How To Kunai throwing knife (probably) gone wrong

[suha04]

Hi!

In the last few days, I thought about making a Kunai for myself, for both "decor" and throwing. I am a total newbie in both knife making and throwing, so I checked out the Internet about things, I might need to know. The internet said that a Kunai should be 20-30cm, and it should weight 100g-500g. It has false edges, but the point is sharp. So I started working on it. Now that I'm done, it's about 23cm long, and 175g in total. I tried throwing it, but it doesn't stick in the wood plank (pine), and after a quick check, I found out that a proper throwing knife should be 200g. However, the balance in the middle section is okay.
What should I do?

 

[Joshua Fisher]

First make sure it’s pointy and not too dull you want it to be thin at the edge but not sharp, second a flat plank isn’t the best throwing target, it can work but the knife needs to be sharper than what you’d need to stick in a end grain slice or the end of a log. You can make a target with 4x4 pieces chopped up and places so the end grain is facing out. I’m sure others can jump in and give some suggestions on size but the size of the throwing knife depends greatly on the style of throwing, no spin vs half or full spin throwing works better with different size knives.

 

[Hengelo_77]

You're taking two unknowns and try to work it out at the same time.
I'd first buy a known trowing knife and learn throwing it.
Once you understand that you'll understand what a good trowing knife is. Then try and make your own.
There is a knife trowing section on this forum, you might learn a lot over there.

I also tried it when I was young, throwing a M3 bayonet at an old wooden door.
I learned that I'll never be a good knife thrower.

 

[suha04]

Thank you guys for the answers, it helped a lot!

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

If you go to a landscaping or tree removal company they can slice you a 6" thick slab from a tree trunk. 30" would be wonderful, 24" is plenty big enough, 16" will work. Use that as your target. If you are learning, mount the slab on a 4X8 sheet of plywood for those "missed" throws.
You can make a throwing target by slicing 4" to 6" sections of 2X4, 4X4, or 6X6 boards. Stack them up with the end grain out. If using 2X4s you can screw them together. For bigger wood, use glue and tight straps around the bundle. A good coat of house paint will make it last longer if kept outside.

I agree that you should by a throwing knife and learn to throw it. TV and You-tube makes it look easy, but it takes some skill and the distance needs to be right. The weight and balance are what makes it easy or hard to throw accurately and make it stick.

IIRC, there are some older threads on throwing knives here. Use the custom search engine to look them up.

 

[suha04]

If you go to a landscaping or tree removal company they can slice you a 6" thick slab from a tree trunk. 30" would be wonderful, 24" is plenty big enough, 16" will work. Use that as your target. If you are learning, mount the slab on a 4X8 sheet of plywood for those "missed" throws.
You can make a throwing target by slicing 4" to 6" sections of 2X4, 4X4, or 6X6 boards. Stack them up with the end grain out. If using 2X4s you can screw them together. For bigger wood, use glue and tight straps around the bundle. A good coat of house paint will make it last longer if kept outside.

I agree that you should by a throwing knife and learn to throw it. TV and You-tube makes it look easy, but it takes some skill and the distance needs to be right. The weight and balance are what makes it easy or hard to throw accurately and make it stick.

IIRC, there are some older threads on throwing knives here. Use the custom search engine to look them up.

Thank you so much for the info!

 

[Richard338]

I cut a 4x4 into 1" thick slices and placed them packed together on a sheet of plywood.
Doesn't take up much room in the shed and can be dragged out when the kids are in the mood.

 

[Drew Riley]

How about some pics?

One thing you can try is just sticking the knife into your target by hand, and seeing how it sticks to begin with. If you can't stick it by hand, chances are good you won't stick it by throwing either; or if you've really got to jam it hard into the target, you either need a different target, or your point needs refined a bit.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

BTW, the tip should be beveled in four facets meeting in a point. About 1/4" to 3/8"wide for each facet. Only the last 1/2" or so of the knife needs to be faceted. The rest is just a 45° false edge.