Good throwers?

Rat Finkenstein said:
no, it is called spring temper. they don't take a set from side impacts and are not brittle. The only damage sustained to my condors after endless throws is a deformed tip from hitting something hard, easily fixed.
My H&B forge throwers are guaranteed not to bend or break. If a thrower bends or breaks there is something wrong with it.
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Trying to gain some insight here... when the Cold Steel bent or broke, was it because of a bad or incorrect hit on the target? I am not a thrower and I know if I tried it, I would do it wrong and hit with the handle or just flat slap whatever I threw it at. Just wondering..
 
Blackie Scantling said:
Knife throwing has just slightly less real world use than ax throwing. I only say that because maybe, just maybe, someone in the recorded history of man may have been injured by a flung battle ax. And that was probably an accident.

Admittedly, throwing edged tools was fun when you were a kid though.
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You never know. There could be an assassin for hire/soldier of fortune that practices knife throwing 6 hrs a day and is proficient enough to use it as a defense/attack skill.
Probable? No. Possible? Yes.
 
Blackie Scantling said:
Knife throwing has just slightly less real world use than ax throwing. I only say that because maybe, just maybe, someone in the recorded history of man may have been injured by a flung battle ax. And that was probably an accident.

Admittedly, throwing edged tools was fun when you were a kid though.
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it is fun, and once you gain skill, even more fun. Prac-tac is down the hall if you want to whine about practicality.
 
Rat Finkenstein said:
no, the cold steel is softer than a spring temper.
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I've just checked by hand.
Cold steel true flight thrower, 1055(or 1075) if I remember.
Hardness - just over (or about) 55hrc (tested with files). Websites say it is from 55 to 57.

Bobby Branton knives (according to his words) - 44-46 hrc
Flying steel - 50hrc (their website).
H&B Forge makes knives from 4140 which can achieve 54hrc TOPS, and at that hardness it would be very tough..
My "customs" are about 50hrc

So I would stand my point.
Cold steel throwing knives are HARDER than most custom/semicustom ones. :)
 
jjoanty01 said:
Trying to gain some insight here... when the Cold Steel bent or broke, was it because of a bad or incorrect hit on the target? I am not a thrower and I know if I tried it, I would do it wrong and hit with the handle or just flat slap whatever I threw it at. Just wondering..
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the cold steel would bend in an arc from side impacts. It happens sometimes even to skilled throwers, not every throw is a stick, so a proper temper ensures the thrower lasts. Any edge on the too soft thrower also deforms readily.
 
jjoanty01 said:
Trying to gain some insight here... when the Cold Steel bent or broke, was it because of a bad or incorrect hit on the target? I am not a thrower and I know if I tried it, I would do it wrong and hit with the handle or just flat slap whatever I threw it at. Just wondering..
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Doesen't matter. Throwing knife should not bend or break even when thrown into steel wall :)
 
Whole lot of trolling going on. This is not Whine & Cheese.

We have a new guy who knows what he wants. Help him, please, or go home.
 
idaho said:
I've just checked by hand.
Cold steel true flight thrower, 1055(or 1075) if I remember.
Hardness - just over (or about) 55hrc (tested with files). Websites say it is from 55 to 57.

Bobby Branton knives (according to his words) - 44-46 hrc
Flying steel - 50hrc (their website).
H&B Forge makes knives from 4140 which can achieve 54hrc TOPS, and at that hardness it would be very tough..
My "customs" are about 50hrc

So I would stand my point.
Cold steel throwing knives are HARDER than most custom/semicustom ones. :)
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if they were of decent material and heat treat, they would not take a set and deform readily. They can claim whatever they want, marketing is what they do after all.
 
Rat Finkenstein said:
if they were of decent material and heat treat, they would not take a set and deform readily. They can claim whatever they want, marketing is what they do after all.
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then again, your cold steel throwers could be of different material made in a different factory with decent heat treat. Might well be the case. If op goes for CS throwers, best to avoid the ones with plastic scales, they will break off. For a novice thrower, I recommend knives without handle scales that can be damaged.
 
I don't know if it will help or hurt, but I've used cold steel throwers (I own five knives, tree different generations of release), and I've had no signs of the knives bending at all.

And by no means I am perfect at throwing, I have had some very harsh miss throws.

I am not able to do a quantitative hardness test on them, but the batches that I've sampled from show that the knives are more than competent for production throwers.
 
Honestly, if you are new to throwing just go onto any "respected" on-line retailer and browse their throwing knives. Most sets are under $30 and include 3 knives 8-10" long, usually cheap Chinese-made 420J2 stainless steel left quite soft and thick.
Look for knives at least 1/8" thick, 3/16" is better, to reduce bending/breaking. Don't worry too much about balance as most of these are just blanks cut from sheet-metal - as long as neither the head nor the pommel are of excessive size, balance should be good enough for you.

Regarding fracture, I have yet to see mathematical proof that throwing a knife harder than 55 Rc results in fracture more often than throwing a knife hardened below that. What I HAVE seen is that softer blades will bend and deform. I have a Boker Mini Bo-Kri that is fun to throw (well balanced) but cannot keep an edge for actual cutting use and bends/warps. It is soft 420J2 stainless steel. Much better are my Survive! GSO-5.1 and Swamp Rat Rodent 9 - both have excellent balance, high durability, and are hardened for actual cutting use, i.e. 60 Rc. Neither is designed as a thrower, but neither has failed. Both are more expensive however.

[video=youtube;QyBhMK5zlxU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyBhMK5zlxU[/video][video=youtube;iCphmLgvaV4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCphmLgvaV4[/video]
 
Condor wing throwing knife set, 6" blade, 4" handle, 1075 carbon steel, set of three goes for about $45 on the net.
 
What's the big deal if a throwing knife takes a set? Just bend it back and keep throwing it. That's a minor nuisance compared to a broken blade.
 
chiral.grolim said:
Honestly, if you are new to throwing just go onto any "respected" on-line retailer and browse their throwing knives. Most sets are under $30 and include 3 knives 8-10" long, usually cheap Chinese-made 420J2 stainless steel left quite soft and thick.
Look for knives at least 1/8" thick, 3/16" is better, to reduce bending/breaking. Don't worry too much about balance as most of these are just blanks cut from sheet-metal - as long as neither the head nor the pommel are of excessive size, balance should be good enough for you.

Regarding fracture, I have yet to see mathematical proof that throwing a knife harder than 55 Rc results in fracture more often than throwing a knife hardened below that. What I HAVE seen is that softer blades will bend and deform. I have a Boker Mini Bo-Kri that is fun to throw (well balanced) but cannot keep an edge for actual cutting use and bends/warps. It is soft 420J2 stainless steel. Much better are my Survive! GSO-5.1 and Swamp Rat Rodent 9 - both have excellent balance, high durability, and are hardened for actual cutting use, i.e. 60 Rc. Neither is designed as a thrower, but neither has failed. Both are more expensive however.
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I used a Battle Rat as a dedicated thrower for quite a while, and messed up the ResC handle pretty good, which they replaced. There was no damage to the ~60RC blade.

Most cheapo "throwing knife" sets are a waste of money. Too short and light, and made of garbage steel. Better to spend a few bucks more and get something that will last. Easier to learn and get good sticks on a good heavy longer blade.

dogstar said:
What's the big deal if a throwing knife takes a set? Just bend it back and keep throwing it. That's a minor nuisance compared to a broken blade.
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If I wanted bendy soft knives I would plasma cut shapes from mild steel. A decent thrower will not break. It will also not take a set.

It sounds like CS may have improved the quality of their throwers, and that can't be a bad thing. I still prefer other brands.
 
+1 to all of ^this :thumbup:



Also regarding bending back a bent blade - do this a few times on a paper-clip and tell me what you end up with. Taking a set stretches and compresses the steel in the area of the bend. The stretch can create micro-fissures, and the stress also hardens that tiny section of metal. Bending it back can result in even more stress if not immediate fracture. A bent blade is a weakened blade, better to have a blade that doesn't take a set at all.
 
Renaissance-reborn said:
I don't know if it will help or hurt, but I've used cold steel throwers (I own five knives, tree different generations of release), and I've had no signs of the knives bending at all.

And by no means I am perfect at throwing, I have had some very harsh miss throws.

I am not able to do a quantitative hardness test on them, but the batches that I've sampled from show that the knives are more than competent for production throwers.
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Agreed totally with similar experience.
I've also used several different Cold Steel knives and have also had (gulp) way too many harsh missed throws at almost every angle. A couple dings or chipped edges sure, but that's not uncommon for these mass produced 'hardened' throwers. No bending or breaking has occurred.

OP, to answer your original request without getting all metallurgical, some good choices (IMHO, having used them) over 10" that 'most likely wouldn't break or bend' (relative to how you choose to abuse them...lol) for (2) knives under $45 could include the following listed below. Obviously more than these, but it's a start.

- Condor Dismissal 12" or 14" models.
- Gil Hibben Models including: Gen X Pro, Competition, Larger Triple, etc. (typ sets of 3 w/sheath).
- Cold Steel models: True Flight, Perfect Balance, Sure Balance, Pro Balance.

There are of course several other brands/models under your criteria, and you have to shop around to get your best price, but this should be a good starting point along with the info posted by others in this thread.

Good luck with what ever you end up getting!
 
I have six 12" Condor Dismissal's They're hefty and you don't have to throw them with force to stick. No scales to loosen or break off. . NO DEAL Spotting. See rules in the sticky area.
Thanks,
BB
31-fIyAz2QL._SY300_.jpg


Steve



LIVE FREE OR DIE
 
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Actually H & B is using 1095 on all of our hawks, axes and knives. (The 4140 is what we used many years ago and is still on our website. I'm glad I read this. It reminds me to get that changed on there!) All of our hawks and knives are guaranteed for life not to bend or break or chip. We've been in business for 49 years so that should tell you something.
Mary
 
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