a bit. Not the other way around lmao. 😂🤡
I'm pretty sure he's not trying to save $5 on Hardware lol Tangpins kind of suck! And unless you want visible pins on Channel handles you kind of have to go with penniless.
I think you're right tbh, it's such a small "savings" that I didn't really think about it enough when talking about it, and it has very little affect on the final cost
@@WillHirschFlips I feel like a lot of the video is just a gripe with Julian as a person. Like even the thumbnail is not accurate the knife is $1150 you could have just reviewed the Orca and then made a separate video talking about your problems with the Monarch after you received it. Now it's just going to be awkward to see him at blade show lol. And these accusations of him overpricing things are kind of stupid. he only makes 200 to 250 of his designs before he moves on to a new one cuz that's the way he wants to run his business. If you want to do that it can be pretty hard to make your nut and pay your bills. Julian's prices aren't even that bad compared to some of the folding market and they use the same materials with far less handwork never mind the fact that his shit needs to actually perform! Also people comparing his products to machinewise is a very poor example! They are entirely different makers with completely different business models. Machinewise is clearly trying to make the most efficient product for the best price. he's new and getting his foot in the door he's done a good job at that but also those prices might not be sustainable in the long run especially if he wants to have a good retirement and pay his mortgage and have a life with a normal schedule. he's going to have to expand and that is his plan and good for him. Julian on the other hand wants to keep his small home shop Vibe and continue to make small runs of designs and continue to do whatever he wants. They're different business models JK designs is not trying to be a large shop. he thought about it he was going to buy a place and try to put more machines in there but he decided not to.
Also if you feel as if your opinion was tainted by previous experiences with him then you might as well just take down the video cuz it seems like that's most of the video is tainted. It honestly just makes you look bad especially when there is such a big issue with the Monarch slapping if you just talked about that it would be perfectly Fair.
Real cost just isn't in the hardware but the tools needed to cut these holes into titanium. He def saved some cash. You can't tell me he accidentally overlooked the gap and slap issue.
Great review Will! I always love hearing your insights on high-tier balisong topics. It provides better judgment for me when it comes to forking “x” amount for a high-end balisong. For example, the machinewise serif review (on this channel + the main channel) were not just fully in detail about the knife but, also the maker and where it stacks up against other balisongs in it’s price range.
@@WillHirschFlips they usually get at least 1500 and for one like yours...2k easy. However to hit you point on the handle gap issue. I have noticed my orca is losing some of its handle gap. And no I can't afford to beat a $1200 knife. So this is simply from flipping it over the past 4 months or so.
@@IkandT exactly its worth about $1500 monopoly money AT BEST...4 months losing gap IS HYSTERICALLY bad. JK needs to wake tf up and stop this pinless crap.
great video bro, learned a lot actually. love your candidness. also just got my black vulp yesterday from bladehq, tbh it did come slightly tight, but upon opening it up, lubing it & re acclimating, im enjoying the experience & sound :)
Loving your vids, started flipping a few years ago but dropped it , but i came back in the past few months, your vids have been my favs. Happy (almost) pride! Cool to see other lgbt content creators for flipping 👁💜
someone got robbed, theyre a ticking time bomb to wearing out in a matter of months...buying it second hand will give you EVEN LESS time with it before it fails and loses handle gap
Ya know if you guys don't have the time to give the orca a full review, I would love the oppourtunity to do so(large, painfully obvious winking to anyone that owns an orca)
yeah i have to admit i don’t like seeing the $575 price tag on a G10 orca trainer which is literally made of plastic (and titanium ig but you get my point). it just doesn’t seem right. and it’s even worse at auction i mean they have gone for $800+ without question and like i don’t think i’ll ever be able to afford that especially for something made of those materials
Can anyone tell me of it is necessary to lock-tight all balisongs or just cheap ones? I recently took up this hobby and I only have a couple cheap knives right now, but I want to get something in the 2-300$ range soon.
Depends. My experience with bushing knives I don't lock tite them. Yeah they loosen but I just tighten them after I flip. To me thats easier than having to take the screws out and clean them constantly to re tune
So what I'm hearing is that Julian cuts corners (pinless) and auctions drops for the maximum profit? I am having a hard time seeing why he's held in such high regard.
Im not saying hes the best ever or anything BUT he actually did work pretty hard to design the pinless system which arguably could be better and he does auctions as well as doing lottos where 1 or 2 people are selected to buy them for retail
Pinsless isn't really an example of cutting corners, it's just another method of construction. I kinda skipped over how intricate the machining on the handles and blade is which is my bad here, but yeah it's not that big of a change
@@WillHirschFlips Yeah, looking back at it I really did jump to conclusions especially on a topic I'm very ignorant in. It isn't fair for me to make those kind of accusations without understanding what goes into them. It just bums me out that one of my favorite knife designs has such a frustrating longevity issue. I would love to own a Monarch/Orca but it would be a constant battle of wanting to display it and not flip it and vice versa.
@@jakecolville6792 I do have to give him a lot of credit for making something new, I don't want to take that away at all. My comment definitely was ignorant, I don't fully understand what goes into making something pinless vs zen/tang, so I shouldn't make those kind of judgments.
@@julianklein6265 you know what everyone needs and wants...stop making pinless crap. They look great, and flip great FOR A MINUTE...but pinless is just a ticking time bomb. You couldve had so much more success(AND HAPPY CUSTOMERS) if youd just make tangpin balis etc.
But what i dont get is that its over a grand, like there have been sandwich balisongs and are made out of the same material cost less. So having it channel and pin less, but making it way more of a price point than other companies. Its just not worth it to me, Hom’s balisongs are made for alot of people not just flippers but also collectors, yet most dont cost that much. Like collectors price is more than just buying one for flipping, even so jk is selling this only for flipping yet its 1.2k.(edit) just throwing it out there, “cough”his g10 orca price “cough”
Knife from CNC, where he can't even put some more work to make it better - I mean zen pins. I know, that it is great flipper etc. but in my opinion, this bali isnt worth 1200$ :/
The g10 trainer he sells is the most insulting product imo. 500 USD....are you fucking kidding me. JK design is just the fucking Gucci of balisongs. The price tag is for the signature.
It is very cool looking indeed but it’s too too much money on ONE balisong, if a knife is 1200 that should mean it is 2 times better than the serif, in almost every way, which is extremely hard to achieve
Its called being greedy. Great beautiful designs and craftmanship. Not sure why he doesnt go the few more feet to the finish line and make sure these knives go out tuned perfectly. Doesnt build very much confidence in holding its value.
I think the fact that a clone of this balisong exists for $100 is just a nice slap on the face to JK that his stuff is way overpriced. I'm sure the real thing is better than the clone but it sure as hell isn't 11 times better
such a poor argument, this applies to any high end item ever. price increase is almost never proportional to how much better something is. Use your head
They look good. but I do feel a kind of way about changing up production to decrease his costs while increasing the price. Orka is 1300 and monarch is 1100
I think with his designs costing so much out the gate he should just add pins. It's just unreasonable to cut corners on being "cheaper" when the designs are basically $1,000+. I feel it's more a laziness thing over cost efficiency because it's already expensive, just give it something that'll last longer, can't imagine it'll add that much extra like $50 or something.
I gotta say this video is very disappointing as a long time fan of both you and JK. There's lot's of valid criticism about the guy, but the issues you bring up in this video are almost all false. I know you addressed some issues with a pinned comment, but I feel a follow up or edit is needed. The orca pinless design was never created to cut costs, this is a ridiculous claim in my eyes, despite my very minimal knowledge of machining and producing balis. Julian has stated constantly that the design was meant as a pinless bali that doesnt develop slap or lose its handle gap and it definitely took lots of design time and incorporates complex machining processes. The other claim that I take most issue with is that orcas will inevitably develop slap, I'm not sure where you're getting the idea, most orcas havent lost much if ANY gap at all, I personally haven't seen anywhere near slap, this is the exact issue Julian tried to fix with the orca coming off the monarch. I totally understand your position of suspicion and concern as I know about your monarch problems, but to give such an uneducated off the cuff opinion as one of the biggest names in the community is a bit irresponsible imo
I think another thing worth mentioning that isn't talked about much is the prevalence of fully CNC'd balisongs like this that are being sold for insultingly high prices when in reality, being able to mill everything including the blade instead of hand grinding should LOWER the price.
Until I see a thoroughly flipped 5+ old pinless bali that doesn’t develop slap I refuse to trust pinless. Doesn’t make sense risking permanently ruining your knife in exchange for not having to replace 2 screws
youll never see that because pinless is worthless...you cant fix it due to the fact that the whole design revolves around hardened steel hitting into SOFTER titanium until it wears out.
i used to think JK Design had the new best bali to beat with the Monarch....but then i realized theyre all just trash witgh this pinless BS. spend $1100-$1200 just for it to die in a short period of time...and he knows hes making them to fail and does it anyway...basically a scammer imo. Also lazy/cheap asf to do that as a "cost saving" just to make all these knives that will turn into paper weights over a short period...ive been beating the shit out of my BRS Alpha Beast as my daily driver for like 6 years and it still flips like the day i got it. He should be ashamed of himself quite frankly.
I personally don't beleive any knife is worth 1200 dollars regardless of how much of an art peice it is, but much less one that will inevitably lose handle gap if not flat out handle slap. I also think pinless balis sound like shit but that's a personal preference
After being in the community for a few years/ and owning dozens of knives including many orcas. I realize you were sour with Julian as you made this video. You spread misinformation here and were extremely biased. With all that said, I understand the frustration with the narch.
Lowering costs should not come at the sacrifice of longevity. His knives already cost a fucking arm and a leg, it would be pennies on the dollar for him to just toss some pins in there and he would still make a ton of money. Not that they're even worth the price he's asking now imo. He needs to add pins, cut the price, and have better customer service.
Press fit pins fall out over time. The new angular velocity impact pinless system on the Orca prevents slap from occurring. It is also very complex to machine, thus the $1100 price point. I pride myself on customer service. DM me on Instagram if you ever experience issues.
The Idea of a balisong sitting at 1200 when machine work was involved just seems shitty. So many makers are putting out damn good balisongs with such similar materials and processes for HUNDREDS less, Don't get robbed people.
Something I want to note about JKs customer service and I'll do it by comparing it to someone else's. When I got my Stitched Steel Alien for $900, stitch was trying a new process in the blade making and as such, a few problems arose. The tolerances weren't great (it had rub and tap) and the tang pins started falling out! And when this was brought up to stitch he goes "Fuck it, I'm making you a new blade, free of charge!" He then offered Damascus at a reduced price because he felt bad that the previous blade did not meet his own expectations. JK does not do ANYTHING like this. I'm one of the people that had their bushings messed up from him, it was litetech no. 16. The safe handle bushing was oversized and I just never had time to fix it. He wanted to charge me $60 for it, which is ridiculous. Something that's also very questionable about JK is how he treats sponsors. He makes his sponsors pay full price for his knives, most sponsors will send knives free of charge or at a heavily discounted price. He also doesn't even repost the videos his sponsors record to his story. I can not tell you any other maker that does this. It truly seems he doesn't care about having sponsors. This is a bit of a rant but this is only scratching the surface of the shady stuff that Julien has done. I wish him the best and truly hope he figures himself out and can come back and not be such a divisive maker
Hey Man, If you told me that you bought a knife directly from me and you had a bushing issue I would have fixed it for free without question. I want to make it clear that I only have one sponsor, spy2222 and I just sent him a free orca trainer a few months back. I have all of his edits highlighted on my page along with numerous other guys who flip my knives.
I believe jks knives are horrendously overpriced for what they perform like. I do not see the appeal in paying over 1000 dollars for a pinsless design. Pinsless is a pretty terrible design but jk sells all his designs at a fat mark up too.
Orca is a new and special design. I really felt like you discredited the work that went into this knife at the end of the video. I Felt like you were kind of biased because your upset about the monarch. Talking about the end of your video.
I think that's fair, and my experiences have affected the way I think about JK Designs. Then again, that tends to happen when you spend $1,100 on a product you can't even use for a year, only to have the maker of that product not fix it for almost 3 years after
@@WillHirschFlips Do you consider him replacing the blade with a bushing one not fixing it? I understand from your previous videos bearings has a different feel and youre looking for a solution to the bearings version, but the new v2 version, which they claim fixes the issue, is on bushings and redesigned tang and stop geometry. I guess ultimately what I'm asking is do you not accept the replacement blade as a fix to your issue? And what would be? In my eyes the bearings monarchs cant really be "fixed" at least not permanently, and it seems youre figuring that out personally
Okay so a few updates!
Julian has said that anyone with my issues should contact him and he will take care of it! That's great to hear.
Also, I was wrong about the orca going down in price aftermarket, that was my mistake! They seem to appreciate a bit after sale!
Finally, Julian told me that the Orca actually takes a lot more work then the Monarch in terms of machining and construction. I think my experience tainted my view here and wasn't totally fair, and it's important to realize when that's the case. The level of finish and care on the Orca is absolutely top notch and not to be understated!
Hey Will,
I want to express the level of care I have for my customers’ satisfaction. Any one of you guys who have issues needs to make it known to me. I answer 100% of my DM’s on Instagram. I cannot help if I don’t know how I’m failing you guys. In regards to your Monarch, I have it ready to give to you at blade as we discussed. See you there!
This whole situation certainly aged well, huh lmao
@@SolaireFlair it sure did age like milk lol
@@yiy8030 what did I miss what happened?
@@rune4112 basically jk got offended from this video and didn’t do some of the things will asked him to do when jk had his monarch.
I totally respect the effort Julian puts into each of his balisongs. However the biased treatment of his customers and balisongs in general has made me second guess buying his product. It portrays itself as favoritism and gives off the "cool kids club"/"elitist" vibes that ruin the community. I can understand the price tag on balis from Atropos, Stitch, Hom designs or even Squid Industries as an honorable mention due to the controversy surrounding their pricing on products. But all of those named are reasonably priced and even in StichedSteels case they sometimes underpriced for what you're getting. But $1.2k+ for a bali that develops handle slap and depreciates in value kind of seems like a slap to the face and kick in crotch to the community/potential buyers.
I'm absolutely glad Will posted this video. Any pinless design you buy from JK you are setting yourself into a money pit. Not only are they expensive for a full CNC bali, he also charges 300$+ for replacement if the handles start slapping. I don't understand why people follow JK.
I haven't seen an orca slap unless its been brutally beaten show me 3 or more orcas with slap ill wait. Now the monarch developed slap but I've never heard or even seen an orca slap.
@@jamesgrady6555 im not talking about the orca when It comes to the context if handle slap. The Monarch takes the cake for that title. However the orca is $1.2k and only depreciates in value. BRS, Hom, and other bali companies create affordable product that appreciates in value. You can't say the same for Julian's product. Especially when the clone cost a 10th of the price and flips as well as it does.
@@jamesgrady6555 like Will said its more worth it if you can find one of JK's orcas' on the second hand market for less than the value price. They're great balis and do what they were made for. Flipping and cutting, however they're not great in holding value for as expensive as they already cost at retail price. Its not a good practice to have especially when both of his best selling balis have either handle slap or depreciates in value. You'd think he would've made the changes to fix at least the handle slap on the Monarch by now with how many unhappy customers have been dealing with that.
@@thebitehandle360 Hey man, I've done several things to fix the Monarch handle slap and none of the new ones have that problem. If you want details on the fixes Joe and I have made, feel free to DM me on instagram. None of them depreciate in value either. Will pinned a comment about that above. Orcas are $1100 new and going for $1500-$2k secondary.
A fun idea would be to put the mako, the orca and the squiddy into an aquarium showcase
Omg yes
arent all the squid products named after the sea? nautical, Triton, kraken, tsunami etc.
I don't think lowering cost is his goal, I think he just really likes the idea of pinsless.... I mean look at how freaking beautiful his machining is. When JK designed the Orca the pinsless is a reiteration of that style, that nipple in the tang should theoretically prevent handle gap closure, at the very least significantly reduce it.
Finally someone who's actually honest about it rather than everyone who is in the boat of "jk is literally God and his products make every other knife shitty by comparison just because it costs a lot"
So the current production JK ‘forever grail’ becomes the Embargo (bushings, HIDDEN ZEN PINS, slab handles). Maybe a bit minimalist to some eyes. But I think they’re beautiful, and can’t wait to try one out!
pls dont be dumb enough to buy this product...lol they just wear out over time and become useless.
Difference between JK Design and Machinewise is that JK design balisongs look sexy as hell. The serif and maryn are great flippers, but they look average at best. The attention to detail, sound, and blade shapes of Julian's knives are unmatched.
Idk man that's all preference. I personally think jks balis look a little ugly for my taste but the serif looks great to me. I guess that's good for me because I pay half what orca flippers pay and no handle slap ever.
no the difference is machinewise balisons actually last and continue working while being half the price. JK Designs all die and become a useless paper weight ..
I’ve also owned 30 orcas and they are phenomenal, they sell super high second hand, and is one of the best knives I’ve owned, I’ve had over 2000 balis at this point and it’s tied for #1 with my dedicated flipper v2 by balibalistic
Amen dude. I will always own an orca. Yes, they are expensive, but it is for a reason.
@@joeblow7278 just wait until it wears out and becomes worthless...to you and anyone else.
lol yeah until it wears out and is worthless..its a time bomb
@@GrandmasterHobbyist I've never seen a warn out orca even after years, I've owned over 50 and even the people who beat them to death still have handle gap and no issues as long as they keep the hardware fresh, it's the same for most nice things
JK is literally a JoKe. People should stop buying his knives till he cuts the prices in half.
Get mad u still won’t have one
That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. You're supposed to RAISE prices until people stop buying then lower it a bit. Not the other way around lmao. 😂🤡
@@Flipalotpilgrim_eater is a real joke, get a job.
thank you for uploading
I'm pretty sure he's not trying to save $5 on Hardware lol Tangpins kind of suck! And unless you want visible pins on Channel handles you kind of have to go with penniless.
I think you're right tbh, it's such a small "savings" that I didn't really think about it enough when talking about it, and it has very little affect on the final cost
@@WillHirschFlips I feel like a lot of the video is just a gripe with Julian as a person. Like even the thumbnail is not accurate the knife is $1150 you could have just reviewed the Orca and then made a separate video talking about your problems with the Monarch after you received it. Now it's just going to be awkward to see him at blade show lol. And these accusations of him overpricing things are kind of stupid. he only makes 200 to 250 of his designs before he moves on to a new one cuz that's the way he wants to run his business. If you want to do that it can be pretty hard to make your nut and pay your bills. Julian's prices aren't even that bad compared to some of the folding market and they use the same materials with far less handwork never mind the fact that his shit needs to actually perform!
Also people comparing his products to machinewise is a very poor example! They are entirely different makers with completely different business models. Machinewise is clearly trying to make the most efficient product for the best price. he's new and getting his foot in the door he's done a good job at that but also those prices might not be sustainable in the long run especially if he wants to have a good retirement and pay his mortgage and have a life with a normal schedule. he's going to have to expand and that is his plan and good for him. Julian on the other hand wants to keep his small home shop Vibe and continue to make small runs of designs and continue to do whatever he wants. They're different business models JK designs is not trying to be a large shop. he thought about it he was going to buy a place and try to put more machines in there but he decided not to.
Also if you feel as if your opinion was tainted by previous experiences with him then you might as well just take down the video cuz it seems like that's most of the video is tainted. It honestly just makes you look bad especially when there is such a big issue with the Monarch slapping if you just talked about that it would be perfectly Fair.
@@thaboo5070 I plan on making an entire update video to this one to clarify and correct what I said in here
Real cost just isn't in the hardware but the tools needed to cut these holes into titanium. He def saved some cash. You can't tell me he accidentally overlooked the gap and slap issue.
Great honest review
Yoooo that little combo at 9:25 blew my mind. Looks so sick
I'll just stick with my Krake Raken forever, thanks.
It looks so clean! Wish I had a fraction of what it costs 😂
Legitimately nothing about this says "worth $1200" to me
I looked away from the video and I was able to hear the chab being flipped and knew you picked it up. I think I flip my chab to much lol.
Great review Will! I always love hearing your insights on high-tier balisong topics. It provides better judgment for me when it comes to forking “x” amount for a high-end balisong. For example, the machinewise serif review (on this channel + the main channel) were not just fully in detail about the knife but, also the maker and where it stacks up against other balisongs in it’s price range.
I've never seen a orca on the second hand market for for below msrp... give me your source! I'll go buy all of them lmao.
Haha I guess I was mistaken about that! I've seen others depreciate but it seems to orca goes up which is good maybe? Not totally sure though lol
@@WillHirschFlips they usually get at least 1500 and for one like yours...2k easy. However to hit you point on the handle gap issue. I have noticed my orca is losing some of its handle gap. And no I can't afford to beat a $1200 knife. So this is simply from flipping it over the past 4 months or so.
@will hirsch flips
Monarchs have been depreciating but orcas never go below retail ❤️
ok go waste your money on a ticking time bomb.
@@IkandT exactly its worth about $1500 monopoly money AT BEST...4 months losing gap IS HYSTERICALLY bad. JK needs to wake tf up and stop this pinless crap.
looks nice
great video bro, learned a lot actually. love your candidness. also just got my black vulp yesterday from bladehq, tbh it did come slightly tight, but upon opening it up, lubing it & re acclimating, im enjoying the experience & sound :)
Loving your vids, started flipping a few years ago but dropped it , but i came back in the past few months, your vids have been my favs.
Happy (almost) pride! Cool to see other lgbt content creators for flipping 👁💜
Where can I find a decent (for the price) maintenance balisong kit? Any suggestions?
Squid industries 19 dollar kit check it out
The Orca is really beautiful IMO and as a collector, this my #1 factor in Bali buying decision.
A seen a orca go for 2k on #,balisongsale not that long ago
someone got robbed, theyre a ticking time bomb to wearing out in a matter of months...buying it second hand will give you EVEN LESS time with it before it fails and loses handle gap
wow JK sounds like he only pockets most of the extra cash instead of putting it back to his process
Ya know if you guys don't have the time to give the orca a full review, I would love the oppourtunity to do so(large, painfully obvious winking to anyone that owns an orca)
I would love to see that!!!
@@WillHirschFlips dm me if u want a orca again for a full review i can get u another
To be clear also, I don't own this, was just borrowing it for the review!
yeah i have to admit i don’t like seeing the $575 price tag on a G10 orca trainer which is literally made of plastic (and titanium ig but you get my point). it just doesn’t seem right. and it’s even worse at auction i mean they have gone for $800+ without question and like i don’t think i’ll ever be able to afford that especially for something made of those materials
Orca trainers retail for $430. Join the lotto on my website if interested. I can't control the secondary market.
Nah. That's dumb.
Can anyone tell me of it is necessary to lock-tight all balisongs or just cheap ones? I recently took up this hobby and I only have a couple cheap knives right now, but I want to get something in the 2-300$ range soon.
Depends. My experience with bushing knives I don't lock tite them. Yeah they loosen but I just tighten them after I flip. To me thats easier than having to take the screws out and clean them constantly to re tune
@@p_ineappl_e Thank you, good to know.
So what I'm hearing is that Julian cuts corners (pinless) and auctions drops for the maximum profit? I am having a hard time seeing why he's held in such high regard.
Im not saying hes the best ever or anything BUT he actually did work pretty hard to design the pinless system which arguably could be better and he does auctions as well as doing lottos where 1 or 2 people are selected to buy them for retail
Pinsless isn't really an example of cutting corners, it's just another method of construction. I kinda skipped over how intricate the machining on the handles and blade is which is my bad here, but yeah it's not that big of a change
@@WillHirschFlips Yeah, looking back at it I really did jump to conclusions especially on a topic I'm very ignorant in. It isn't fair for me to make those kind of accusations without understanding what goes into them. It just bums me out that one of my favorite knife designs has such a frustrating longevity issue. I would love to own a Monarch/Orca but it would be a constant battle of wanting to display it and not flip it and vice versa.
@@jakecolville6792 I do have to give him a lot of credit for making something new, I don't want to take that away at all. My comment definitely was ignorant, I don't fully understand what goes into making something pinless vs zen/tang, so I shouldn't make those kind of judgments.
@@WillHirschFlips having zero pins and handle slap is no big to do?
Sooooooooooooo lucky!!
It's incredibly sad to hear that the JK support is about as useful as from CCC Producers
I pride myself on customer service. DM me on Instagram if you have issues or want to chat:)
Nah keep it out and in the open. No DMs needed.
@@thebasilisk3504 Whatever you need, I'm here.
@@julianklein6265 you know what everyone needs and wants...stop making pinless crap. They look great, and flip great FOR A MINUTE...but pinless is just a ticking time bomb. You couldve had so much more success(AND HAPPY CUSTOMERS) if youd just make tangpin balis etc.
But what i dont get is that its over a grand, like there have been sandwich balisongs and are made out of the same material cost less. So having it channel and pin less, but making it way more of a price point than other companies. Its just not worth it to me, Hom’s balisongs are made for alot of people not just flippers but also collectors, yet most dont cost that much. Like collectors price is more than just buying one for flipping, even so jk is selling this only for flipping yet its 1.2k.(edit) just throwing it out there, “cough”his g10 orca price “cough”
and i dig those kicks
I want to watch this guy's world crumble when he goes on amazon and buy's a Bali-Shark knife
Cough cough. "Auction a glorified squiddy" cough cough
Knife from CNC, where he can't even put some more work to make it better - I mean zen pins. I know, that it is great flipper etc. but in my opinion, this bali isnt worth 1200$ :/
The g10 trainer he sells is the most insulting product imo. 500 USD....are you fucking kidding me. JK design is just the fucking Gucci of balisongs. The price tag is for the signature.
fax
It is very cool looking indeed but it’s too too much money on ONE balisong, if a knife is 1200 that should mean it is 2 times better than the serif, in almost every way, which is extremely hard to achieve
Its called being greedy. Great beautiful designs and craftmanship. Not sure why he doesnt go the few more feet to the finish line and make sure these knives go out tuned perfectly. Doesnt build very much confidence in holding its value.
Im trying to cop a orca at blade 🤞
i dont think there will be any orcas at blade this year just v2 monarchs orca trainers and embargos
Fuck well i guess i got another 1k to spend at blade this year
@@nou466 he’s selling his orca trainers but yeah no live blades
Hello
I think the fact that a clone of this balisong exists for $100 is just a nice slap on the face to JK that his stuff is way overpriced. I'm sure the real thing is better than the clone but it sure as hell isn't 11 times better
such a poor argument, this applies to any high end item ever. price increase is almost never proportional to how much better something is. Use your head
anyone from europe here?
I love the look of that knife but it is not worth $1,200
Woah.... What move is this? 9:25. That was MEAN
They look good. but I do feel a kind of way about changing up production to decrease his costs while increasing the price. Orka is 1300 and monarch is 1100
Pinsless to lower cost, charges $1,200.
Weep about it there’s not a better knife
@@Flipalot that's how I feel about my $500 Serif.
Balisong
I think with his designs costing so much out the gate he should just add pins. It's just unreasonable to cut corners on being "cheaper" when the designs are basically $1,000+. I feel it's more a laziness thing over cost efficiency because it's already expensive, just give it something that'll last longer, can't imagine it'll add that much extra like $50 or something.
First just because
I gotta say this video is very disappointing as a long time fan of both you and JK. There's lot's of valid criticism about the guy, but the issues you bring up in this video are almost all false. I know you addressed some issues with a pinned comment, but I feel a follow up or edit is needed. The orca pinless design was never created to cut costs, this is a ridiculous claim in my eyes, despite my very minimal knowledge of machining and producing balis. Julian has stated constantly that the design was meant as a pinless bali that doesnt develop slap or lose its handle gap and it definitely took lots of design time and incorporates complex machining processes. The other claim that I take most issue with is that orcas will inevitably develop slap, I'm not sure where you're getting the idea, most orcas havent lost much if ANY gap at all, I personally haven't seen anywhere near slap, this is the exact issue Julian tried to fix with the orca coming off the monarch. I totally understand your position of suspicion and concern as I know about your monarch problems, but to give such an uneducated off the cuff opinion as one of the biggest names in the community is a bit irresponsible imo
I plan on making an update video at blade show about this!
Jeez. Quit kowtowing. No need to be apologetic for a legitimate problem. We need more unbiased content.
@@thebasilisk3504 ??? he made multiple unresearched false statements, theres a difference between unbiased and uneducated
I think another thing worth mentioning that isn't talked about much is the prevalence of fully CNC'd balisongs like this that are being sold for insultingly high prices when in reality, being able to mill everything including the blade instead of hand grinding should LOWER the price.
easily the best looking balisong(IMO) but i could never pay that much for a knife
honestly i could but in terms of looks i prefer others
@@chucklesdeclown8819 oh hey, i've seen you in the balisongclones subreddit lmao
Until I see a thoroughly flipped 5+ old pinless bali that doesn’t develop slap I refuse to trust pinless. Doesn’t make sense risking permanently ruining your knife in exchange for not having to replace 2 screws
youll never see that because pinless is worthless...you cant fix it due to the fact that the whole design revolves around hardened steel hitting into SOFTER titanium until it wears out.
i used to think JK Design had the new best bali to beat with the Monarch....but then i realized theyre all just trash witgh this pinless BS. spend $1100-$1200 just for it to die in a short period of time...and he knows hes making them to fail and does it anyway...basically a scammer imo. Also lazy/cheap asf to do that as a "cost saving" just to make all these knives that will turn into paper weights over a short period...ive been beating the shit out of my BRS Alpha Beast as my daily driver for like 6 years and it still flips like the day i got it. He should be ashamed of himself quite frankly.
I personally don't beleive any knife is worth 1200 dollars regardless of how much of an art peice it is, but much less one that will inevitably lose handle gap if not flat out handle slap.
I also think pinless balis sound like shit but that's a personal preference
Imagine spending a few hundred thousand dollars on a sportscar and not be able to fix and protect your investment.
After being in the community for a few years/ and owning dozens of knives including many orcas. I realize you were sour with Julian as you made this video. You spread misinformation here and were extremely biased. With all that said, I understand the frustration with the narch.
Lowering costs should not come at the sacrifice of longevity. His knives already cost a fucking arm and a leg, it would be pennies on the dollar for him to just toss some pins in there and he would still make a ton of money. Not that they're even worth the price he's asking now imo. He needs to add pins, cut the price, and have better customer service.
Press fit pins fall out over time. The new angular velocity impact pinless system on the Orca prevents slap from occurring. It is also very complex to machine, thus the $1100 price point. I pride myself on customer service. DM me on Instagram if you ever experience issues.
The Idea of a balisong sitting at 1200 when machine work was involved just seems shitty. So many makers are putting out damn good balisongs with such similar materials and processes for HUNDREDS less, Don't get robbed people.
bad video i think youre obviously hating on the orca since your monarchs been messed up.
Something I want to note about JKs customer service and I'll do it by comparing it to someone else's. When I got my Stitched Steel Alien for $900, stitch was trying a new process in the blade making and as such, a few problems arose. The tolerances weren't great (it had rub and tap) and the tang pins started falling out! And when this was brought up to stitch he goes "Fuck it, I'm making you a new blade, free of charge!" He then offered Damascus at a reduced price because he felt bad that the previous blade did not meet his own expectations. JK does not do ANYTHING like this. I'm one of the people that had their bushings messed up from him, it was litetech no. 16. The safe handle bushing was oversized and I just never had time to fix it. He wanted to charge me $60 for it, which is ridiculous.
Something that's also very questionable about JK is how he treats sponsors. He makes his sponsors pay full price for his knives, most sponsors will send knives free of charge or at a heavily discounted price. He also doesn't even repost the videos his sponsors record to his story. I can not tell you any other maker that does this. It truly seems he doesn't care about having sponsors.
This is a bit of a rant but this is only scratching the surface of the shady stuff that Julien has done. I wish him the best and truly hope he figures himself out and can come back and not be such a divisive maker
Agree with this
Hey Man, If you told me that you bought a knife directly from me and you had a bushing issue I would have fixed it for free without question. I want to make it clear that I only have one sponsor, spy2222 and I just sent him a free orca trainer a few months back. I have all of his edits highlighted on my page along with numerous other guys who flip my knives.
I believe jks knives are horrendously overpriced for what they perform like. I do not see the appeal in paying over 1000 dollars for a pinsless design. Pinsless is a pretty terrible design but jk sells all his designs at a fat mark up too.
Orca is a new and special design. I really felt like you discredited the work that went into this knife at the end of the video. I Felt like you were kind of biased because your upset about the monarch. Talking about the end of your video.
I think that's fair, and my experiences have affected the way I think about JK Designs.
Then again, that tends to happen when you spend $1,100 on a product you can't even use for a year, only to have the maker of that product not fix it for almost 3 years after
@@WillHirschFlips yeah i think it’s important to take someone’s personal experiences into account because those show the true colors of a person
@@WillHirschFlips I think you bring a lotta fair points as well.
@@WillHirschFlips Do you consider him replacing the blade with a bushing one not fixing it? I understand from your previous videos bearings has a different feel and youre looking for a solution to the bearings version, but the new v2 version, which they claim fixes the issue, is on bushings and redesigned tang and stop geometry. I guess ultimately what I'm asking is do you not accept the replacement blade as a fix to your issue? And what would be? In my eyes the bearings monarchs cant really be "fixed" at least not permanently, and it seems youre figuring that out personally
the orca HAS THE SAME ISSUE AS the monarch..wake up people are losing handle gap after 4 months of flipping on a 1200$ bali lol..its junk
You are so bias in this review for your monarch experience, this is your worst video IMO.
I mean I would be pretty biased after paying over 1k for a knife that developed slap that quickly yeah
Ayyy you got your grail. gg