Beginner's at throwing knives.

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Sep 19, 1999
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O.K. so I bought my 8 year old son and myself a couple of inexpensive throwing knives today at the local gun show. Of course I know nothing of throwing knives but my son had fun slicing and dicing the large Haloween pumpkin, that was beginning to age rapidly anyway, when we got got home. Heck even when he missed the knife stuck.

Can anyone recommend a beginners book? Or some starter tips?

Thanks.

TrackerDan
 
There is also one by Gil Hibben (A martial artist, instructor, and bladesmith) called Knife Throwing (I think). It is pretty good. There is not much to knife throwing, the secret is knowing your knife. The book also contains some diagrams for simple targets. I don't know what kind of knives you got, but I hope they are on thl ight site (at least the one for your son) this will help.

Also Hibben makes some great knives and some great throwers.
 
I'm going to have to disagree with Les on this and say that I hope your throwers are heavy. That's what you really want some fairly heavy throwers around 12" long or so. If a thrower is light you have to throw it harder to get it to penetrate the target.

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Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get me.
 
I have to agree. Go with a heavier knife. The rule of thumb is one ounce per inch of knife. The lighter ones are ok for 1/2 turns but beyond that they dont work well. They tend to "float" when thrown. As for learning how to throw I would try here http://www.sonic.net/~quine/thrower.html This is the site that helped me out the most when I first started. Since winter is here I would set up an indoor target and practice the 1/2 turns and wait until spring to get some heavier ones to use for longer throws. Well I hope this helped.
Kevin
 
Thanks for the plug Kevin! There is a lot on that page for the beginner. Especially the stuff on indoor and lite-knife throwing.

Agree with those above. All things being equal, a heavy thrower is better than a light thrower, but sometimes, a little lighter is to be preferred, particularly indoors, short distances, usually against something softer than wood like cardboard or the aforementioned pumpkin!

I have found some smaller-heavy throwing knives. Doc Gundersen's (see link at http://www.sonic.net/~quine/custom.html to L&H knife works) "Ace in the hole" is a bit on the pricy side, but is sure heavy enough. Also at the high end Harald Moeller's Viper III. Bobby Branton makes a nice medium-small knife (8" I forget which model) for a reasonable price that throws best from the handle! Great for 1 turn throws at cardboard, but will also do longer throws and not be damaged in wood. Lee Fugat, among others also does smaller throwers knives at very reasonable prices. These makers and many others are linked from the page noted above. I have a German small boot knife I once found in NYC whose blade, tang, and guard are stamped (maybe hammer forged) from one piece of metal. Good weight, so you can also find these things in odd places.

But if you are just learning, the much cheaper small knives, thrown indoors, usually a half turn (blade throw) against cardboard are all you need. If you're just getting started, you can also begin with some of the cheaper stuff you find in catalogs like Smoken Mtn (see http://www.sonic.net/~quine/catalogs.html), and other places. If you stick to it, you won't be satisfied with the cheaper stuff for long, and will return to check into the higher quality offerings.
 
I find a light knive is more dangerous, it tends to bounce back if thrown at a hard target without enough force. This the same for almost all of them, just light knives are more of a danger for the beginner, a heavier knife is best for the beginner. Try using small machete length ones.
 
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