novice

[jimsbowies]

Bobby, hope all is well in Awendaw

I'm interested in getting started in throwing....any suggestions...

 

[Don Rac]

First suggestion, forget what you saw in movies. Very rarely will ANY knife ALWAYS stick in point first. Folding knives aren't appropriate throwers, they'd break no matter who makes them. Generally all throwing a knife involves, is really learning how to get the spin just right at a comfortable distance first, and then moving on from there. Alot of estimation is involved. Practice is the only way to do it, just like throwing a tomahawk. Hitting a board 20 times at 10 feet is better than hitting it 2 times at 50 feet.

 

[jimsbowies]

Should I start with the very inexpensive throwers or go ahead and invest a little more money..such as in some of Branton's pieces?

 

[Don Rac]

I started with some Cold Steel 14 inchers, but then I ended up buying higher quality. Practice with a cheaper blade first, then move on to the better ones when you get better at it.

 

[Patte Gauche]

The key to throwing a knife or axe is consistency. Let your body and the knife work together for a comfortable and consistent performance. Distance and accuracy is unimportant at first, it is more important to get successful sticks.

The relationship between body size and the tool you are throwing will dictate the distance you should throw the tool from. Generally speaking, smaller length tools require shorter distances. Each different tool will require a different distance (it may be a small change but a difference none the less).

Try the following to establish your comfortable and successful distance:

1. stand with back to target
2. take 5 normal steps away from the target
3. place a mark at your toe and face the target
4. begin throwing and observing from this initial distance
5. adjust the distance, and mark it
6. when you find a distance that produces a consistent stick rate, 75%, record that distance (in feet or steps) for that tool. It should change very little from day to day.

The above is based on consistency. If you are trying new techniques, tired or otherwise not using your consistent delivery, things will not go so well.

For competitive issues, the only thing that should change is your knife/hawk and your distance. The way you throw should be consistent.

After you get the one-turn above down, just add 3 more steps to get 2 turns, 6 more for 3 turns etc. Half turns will be somewhere inbetween, just experiment.