Making my first knives!!! Help?

[CecilDaDiesel]

So i have been all over the web looking at homemade knive vids. I've seen the ones Mike just put up and I have found some interesting designs. For the first 4 I went to Lowes and got some 3/16 think x 2" wide x 4' steel. I plan on quartering it to make 4 ~12in knives. Im not going to get super cool and frilly with it. I just want it not to bend or break as quick as some of the cheap throwers I have purchased. I would like to know/see some designs that you all think work well. If you have posted some of them on this site before then I have probably seen them already but please let me know specs. (Handle length, blade length, width of both, length of the taper...) I already have an idea of what I am going to go with and it looks a lot like Mike's 14" thowers he made. I just want this thing to be well balanced and im sure I could make it look however I want and I can tinker enough to get it balanced but it would be great knowing a great starting point. I am a big fan of the bowie style throwers and still want to get some Perfect Balance Throwers but this is a much cheaper choice for me right now. 4 knives for 20 bucks or 3 for 70 with the PB Throwers from CS... So help if you can. Much appreciated.
Happy Throwing you all,
Cecil

[Poop Fungus]

sorry, im not gonna be much help with the knife making. im a big fan of bowie styled throwers also (and just throwing regular 15-16 inch bowies). i have the CS perfect balance and i like it alot. does everything the bigger bowies'll do without being "too big" (carrying). another cheap/fun one (but they wont last long)=any old rusty 15 inch pakistan bowies you find (>$10). i throw them until the brass guard and wood handles break off and then just keep leather wrap on handle after that. (i have a few damascus bowie blanks i leather wrapped the handle on too). i dont think ive thrown anything over 13'ish inches that didnt eventually bend (some more drastic than others). ive only ever broke 1 and it was 1 of a set of 3 from Hibben (the 12 inch hall of famers), and i think it was a defect in the metal. broke right away, just snapped clean in half, straight line. they replaced it and ive had no more problems.

[CecilDaDiesel]

Thanks a lot for the input. I would love to make a bowie style thrower but I am not sure the 15 dollar steel i got from Lowes would hold a great edge for a bowie style survival/thrower. But if you wouldn't mind I'd love to get the specs from some of your fav throwers so i can have an idea of what I can do with these knives. I just really want to make sure the balance is done correctly and that I don't need to drill half a dozen holes in the blade end to balance it out.

[Poop Fungus]

http://www.knifethrowing.info/ziel_throwing_knife.html ..far as simple/typical shape, something you could probly do your first time around. these ziels (13'inch). i got a set of these, they throw nice, handle or blade. classic shape, feels good, sticks well. maybe even consider the grooves and stuff on them, for balancing, if you dont want to drill wholes all the way through...???
on another note.. im not sure about balance in a knife.. i started off throwing typical, well balanced knives. i still do. i however now, throw and stick about anything (and im sure these bowie blanks and stuff i rig up cant be to well balanced). i dunno, i think once you get a feel for it, you can throw just about anything=its all about finding that distance and being consistant (and after your 10,000'th throw, well, i just dont think you can help but be better than when you started).. practice practice practice

[CecilDaDiesel]

I guess I should have mentioned that I throw no-spin/thorn style. ive been throwing some el cheepo knives I found at the flea market. the tips bend almost every misssd throw. Ive seen that design and will prolly go for it.
Thanks again,
Cecil