Need some good starter knives for my 15y.o. son

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May 18, 1999
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My son has decided that he wants some throwing knives for his birthday -- in a week. I am looking to get 3-4 knives for him and spend around $40 or so, so I'm looking for some decent starter knives. Any recommendations?
 
OK, I'm confused. I'm seeing specs saying these things are 7.5" and other specs saying they're almost 12". Which is it?
 
Thanks for that info! Everything I'm finding, though, is pushing past $50 by the time shipping is added on. For his first set, I was hoping to spend a bit less since this is completely new to anyone in our family (getting a book on knife throwing for him to learn from as well). He found a set of Gil Hibben knives that he's interested in: the Gil Hibben Competition Triple Knife Throwing Set with Sheath that is offered by United Cutlery. I know a lot of his other knife designs are fantasy wall hangers, but how are his throwing knives for starting out?
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If he were looking for a folder or fixed blade, I would know exactly what to get him (he already owns a Benchmade Rift), but throwing knives...
 
I find those to be decent. They are soft stainless steel and need to be touched up with a file after every use if they hit anything hard at all. Further, I find them better for spin throwing than no-spin or half-spin throwing. I have a set and have been using them several hundred throws a week for two years. I use multiple targets and never let them hit one another. The points will break if they strike one another. I would also recommend wrapping the handles with paracord to improve grip and release as well as dampen the terrible clang they make when they miss.

Personally, for the few dollars more I would look at either Cold Steel Perfect balance throwers (my favorite of their products) or Sure Balance Throwers (heavy and super durable). Then the Condors are literally 2 or 3 dollars more per knife than that. The Perfect Balance throwers can be had for $16 each. They also have an edge that makes them useful for hiking, camping and even batoning firewood. They are heavy and throw great no-spin. But mainly they are very durable compared to the Hibben stainless ones.
 
Well I ordered a couple of the Cold Steel Perfect Balance throwers. We'll see how much he gets info it, then we may order some of those Condor knives or something more for competition.
 
Personally I have the Hibben cord wrapped throwers from United Cutlery, very handy due to the blade design...I've used them for field knives already they come quite sharp and the steel holds an edge surprisingly well.

Hibben Cord Wrapped Throwers.jpg

I think your son would love them.
 
Those Cold Steel knives you ordered come pre-sharpened, which is absolutely not necessary for knife throwing and definitely not recommended for young/beginning throwers.

Knives can bounce back every bit as far as they've been thrown and farther. All he needs for sticking a target is a pointy point; if he wants to cut something, that's what his Rift is for.
 
I'll chime in there,

I was taught as a youngster that a dull knife was more dangerous than a sharp one. That is because a sharp one cuts what it is intended to cut while a dull one tends to slip off the work or even seem to jump off it into your hand where it definitely will cut (Murphy's Law and all that). This has also been my experience with throwers. If you are giving these to a 15 year old, it all depends on the 15 year old and his level of maturity. He does not need to be starting this with his buddies standing around watching! These things can take wicked ricochets off targets to endanger anyone near the target area watching!! I would certainly be there (behind him) to make sure throwing is done safely, at a reasonable distance (not too close) to start and at a soft "non-bouncing" target. Multiple layers of pasteboard make a good starting target that doesn't bounce a knife much. Also soft wooden rounds as opposed to hardened barn board or dried oak etc. If all I have is a hard bouncing surface, even one layer (side) of box (pasteboard) will make a knife slow down and almost eliminate bounce if it is taped to the harder target face. As you get better, just take it off. You have to swap them out every time you throw anyway. You and he will quickly learn what bounces and what does not and may leave the knife edges taped or may expose them to increase the sticking area of a blade. Wearing a good jacket with long sleeves, zipped up to protect the neck is a good idea too when you first start, along with paying attention and getting out of the way when appropriate. Don't get distracted when a knife is in flight because some idiot behind you makes a comment. Sharp pointy knives are much more likely to stick and much less likely to bounce. The edges are very easy to dull temporarily by wrapping electric tape around the blades with a layer of leather over the edge. But the points need to be sharp. And once he gets the hang of throwing, the knife with a good useable edge has some daily uses in the field. It also helps with what was my ultimate goal which was to be able to throw anything that came to hand easily. I almost always carry a fixed blade in the woods here (very rural) and throwing was a good game when the chores were done at night. But I didn't want to carry additional knives on long hikes or camp trips just for throwing? It is always easy to dull blades with tape and any type of covering like plastic or leather without limiting their future use or destroying their design.
 
Another way to teach no-spin without anyone getting hurt and even without any knives works pretty well. My wife was at first having trouble hitting the target at all. She powered them down there but they just missed and I was chasing them into the woods. So it went through my mind to let her throw something similar length and weight that did not matter. I started cutting short sapling sections. Later when the grand boys wanted to try it, these things worked great!

I used cedar because they were dying in the woods behind my house and they were dense and heavy enough to simulate knife balance. I cut them 14" long and the sections were about 1 1/2" in diameter when I cut them. I suspected about 14" knives would be the biggest thing and easiest thing (long and slow flying) I would hand to the grandkids to throw. No points at all, but I put them on the belt sander to remove any splinters and slightly round the ends a bit. I also sanded one end a bit smaller in diameter to designate a handle end and a blade end as well as fit their small hands better. Then I taught them the grip as suggested by Ralph Thorne in his video on combat knife throwing.

We spent several days throwing sticks. To start with you are just hitting the target at all. Then you are trying to make them strike it on their blade ends. With a bit of practice you can arc them in so that they hit directly on the blade end every throw. There is no difference in throwing these and throwing a 14" knife as far as the hold, wrist action, release or flight. When they bounce, (and they do bounce because they can't stick without a point), it will teach you to avoid them without anything worse than a slight bruise. These worked well for both my grandsons and to give you some idea, they were 5 and 9 at the time. When they were hitting right most of the time and we had learned about bounces and the distances to most easily avoid them, I cut the heads off three No 12 nails, sharpened them on the belt sander and drove them into the ends of the sticks leaving about an inch and a half of the nail exposed. Then we threw the sticks till they were sticking them into the targets. Now, if you can stick a nail protruding from end of a stick into the target, a nice sharp, 14" double edged knife is much-much easier to stick. The weights are even similar. So when you are ready, it is an easy change.

This idea worked so well with the boys that when I decided to learn no-spin hawk throwing I cut myself three 19" cedar shafts, similarly sanded and in one day, taught myself to stick an axe using the same method. It was of course much easier to learn since I had been throwing long knives and spinning hawks for over 30 years and what was supposed to happen was clear in my mind. But in an hour, the wooden shafts were striking (no-spin) exactly where I wanted them to hit and at exactly the angle each time. Saved tons of wear and tear on my axe handles and the swap-over to a heavier axe was hardly noticeable. Best thing about sticks is that they are free!!

 
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I have been through my share of cheap Chinese throwing knives. They break amazingly easily for slabs of metal. Don't get any with holes or slots cut in them as those are breaking points.

I second the Cold Steel recommendation. Maybe take him to the Cold Steel Parking Lot Sale / Competition. There are avid throwers at that event.

I really like the "no spin" method. It allows me to throw all kinds of things effectively.
 
I'll chime in there,

I was taught as a youngster that a dull knife was more dangerous than a sharp one. That is because a sharp one cuts what it is intended to cut while a dull one tends to slip off the work or even seem to jump off it into your hand where it definitely will cut (Murphy's Law and all that). This has also been my experience with throwers. If you are giving these to a 15 year old, it all depends on the 15 year old and his level of maturity. He does not need to be starting this with his buddies standing around watching!
Brendan is much older than his 15 years when it comes to maturity. His scoutmaster has mentioned that on more than on occasion. I have drilled into my boys' heads since they were 7 that guns (then bows, and now throwing knives) are not toys. When he goes out to practice with his bow, he is incredibly conscious about his surroundings and where his younger brothers might be sneaking into. Throwing knives won't be any different.

These things can take wicked ricochets off targets to endanger anyone near the target area watching!! I would certainly be there (behind him) to make sure throwing is done safely, at a reasonable distance (not too close) to start and at a soft "non-bouncing" target. Multiple layers of pasteboard make a good starting target that doesn't bounce a knife much. Also soft wooden rounds as opposed to hardened barn board or dried oak etc. If all I have is a hard bouncing surface, even one layer (side) of box (pasteboard) will make a knife slow down and almost eliminate bounce if it is taped to the harder target face. As you get better, just take it off. You have to swap them out every time you throw anyway. You and he will quickly learn what bounces and what does not and may leave the knife edges taped or may expose them to increase the sticking area of a blade. Wearing a good jacket with long sleeves, zipped up to protect the neck is a good idea too when you first start, along with paying attention and getting out of the way when appropriate. Don't get distracted when a knife is in flight because some idiot behind you makes a comment. Sharp pointy knives are much more likely to stick and much less likely to bounce. The edges are very easy to dull temporarily by wrapping electric tape around the blades with a layer of leather over the edge. But the points need to be sharp. And once he gets the hang of throwing, the knife with a good useable edge has some daily uses in the field. It also helps with what was my ultimate goal which was to be able to throw anything that came to hand easily. I almost always carry a fixed blade in the woods here (very rural) and throwing was a good game when the chores were done at night. But I didn't want to carry additional knives on long hikes or camp trips just for throwing? It is always easy to dull blades with tape and any type of covering like plastic or leather without limiting their future use or destroying their design.
It has been too cold here to get out and make a target for him, but I have amassed a good amount of cardboard that I will be compressing and mounting to some 1/4" plywood for him to start. I figure that will help reduce rebound. Fortunately, I have some leather that I can wrap around part of the blade for safety (thanks for that idea!).
 
If wrapping the blade doesn't work out, another option is wrapping the handle to absorb some of the impact shock--leather, cord, whatever suits his throwing best.

Basically, if it reduces the clanging sound, it also tends to reduce ricochet force.
 
Good point on handle wrapping!

These Cold Steel knives come with screwed on G10 scales but I always unscrew them and put a thin coat of shoe goo on each side and then screw them back on. This reduces noise, (clang) and makes the handles last much longer. A flat piece cut from an old bike inner-tube will also work. And yes, because it gives a place for the vibration to be expended it also reduces the recoil. I use shoe goo and para-cord on almost everything I throw just to extend life, reduce that obnoxious clanging noise and make them more tactile in my hand.
 
I for one appreciate the way you are training your son Looney-Bin!

I have been an avid shooter since I was 12. I bought my first 8mm Mauser out of a barrel of cosmoline in the army store for $20. My mother hated pistols, even though she owned one, because she was taught "rifles were for hunting and pistols were for killing people." I guess Elmer Keith sort of put an end to that since I have taken most of my pigs with a .357 while crawling under palmettos on some coastal island. I spent every hour of my life either in school or in the woods until I left for college. Anyway, my mother (88) still doesn't like me teaching woodscraft skills to her Great-Grandsons. Oh well, I have to fight the "urban metro-sexual craze whenever possible." I occasionally remind her she that grew up in Jasper Fl, in the 30's hunting and fishing with her Grandmother along the Suwanee River, making coffee by boiling black river water in a tin can. She says those were different days. I say, survival skills and defensive skills may be more important today than ever before in this country.

My kids were raised in a home where camping, hunting, fishing, target shooting and 40 years of blue water sailing were a fact of life. They are adults now and while they don't use their outdoor skills everyday, (accountant and national marketing manager), I don't worry much about their safety in any situation. However, If either was lost on some island for a year or two, assuming there was water, they would probably appreciate having our own little kingdom for a while. They were always both level headed in every way. They are passing this on to their children and the eldest two have been shooting their bows since 5, they hike and rock climb with my wife and I, have done a bit of white water kayaking as of last summer, and enjoy spear chucking, rifle shooting and knife throwing when they are over at the house. As I learned as a kid, and with my kids, and now with the grandkids, if these activities are a fact of life and readily available, they are not some evil taboo that kids want to play with when your back is turned. They never touch anything dangerous without asking and are incredibly conscious of safety in the field as they see that we are!! And when I am gone, I know that shelter, fire, water, first aid and natural foods as well as defensive techniques will always be with them. What better can you give your son?
 
Consider something of high quality:


  • Bobby Branton (Tru-Bal East USA)
  • Cresent Knife Works (Canada)
  • Flying Steel (USA)
  • Libra Knives (USA)

All of these will cost more than anything you can buy at BladeHQ and all of them are of higher quality.

Its like I told my son, you buy cheap, you use cheap and it performs, cheap.

Consider that I am biased, but also consider that I'm not wrong.

- Hal
 
It requires some elbow grease, but the big 12" spikes from Home Depot or Lowes work pretty well. Cut the heads off, and either hammer the tips flat so they stick better or grind longer/sharper points on them. They last forever and if you lose one you're out $2-just don't hit it with the lawnmower...
 
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