Hey i heard about a lot of throw able projectiles and was wondering which is the best one. Kunais, throwing knives, shuriken, etc. which one does the most damage. also is it good to buy kunai's for beginner to get the hang of throwing? and what should i practice throwing it on. a tree?
Best throwable projectile
- Thread starter PHMA
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ive heard the cold steel shurikens are okay and i bet theyd be easy to stick. IMO the best thing for lighter things like shurikens would be plywood. however you could kill all the trowing birds with one stone by just getting a 3 or so foot diameter by 12 inch thick tree round
Don't throw at a tree with any regularity unless you want to kill it.
If by kunai, you mean the Naruto/expendables type with a large ring on one end, then I wouldn't waste my time. They're not true to life for any nation's history (real kunai were basically a heavy garden trowel, perhaps a lanyard hole in the handle, but not the silly spin-around-the-finger ring), the ring is terrible for learning no-spin because it makes it hard to brush on release, and it's similarly unpredictable for release on traditional spin throwing. If you just love the kunai look, then try to find some with the most unobtrusive ring possible, a relatively flat knife blade and a medium to large overall size with some decent heft. The ~1oz per inch of length rule of thumb is helpful for beginner throwing knives.
Don't throw sharp knives; it doesn't need an edge to stick, just a point. Definitely log rounds for the target. Knives are my favorite to throw. For cheap and easy bo shuriken, 10-12 inch concrete nails or tent nails work great and let you get lots of meaningful throwing reps with minimal cash outlay. Check the surfaces all over for dings, nicks, jagged bits and rough spots that might need filing. You don't want to find them out by throwing--major buzzkill.
Have lots of fun and be safe.
Update: I remember now that the tent nails were better because they are tempered to make them better for re-use and they're also smoother.
If by kunai, you mean the Naruto/expendables type with a large ring on one end, then I wouldn't waste my time. They're not true to life for any nation's history (real kunai were basically a heavy garden trowel, perhaps a lanyard hole in the handle, but not the silly spin-around-the-finger ring), the ring is terrible for learning no-spin because it makes it hard to brush on release, and it's similarly unpredictable for release on traditional spin throwing. If you just love the kunai look, then try to find some with the most unobtrusive ring possible, a relatively flat knife blade and a medium to large overall size with some decent heft. The ~1oz per inch of length rule of thumb is helpful for beginner throwing knives.
Don't throw sharp knives; it doesn't need an edge to stick, just a point. Definitely log rounds for the target. Knives are my favorite to throw. For cheap and easy bo shuriken, 10-12 inch concrete nails or tent nails work great and let you get lots of meaningful throwing reps with minimal cash outlay. Check the surfaces all over for dings, nicks, jagged bits and rough spots that might need filing. You don't want to find them out by throwing--major buzzkill.
Have lots of fun and be safe.
Update: I remember now that the tent nails were better because they are tempered to make them better for re-use and they're also smoother.
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i just made my own shurikens... went to my local raw steel shop and got 3 feet of 3/8 an 3 feet of 1/4 round bar made sets of 6 with a grinder... pointed on one end only, work pretty good... if you don't wanna go that far with it, just go to hardware store buy spike nails an cut the heads off them 
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i never understood the whole kunai thing. double edged daggers with rings on the end which alowed them to be spun around the finger existed in china, in the way of chinese ring daggers. but in japan the kunai looked more like a smatchet or a flat shovel then anything else.
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if your looking for throwable weapons then bo-shuriken are great. they help you to get used to throwing difirentially weighted objects. if you can throw them with a no spin technique, then you can pretty much throw a good variety of other edged weapons.
PitbullShogun, exactly!
So to any kunai-wielding would-be ninja out there, when you think about real kunai, take as a point of reference these:
NO DEAL SPOTTING!!!!! Do not post links to dealers that do not support BladeForums!!!
Bobby
Personally, I wouldn't want to start out with anything that would be called a kunai, because they're just not favorably designed for learning any of the major throwing styles.
Ninja, when they used kunai, used them not for their awesome flight capabilities, but because they looked like a garden tool. The whole idea was to make a hit, and disappear into a crowd of field workers and be mistaken for a field worker with his everyday tools. Today the things that are sold as kunai stick out like a cgi-enhanced anime-exaggerated sore thumb in everyday life, AND even though many would probably suck as throwing knives, it's gonna be a hard sell to a cop, a DA, or a jury that they are anything but that. Sort of the opposite of the original intent, IMHO.
Modern day ninja tools might be more like a landscaping company uniform, some Cutco Super Shears (Since I'm quasi-recommending these, I'll not post a link per forum rules. You can google it yourself. Just keep in mind they are wildly overpriced, but strictly for this purpose they are actually the rare exception to the kunai problems that I mentioned above in that: they DO blend in as an everyday item, they CAN separate into some seriously fun finger-spinning daggers, wherein the ring is actually useful, and they actually ARE pretty decent for no-spin throwing from short to mid range distances with excellent penetration. Caveats: The handles tend to crack when thrown at wood, so maybe use a soft cushion material for your practice target), a garden spade and matching claw, and a hammer (say, 16 oz claw hammer with a fiberglass handle, not for throwing, or a drywall hammer if you want something tomahawk-ish, but then go for more of a homebuilder/handyman look as landscapers aren't often putting up wallboard), if you're feeling eccentric, maybe a plumb bob, and all of this in an actual tool belt with ample pockets for large nails with small heads.
Of course, it doesn't look terribly awesome, and for ninjas that was the point. Oh, and remember, too that in some places people have guns, and nobody wants to be the dumb mall ninja that got Indiana Jones'd by someone's grandma driving a golf cart with a flashing orange light on top.
Update to note that the links are just to images, strictly for reference. Not any deal-spotting, where I could, I tried to post things that are not for sale anymore. In fact, if I put link to a picture, then I probably would NOT recommend it for learning how to throw. If any modification is needed, I'm happy to toe the line. In fact, I made one myself just now.
So to any kunai-wielding would-be ninja out there, when you think about real kunai, take as a point of reference these:
NO DEAL SPOTTING!!!!! Do not post links to dealers that do not support BladeForums!!!
Bobby
Personally, I wouldn't want to start out with anything that would be called a kunai, because they're just not favorably designed for learning any of the major throwing styles.
Ninja, when they used kunai, used them not for their awesome flight capabilities, but because they looked like a garden tool. The whole idea was to make a hit, and disappear into a crowd of field workers and be mistaken for a field worker with his everyday tools. Today the things that are sold as kunai stick out like a cgi-enhanced anime-exaggerated sore thumb in everyday life, AND even though many would probably suck as throwing knives, it's gonna be a hard sell to a cop, a DA, or a jury that they are anything but that. Sort of the opposite of the original intent, IMHO.
Modern day ninja tools might be more like a landscaping company uniform, some Cutco Super Shears (Since I'm quasi-recommending these, I'll not post a link per forum rules. You can google it yourself. Just keep in mind they are wildly overpriced, but strictly for this purpose they are actually the rare exception to the kunai problems that I mentioned above in that: they DO blend in as an everyday item, they CAN separate into some seriously fun finger-spinning daggers, wherein the ring is actually useful, and they actually ARE pretty decent for no-spin throwing from short to mid range distances with excellent penetration. Caveats: The handles tend to crack when thrown at wood, so maybe use a soft cushion material for your practice target), a garden spade and matching claw, and a hammer (say, 16 oz claw hammer with a fiberglass handle, not for throwing, or a drywall hammer if you want something tomahawk-ish, but then go for more of a homebuilder/handyman look as landscapers aren't often putting up wallboard), if you're feeling eccentric, maybe a plumb bob, and all of this in an actual tool belt with ample pockets for large nails with small heads.
Of course, it doesn't look terribly awesome, and for ninjas that was the point. Oh, and remember, too that in some places people have guns, and nobody wants to be the dumb mall ninja that got Indiana Jones'd by someone's grandma driving a golf cart with a flashing orange light on top.
Update to note that the links are just to images, strictly for reference. Not any deal-spotting, where I could, I tried to post things that are not for sale anymore. In fact, if I put link to a picture, then I probably would NOT recommend it for learning how to throw. If any modification is needed, I'm happy to toe the line. In fact, I made one myself just now.
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Oh, also to one of PHMA's original questions that we overlooked: Which one does the most damage?
Of all the things I've thrown, the scariest beast of a thing is my 12" cold chisel (get one without the rubber/plastic grip thing). I've had to replace several log rounds because it split them IN TWO. ADDED bonus features, the one I use comes from the factory painted bright yellow (way easier to find in the grass) and in spite of being one of the cheapest throwers I've found (single digits), because it's a cold chisel it's made to take WAY more beating than any throwing knife.
One HUGE caveat: this thing scares the CRAP outta me when it rebounds. Definitely rap the butt end with some shock-reducing handle material, such as paracord, tennis racket grip tape, or just duct tape. (The same goes with any thrower that's just naked steel. If it clangs loud and hard, it's going to bounce back harder, sometimes right at your face. If you can wrap it to make it quieter, then it will tend to reduce the force of the bounce as well.
Update: Oh yeah, I just remembered I had to do some minor filing of the chisel face to make it stick easier. I filed the narrower sides of the chisel face to make it slightly pointier ( from | | to / |), and scratched in some grooves across the face and into the edges of the face to make it grab wood a little better upon penetration.
Of all the things I've thrown, the scariest beast of a thing is my 12" cold chisel (get one without the rubber/plastic grip thing). I've had to replace several log rounds because it split them IN TWO. ADDED bonus features, the one I use comes from the factory painted bright yellow (way easier to find in the grass) and in spite of being one of the cheapest throwers I've found (single digits), because it's a cold chisel it's made to take WAY more beating than any throwing knife.
One HUGE caveat: this thing scares the CRAP outta me when it rebounds. Definitely rap the butt end with some shock-reducing handle material, such as paracord, tennis racket grip tape, or just duct tape. (The same goes with any thrower that's just naked steel. If it clangs loud and hard, it's going to bounce back harder, sometimes right at your face. If you can wrap it to make it quieter, then it will tend to reduce the force of the bounce as well.
Update: Oh yeah, I just remembered I had to do some minor filing of the chisel face to make it stick easier. I filed the narrower sides of the chisel face to make it slightly pointier ( from | | to / |), and scratched in some grooves across the face and into the edges of the face to make it grab wood a little better upon penetration.
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Ooh, I had forgotten about that. Yes they did, the C/S Shanghai Shadow is a pretty close one-off to this breed, but still nothing like the kind of pointy diamond-octahedrons that go well with orange jumpsuits.
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Stick sharpened to a point on each end. If you hit point first, you will kill what you hit. Hit side first, knock the crap out of what you hit. Stick should be about 12 inches - 15 inches, 1 1/2 inch diameter max. Cheap and hugely effective.
Also, a good old spear. Easy to learn how to throw, ouch.
Also, a good old spear. Easy to learn how to throw, ouch.
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axes pack a punch, decent throwing knives also- usually over a foot long. practice on purpose built throwing target, end grain rounds of softwood
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My favorite throwing weapon is the original Cold Steel Sure Strike Thrower throwing stars. I think these are the best stars around. The original version had more like a taper-ground point, whereas on the ones today each side of the 4 points is chisel-ground. I like the original ones because you can squeeze one star in each fist and use them to devastating effect in close-quarter combat. On the new ones you are likely to hurt your hand if you use them in this way. The new ones are still the best throwing stars out, just not quite as awesome as the old ones.
But the best thing about these stars is that they're big, they're heavy, and stick every time, and they stick HARD. Almost anyone can pick these up and start sticking them every time right away. For this reason I would say that they do the most damage of any throwing weapon. An axe or a huge spike or something may do more damage on one throw, if you stick it, but they are harder to stick consistently, especially if you were in a self-defense situation. But for consistent damage per throw, a throwing weapon for self-defense, or just throwing for fun, I'm going with these.:thumbup:
But the best thing about these stars is that they're big, they're heavy, and stick every time, and they stick HARD. Almost anyone can pick these up and start sticking them every time right away. For this reason I would say that they do the most damage of any throwing weapon. An axe or a huge spike or something may do more damage on one throw, if you stick it, but they are harder to stick consistently, especially if you were in a self-defense situation. But for consistent damage per throw, a throwing weapon for self-defense, or just throwing for fun, I'm going with these.:thumbup: