I have had the eastwin half axe as I called it since I was young and am good at throwing them. The 3/4 ones are nice but not the subject. The reason I think they must be the easiest axe throwing alleys started opening up around Virginia I even got a part time job at a place for a while for fun. But the sixteen inch eastwin was all they used and people got the hang of it. I'm guessing it's all metal balances things .....opinions ???