The video I posted above he's got tape on a ton of things...
I'm not a huge fan of handle tape in general, and really if you have to make a big ball of tape on the handle of a knife, its not really a knife anymore its more of a throwing dart due to the change in grip and balance, which is what he's kinda doing really...
The no-spin method is something that really works well with longer knives as you can use the length as leverage to accomplish the throw....
Try this... get a wooden dowel something cheap, or even a stick or anything 36" or longer.
1. Hold the stick/dowel, by the end and wave it up and down.
2. Feel the torque that the weight of the stick exerts on your hand and wrist.
3. Progressively move your hand towards the middle of the stick, each time you move it, wave it up and down and feel the torque change. (You're feeling the change in overall POB point of balance).
4. When you get to the middle of the stick, notice that its not as clear where the torque is coming from, front or back of the stick, this is the point of balance for that stick. If you were to put your opposite hand out with one finger extended (I know... insert one finger jokes here...) the stick would balance on it at that point. Note that it may not be the exact middle of the stick, but would likely be the middle of a wooden dowel.
Ok, so now you know where the balance point of your wooden stick/rod is. Choose the light end (or either end for an even balance) and move your hand there.
Stand right in front of your target so that you could touch it with the tip of the stick you're not holding by extending your arm a little.
Now throw the stick in a sweeping motion like you're throwing a baseball, but so that the tip of the stick you're not holding moves in an arc over your head much faster than the end you're holding... its kind of a whipping motion, when its almost pointing at the target, release.
The stick should slide out of your hand and hit the target point first. (Point being the end you're were not holding).
Now take a step back. Repeat, but this time release just a little bit earlier. Notice the arc the stick makes... it is actually spinning, just VERY SLOWLY.
Take another step back. Repeat, and so on... The further back you go, the sooner you'll have to release to get the tip to hit the target. This creates a bigger and bigger arc and increases the spin movement a small bit each time. The stick should never tumble but it will increase its rotational angle a bit more each time the further away you get.
This motion should all be fairly easily visible with a 36" stick or something big, it will illustrate what's happening and what you want to happen with a shorter object like a knife.
When you've got the hang and feel of how things work with the long stick, switch to your knife, and go for the same feel... keep in mind its much more subtle with a shorter object as the torque is much less, but the idea remains the same.
Another thing to consider is grip. The closer to the POB you move your hand the more the throwing arc must be reduced until by the time you've reached the middle of the knife, you're almost pushing it rather than throwing it and releasing the knife with the tip pointing more verticle than horizontal.
I hope this helps, let us know if it doesn't I'd be happy to illustrate this live on video.
- Hal Zucati
