make a great target, eh? Suggestions, pls.

D

DuncanR

Joined
Jan 26, 2016
Messages
5
Hello, Brand new to the forum. I have been throwing knives for only 3 months or so.
Right now I need a new target or target ideas. I have been throwing in my garage (inclement weather in winter) and had created a target using a hollow core door (cheap) with two layers of drywall screwed to it, for an experiment.
The experiment is over....after about 45 minutes...the drywall is destroyed and the door is on the way.
I find the door is just the right size for me and useful for lifting into position.
I can easily get tree butt sections in my part of the country, but they would be heavy for use in the garage...though I will get one for outdoors later.
Please give me any suggestions. Right now I am thinking of just substituting the hollow core door for a solid one? Good idea?
I like a 6 foot target on the floor because I can still get a little wild and stick them in the garage door if not focussed. The dart-board sized targets would not do.
I am throwing medium weight ( I suppose) 9.5 inch, 7.5 oz knives.
Thanks for any help.
 
DuncanR

I'm a lurker as well. So welcome.

I don't throw but my suggestion is material used for archery targets; straw, foam, etc. I've read where some people have taken corrugated boxes, laid them on they side collapsed, and bound a stack of them together.

Good luck!
 
DuncanR said:
Hello, Brand new to the forum. I have been throwing knives for only 3 months or so.
Right now I need a new target or target ideas. I have been throwing in my garage (inclement weather in winter) and had created a target using a hollow core door (cheap) with two layers of drywall screwed to it, for an experiment.
The experiment is over....after about 45 minutes...the drywall is destroyed and the door is on the way.
I find the door is just the right size for me and useful for lifting into position.
I can easily get tree butt sections in my part of the country, but they would be heavy for use in the garage...though I will get one for outdoors later.
Please give me any suggestions. Right now I am thinking of just substituting the hollow core door for a solid one? Good idea?
I like a 6 foot target on the floor because I can still get a little wild and stick them in the garage door if not focussed. The dart-board sized targets would not do.
I am throwing medium weight ( I suppose) 9.5 inch, 7.5 oz knives.
Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...

Ronin_Jedi said:
DuncanR

I'm a lurker as well. So welcome.

I don't throw but my suggestion is material used for archery targets; straw, foam, etc. I've read where some people have taken corrugated boxes, laid them on they side collapsed, and bound a stack of them together.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Pressed cardboard will work for a while, longer than a hollow core door with sheetrock, but not much longer.

If you can't find a log round of sycamore or cottonwood, the best target (IMO) is an end grain target made out of 2x4s or 4x4s.

The video at this vvv link, on the International Knife Throwers Hall of Fame website shows how to make a "standard" end grain target using 2x4s and 2x6s. The "standard" target is right at 2 ft x 2 ft.
http://ikthof.com/videos-and-media/

You can build them any size you like. I have seen pics where folks have built one that cover an entire living room wall. I am currently working on a 3 ft x 4 ft version that will be semi-portable (semi due to the weight) for use in long distance bowie/tomahawk throwing practice.
 
American Elm trunk rounds would work well. They used them for wagon wheel hubs because of how resistive they are to splitting. I've been meaning to aquire a 1 foot thick round to try out.
 
zzyzzogeton said:
The video at this vvv link, on the International Knife Throwers Hall of Fame website shows how to make a "standard" end grain target using 2x4s and 2x6s. The "standard" target is right at 2 ft x 2 ft.
http://ikthof.com/videos-and-media/
Click to expand...

Thanks for the great tip. I actually had this same thing planned before I joined the forum, but worried the gaps caused by the less-than-square edges of the 2x4s would be too great. Obviously not. I also thought I would glue the thing together...it would be stronger.....but the video made me realize the screws permitted repairs to individual blocks. Even better! Thanks for the help.
 
You're welcome. Mike Bainton (founder of IKTHOF) and a couple of his throwing buddies make 30 or 40 of these every year for the US throw held in September or October each year. The screw in a block method makes it real easy to replace specific chewed up blocks. After the throw, he uses them as part of his knife and hawk throwing training for his after-school karate/knife/hawk programs.

I have also made many of these for people who want to get into knife throwing but have neither the tools nor any talent for construction. :D
 
It appears to be a modification of the IKTHOF process. Melody and TJ are IKTHOF members. They run a martial arts/ knife/hawk throwing facility in Las Vegas. The main difference between the 2 methods are that it uses 72 vs 84 2x4 blocks, uses glue between stacks, the surround boards ar 2x4s not 2x6s, and each 2x4 block is not individually screwd tight, and they don't use a plywood backer before mounting tne entire butt.

My take on the differences are-

Slightly smaller targets to accomodate the room in their throwing range.
4 inch thick targets are 1/3 lighter for lifting and mounting.
This is a single target for "inside a house throwing".
Cheaper tha n a 2x6 block target.
Gluing the stacks allows for fewer screws to hold the target together (although you need to wait for the glue to dry so assembly takes longer).


The only downsides (as I see them) are that you can't replace individual blocks as they get chewed up, all 5 of the IKTHOF scoring rings won't fit on the face and they won't last as long as 2x6 sections.

Those downsides are minor, though. For a home target, the full scoring system isn't needed for practice. The lighter weight makes it more easily handled by a single person. The target is not subjected to several thousand hits in a single day, as they are at a tournament. And last but not least the cost differential is significant, unless one has access to lots of scrap 2x6s to cut up (say friends in the house building industry :D).
 
I understand the need for consistent targets to meet a regulated standard for competition. To decrease the gaps (where my knives tend to stick or deflect off of more often than I'd like) between all of those individual pieces of 2x4s, what about using cut pieces of 4x4s instead? It would mean less pieces of wood to cut, and less gaps between pieces in the target. Thoughts? :)
 
i have seen targets made from 4x4s and 6x6s, you can use any size you want as long as it is consistant
 
Excepting the tournament folks looking for consistency (and even they are usually cost conscious), the biggest reason people use 2x4s over 4x4s or 6x6s is cost. There is no real difference in how the targets perform in the long run.

The only time I have used 6x6s is when a friend had a bunch of short scrap chunks left over from building a deck. They were junk to be thrown away as far as the builder was concerned. I can find a lot of short 2x4 scraps at building sites. You just gotta make friends with the general contractors for a home builder to get permission to raid their waste bins. They really don't care because in the long run anything you haul away, they don't have to pay for in weight disposal fees. I once collected a pickup bed load of scraps all longer than 6" and shorter than 2 feet. I was able to make a bunch of targets from that pile. :D

Getting permission before-hand is key. Having the local police show up while you are dumpster diving can be interesting.:eek::rolleyes::D
 
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