Who can TWIRL their fixed blade?

L

Lavan

Joined
Nov 8, 2000
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Now this is definitely not for the kiddies to try. If my Alzheimer's wasn't in charge today, I could maybe REMEMBER the NAME of the movie.

ANYHOW....It was on in the past week on a cable channel. John McGinley played a psychopath who kept a girl locked in the basement.

And he TWIRLED his fixed blade. I looked CLOSELY. Couldn't see any prop gizmos on it. But it was BEAUTIFUL. He even did a simpler grip change with a flourish and a half gainer twirl but NOTHING like the actual TWIRL.

That knife spun like a propeller. It would be worth learning just to do it and if you never cut a thing, it would justify carrying that sheath shiv everywhere.

I have also seen McGinley do some GUN tricks in a spoof western and he was good there too.

Can someone on here actually twirl a fixed blade knife by the hilt? How long did it take to learn? Do you have all your fingers?

I ....had.....to ask as I still can't get the picture out of my mind.

wow.

:confused:
 
There are people who can handle this type of knife play, but truth be told, a certain knife catalog used to sell a few knives that had what look like rings attached to the grip on a spindle. You slid your mid and ring fingers in, and you could spin, flip, and reverse the grip position VERY quickly. I picked up one called the WASP which turned out to be a pretty tough beater, and it was FUN at parties!

I did try this with my old SOG Gov't and it was close...until it fell right to the floor!

R/S

Go Navy!
 
NO! Say it isn't so.

I ain't gonna lissen to dat. NANANANANANANANANNANANANANANA,etc.

TRICKS? In MOVIES? I am NOT goin to bed tonite.

:D
 
I used to be really good at this with my right hand.....of course they call me lefty now.

BTW there is a great scene in The Chronicles Of Riddick were he spins a blade.
 
I can twirl a drum stick. I could twirl a fairly balanced knife as well, I suppose, if it were at least twelve inches or so in length.
 
In the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, there is a pre- D-day scene of young paratroopers on a tarmac in England geared up and waiting to go. One of the soldiers is shown repeatedly and fluidly "rolling" a knife around the back of his hand from grip position and back again. I don't know if this movement has a name, but it is impressive. And I didn't get the impression there was any trickery in the filming. Great (if brief) knife scene, and a great series.

- Rob M.
 
The "twirl" is a term used by JAK to describe the action of taking an opened folder or straight blade and moving it in the hand from saber to reverse grip or vice versa.

From saber grip, knife is turned on it's side and you take the middle finger and place it above the handle while the remaining fingers except the thumb remain under the turned handle.

The middle finger is then used to put pressure on the handle from above while the other fingers open up and let the blade pass from forward of the handle to the rear nearest your own body, thereby effecting a reverse grip where the fingers then reclose on the handle to secure the grip in reverse.

There is another method to get the knife from saber to reverse called the "spin" which is different but effect the saber to reverse as well.

The twirl will present the point, the spin will present the edge out, both ending in reverse grip from saber grip initially.

Both are covered in the "manual dexterity" drills I cover in the classes. Pretty straight forward and most can pick it up with little effort. Been performing both in drills since 92 when I was first introduced to JAK at the Southern Riddle in Little Rock, Ar.

Brownie
 
Yeah, Brownie, I was also thinking of the 6-count dexterity drill...but I have to see what is meant by twirl in the initial post.
--Joe
 
la_goata:

That could be learned and practiced with about any knife with varying degrees of success but you do not have the control necessary as it is completely leaving the "nest" of fingers which should always have a minimum of control as I described above initially.

Dijos: Get a chance to check the legacy of steel tape from JAK, he gives direction on how to spin and twirl a blade up close so it's easy to follow. Though some control is lost when performing these manuevers, some control is maintained throughout the drills of saber to reverse using either.

Good for hand/finger dexterity and to learn the balance point of a certain blade in the hand but not anything you want to be attempting in a potential real life and death encounter, of course, until at the highest levels of blade defense.

I'm not about to use these if I have to yank it out in defense of my person myself.

Brownie
 
The "twirl" as McGinley performed it is just like twirling a sixgun. It spun about on his index finger like it had a hole in it. Could not change direction of grip as the twirl was on one plane and just spinning. The handle OR the blade could have ended up in his hand.

When he did the grip change maneuver, it never left control of his other fingers and looked like what you were talking about. It was impressive and fast and looked well-practiced, but NOT like the first twirl that just spun around his finger.

Looking at it, all I could think of was missing chunks of flesh or chipped knives. Certainly nothing to LEARN with a sharp blade.
 
They don't call me 4 finger magoo for nuthin'. I would like to see this performed with a Strider AR. Freshly sharpened of course.
 
well, i just gave it a shot with my Nimravus... after about 10 shots i managed to pull off one successful spin by strategically putting pressure on the top of the choil...

but to answer the question, no, i can't twirl a fixed blade...

*goes to look for Band Aids*
 
the movie is called "intensity" and the blade play is awesome. I practice while standing over the guest bed, cuz i do drop quite often.
 
My son is a balisong addict. He also does finger twirls with it in the open position which is the same as a fixed blade. A number of the bali knife guys do.
 
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