101 KNIFE THROWING TIPSby Scott Gracia

IN THIS REPORT

Safety TipsThrowing TipsChecklistWays to Slow Down RotationWays to Speed Up RotationTargetsPreserving Your TargetsSoft Woods to Use for TargetsDo-It-YourselfersHardening Simple SteelsTypes of Materials Used for HandlesInexpensive Things to ThrowPreventive MaintenanceCompetition RulesKnife Throwing TricksThrowing Clubs and OrganizationsKnife Throwing Websites

SAFETY TIPS

1. Always be aware of your surroundings. Make sure there arent any children or animals around.

2. Its also a good idea to have your throwing area roped off so others may not wander onto your throwing range or get hit by a ricocheting knife.

3. If you have throwing knives that have a sharp edge on the blade, you can put a few layers of electrical tape around them and you will be able to throw them from the blade without having to worry about getting cut.

4. If there are younger people who wish to try throw-ing, first check with their parents. Then have them throw something else first, like a tennis ball. Something that will bounce back at them. Let them know that knives can bounce back and cause serious injury, so they should be ready to move. Make them throw the ball hard, without get-ting hit by it after it bounces off the target, about 100 times. Or until you feel they are ready. Some may need more, some a little less. JUST BE CAREFUL.

THROWING TIPS

5. Start out with a basic half-turn throw. Hold your knife by the blade and stand about 6-8 ft. away from your target. When you throw, your knife will make 1/2 rotation before it reaches your target. Pay attention to how the knife hits. If it sticks straight in the target then thats your 1/2 turn dis-tance. Make sure you mark it! If the handle hits high or low, then make your adjustments. Once you find your 1/2 turn distance, measure it out exactly and mark it. Practice here until you are consistently sticking your knives. Then you just need to do a little math to figure out where to throw from for 1 turn, 2 turn, or 3 turn throws.

6. Formula for figuring out your throwing distances: Start with your 1/2 turn distance. Mine is 7.5. Now guesstimate the length of your arm and subtract it from your 1/2 turn distance. Lets say 2.5, (Im only 56 and I throw with a pinch grip which makes it spin faster), subtract 2.5 for the length of my arm and I get 5 for my 1/2 turn distance.

7. To find your distance for 1 full turn, take your 1/2 turn distance, 5, and multiply it by 2. Then add the length of your arm, 2.5 and thats your full turn distance. 25 + 2.5= 12.5 for a full turn.

8. Your 1 1/2 turn would be: 35 + 2.5= 17.5 for 1 1/2 turns. And so on, and so on. This formula will figure your approxi-mate distance to throw from. Every little thing affects your knife. If you dont stick em right away, dont get frustrated. Try to watch how the knife is hitting the target and make your adjustments. If you dont want to spend time figur-ing out distances and just want to get started you can try standing between 6 and 8 feet for a half spin, and between 11 and 13 feet for 1 full spin. These are just a starting point. Distances will vary depending on the length of the knife and the person throwing it.

9. A knife that is handle heavy, throws more easily when gripped from the blade.

10. A knife that is blade-heavy, throws more easily when gripped from the handle.

11. Heavier knives are better for longer distances. like 2-5 turn throws.

12. Lighter knives are better for closer distances. Like 1/2 to 1 1/2 turns.

13. Always watch the handle, not the point. If your knife hits with the handle up, move forward a few inches. It had too much time to spin before reaching the target.

14. If your knife hits with the handle down, back up a few inches. It needs a little more time to spin before reaching your target.

15. Try not to snap your wrist when you release your knife. It is hard to snap it exactly the same every time you throw.

16. Keep your wrist locked and try to get a smooth release.

17. I found after I throw for a while my arm gets tired and I start bouncing the knives from the same distance I was just sticking them from. When your arm gets tired your body adjusts by giving it a little more of a snap to get it to the target. This makes it spin a bit faster. So if all of a sudden you start bouncing your knives after youve been sticking them all day... try moving forward just a bit.

18. I always take a small step forward when I throw. This seems to help propel the knife. If you are a right handed thrower, you step forward with your left foot. Just like throwing a baseball.

19. The farther away you are from your target the more distance your knife is actually traveling. Ex: if you are throwing from 20 away you must aim well above the target due to the effects of gravity so you could be throwing more like 23. If you are calculating your number of turns and distances you will have a shorter distance the farther away you throw from.

20. Knives are pretty easy to lose if you throw outside in deep grass. I put a bright layer of tape on the handles which makes them easier to spot. This also helps when trying to find your spot to throw from. The tape makes it easier to see if the handle is hitting up or down.

21. When throwing more than one knife, start by grabbing the 1st knife off of the pile. Then raise it in front of you, take aim or go through your steps, and release it. Grab the second knife and do the same thing. Dont just grab each knife and let it fly. This is not a race. Take your time. If you start throwing too fast you might end up snapping your wrist and moving your elbow out to the side like a baseball pitcher. This will cause the knife to spin more than usual and it wont stick (unless you make adjustments).

22. Concentrate on using a true overhand throw. If you throw side-arm, your knife will be less likely to stick. One reason is the grain of the wood usually runs vertically, and a blade hitting the target horizontally just wont cut through as well. Another reason is your knife will be slowed down by more resistance going through the air because it isnt cutting through the air.

23. Mark your throwing spots. A piece of tape, a stick, or whatever. Just be sure to mark it so you know exactly where to stand for each spin (1/2 spin, 1 spin, 1 1/2, 2, 2 1/2, 3, etc.).

24. Your throwing distances may change daily. Sometimes my full turn throw is from 12.5 and sometimes from 11. Dont worry about it. Just make your adjustments. The consistency will come the more you practice!

25. If you plan on entering any competitions, I would sug-gest getting yourself a set of at least three, 12 knives. And practice from a minimum length of 12 from your target.

26. If you ever get the chance, go to one of the many knife and tomahawk throwing competitions. These participants are the cream of the crop in our sport. You can learn tons of useful tips from them. Also, many competitions have demonstrations going on where you can learn new tech-niques, different things to throw or just meet other people who love to throw!

27. Get together with friends to throw. Its always more fun when you are with others that enjoy the sport. Get together once a week or once a month and practice.

CHECKLIST

28. Repetition is the key. Try to do everything the same every time you throw until you get the feel of your knives. If you just cant get your knives to stick consistently, check to see if you are doing the following:

29. Are you using the same grip? Hold all your knives in the exact same spot every time you throw.

30. Are you using the same stance and approach? Was your left foot or right foot forward? If you leaned forward when you released the first knife, then lean forward for the rest. If

you keep your weight on your back foot, always do that or it will change the spin.

31. Are you at the correct distance for your throw. Even 3 can make a difference when throwing small knives.

32. Are you using the same release? Are you letting it slide from your hand or are you snapping your wrist?

33. Everyone is different. What works for one person may not work for another. Keep practicing and you will discover what works for you.

WAYS TO SLOW ROTATION

34. Put your thumb on the spline (top edge), of your knife to slow the rotation down.

35. Or choke up on your knife to slow the rotation.

36. There is another technique to slow the spin called a slide release. You achieve this by holding the knife softly and let-ting the centrifugal force of your throwing arc pull it sliding from your hand.

37. Another way to slow the rotation of your knife is to keep your wrist straight. Dont bend it when throwing because then you will tend to snap your wrist which will make it spin faster.

Bonus tip. It doesnt actually slow the rotation of the knife but it has the same effect: if you throw the knife harder, it has less time to spin in the air before it reaches the target. So if your knives are over rotating just a bit, try throwing them a bit harder instead of moving forward.

WAYS TO SPEED UP ROTATION

38. To speed up the turning of your knife you can choke down on the handle (grab your knife a bit lower from your usual spot).

39. Snap your wrist a little when you release the knife.

40. Raise your knife like you are about to throw. Now angle the tip of your knife towards you (if this is a handle throw). Continue with the rest of your throw. If it were a blade throw, do everything the same except you would then angle the handle towards you.

TARGETS

41. If your target is made of boards, always place the grain of your target vertically. The knife cuts into the grain easier this way.

42. Polypropylene archery targets work well for smaller knives and spikes, but get chewed by the bigger throwers.

43. If you are using log rounds for your targets, try to get them at least 4 thick minimum. The thicker they are the longer they will last.

44. Once the face gets chewed up you just cut off a couple inches and you have a new target face.

45. Bales of hay will also work. (Ive never tried this one so I cant tell you how long they last).

46. You can tape a bunch of broken down cardboard boxes together for a cheap indoor target.

PRESERVING YOUR TARGETS

47. Make more than one bulls eye on your target. Otherwise the center of your target will be mush. This also helps prolong the life of your handles. Because you wont be banging knives together as often.

48. Soaking your targets with water before throwing at them is a good idea. If it is a soft wood, it will act like a self-healing dart board when you pull your knives out. When it starts to dry out just add more water.

SOFT WOODS TO USE FOR TARGETS

49. Pine50. Spruce51. Cottonwood52. Willow53. Poplar54. Cypress

DO-IT-YOURSELFERS

If you want to make your own throwers, here are a few good tips to keep in mind:

55. If youre going to make your own thrower, a good rule of thumb is 1 = 1oz. You need sufficient weight for good target penetration.

56. Use carbon steel, not stainless. Carbon steel is much more sturdy.

57. Make sure your knife is long enough so you have good control over it. Some people say a good rule of thumb is an 11 minimum and a 16 maximum.

58. If you want a knife that will throw equally well from the handle or the blade, then the balancing point should be very close to the center of the knife.

59. Throwers should always be made of one solid piece. Dont try to attach the blade to the handle because it wont be able to take the impact and will eventually break.

HARDENING SIMPLE STEELS

60. If you want to harden a low alloy steel there is one feature that makes this virtually foolproof. When cooking them for hardening, keep a magnet handy. When the low alloy steel reaches the critical temperature where it can be hardened by quenching, it turns non-magnetic. As the steel heats, check it with a magnet. At a certain point, the magnet wont stick. Keep it in the heat a few more seconds and then quench it.

61. Dont use water to quench it. Its too thin and will cool too fast.

62. Use light weight oil or transmission fluid heated to 175 degrees for quenching. If the oil is too cold it may crack your steel.

63. The thicker the oil, the slower it cools.

64. Dont use a small tank of oil to quench a lot of knives. Sooner or later, the oil will start on fire!

TYPES OF MATERIAL USED FOR HANDLES

65. If your knives dont have any handles, you can cut a T-shirt into 1 strips and wrap your handles with these. Then put electrical tape over the T-shirt. If it wears out it is easy and cheap to replace.

66. You can use thick pieces of leather attached with rivets.

67. You can use composition rubber, (same as shoe soles), attached with rivets.

68. Micarta A hard, fiber material that works great until you bang a knife off the handle. Then it really splinters and makes getting a smooth release difficult. A layer or two of electrical tape seems to help a bit.

69. Rawhide strip. Can also be attached with rivets.

70. Nothing. Just the cold steel!

INEXPENSIVE THINGS TO THROW

71. Clothes hanger darts. Take a heavy wire hanger and cut it into 8 inch lengths. Bend one end over about 2 inches along the main shaft. You now have a 6 inch throwing spike. You can even add tassels to the loop for stabilization.

72. Razor blades. (Be very careful!) You have to get the blades with an edge on each side. The ones used for shav-ing I think. Wedge your index finger, on the edge next to your nail, in the middle opening of the blade. Wedge it on your middle finger side. Then curl your finger in and put your thumb on it. Like flicking something off your finger. Remember be careful and dont practice with anyone else in the room.

73. The bamboo chopstick . You can pick these up in any Asian market. A few dollars for a bundle of fifty.

74. Lawnmower blades. This one is inexpensive if you have a lawnmower that just blew up. Use a bench grinder to shape them how you want and voila!

75. Large nails. You can buy 8-12 inch nails at any hard-ware store. These can be sharpened to throw into wood or left alone to throw into softer indoor targets. And they cost less than a dollar each!

PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE

76. Clean your knives with hot water and soap to get mud or dirt off.

77. You can also use a non-abrasive scouring pad for the stuck on dirt.

78. Dry them thoroughly. You dont want your knives to rust.

79. If you are going to store them add a light coat of machine oil.

80. If your knife gets a ding in it from hitting another knife or a rock, take a file and smooth it out. Otherwise you can be cut by these sharp pieces. Thats also a good place for rust to start.

81. Cover your handles with electrical tape. It will prolong their life. Make sure that the last layer of tape goes up the handle toward the blade. This way it wont get caught on your hand during your release.

COMPETITION RULES

Im listing a few of these for anyone who is interested in competing. Its nice to know what youre in for when you get there. The rest of the rules and regulations can be found on the pages of some of the throwing web sites listed. The AKTA and PKT both follow AKTA rules. And these are some of those rules:

82. TARGETSAt least 16 inches in diameter. Bulls eye of 2.5 inches in circle or equilateral triangle. Second ring of 8 inches, and outer ring of 16 inches.

83. KNIVESOnly knives are allowed. The knives must be at least 12 inches long and must be no wider than 3 inches at their widest point.

84. SCORINGBulls eye = 3 points.Second ring = 2 points.Third ring = 1 point.A knifes point must be embedded in the target for ascore. If the knife blade touches the border of a higherring, the higher score is awarded.

85. There are four targets placed at varying heights. The distance from the ground to the bullseyes vary from 3 feet to 5 feet.

KNIFE TRICKS

When you master the basics of knife throwing Im sure some of you will want to have a few cool tricks to impress everyone with. So here are a few:

86. Throw while lying down. Just make sure your shoulder is at your mark where you usually stand.

87. Throw the knives from between your legs. Stand with your back to the target. Bend over and look at your target from between your legs. Now throw. It will take a few tries to find your correct distance.

88. The under-handed throw. Pretty self explanatory. Kind of like bowling. Step forward while swinging the knife behind you then release it when its coming past your body. This one you will also have to practice until you find your mark.

89. Another backwards throw. Stand with your back to the target. Look backwards under your throwing arm and throw. This should be from the mark where you usually stand. Blade throws seem to be easier for this one.

90. Place one of your targets flat on the ground. Now lob your knife high into the air and see if you can get it to stick. If it sticks in the ground, mark your spot. Now you just have to work on your accuracy!

91. Practicing with a fake assistant. Since my girlfriend wont let me throw knives at her, I just draw a profile (side view) of a face on my target. Then I can tape a cigarette or balloon next to the mouth and practice throwing without worrying. I havent killed my fake assistant yet!

92. Throw 2 knives at once. You can do this with both in one hand or one in each.

THROWING CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS

The following clubs are all worth joining. We should all help support our sport in any way we can. The more people that

join, the bigger the sport will become. And along with that comes more publicity. After that its big $$$ competitions, commercial deals with Cindy Crawford, record contracts, etc. :-) Anyway, once you are a member, you also receive discounts on knives from many knife makers, newsletters, patches, stickers and a lot more useful information. So be sure to check these out.

93. AKTA (American Knife Throwers Alliance) National Director, Bobby Branton. The American Knife Throwers Alliance is an association of American sportsmen dedicated to the practice and promotion of knife throwing as a sport, recreation and hobby. In support of its dedication to the sport, the purpose of the AKTA is to provide assistance and offer guidelines to individuals and groups who may wish to organize for competitive sport in their local areas.http://www.brantonknives.com/akta.htm 94. PKT (Pacific Knife Throwers) President, Rick Lemberg. We teach, write, practice and compete with the intention of establishing knife throwing as a fun, safe, target sport. The PKT is dedicated to providing an environment in California and the Western States that is open to all novice and expe-rienced throwers that wish to learn, compete and enjoy the many benefits of the myriad of skills involved. Any throwers that share these goals are able to join.http://www.commonlogic.com/knife/clubs/pkt/pkt.htm

95. IKTA (International Knife Throwers Alliance) Founder and Director, Bob Karp (with over fifty years of knife throw-ing experience). The International Knife Throwing Alliance is dedicated to developing, educating, and training people in the art and sport of knife throwing. To that end, the IKTA sponsors seminars, demonstrations, training camps, and the IKTA World Championship Knife throw off in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition, the IKTA is committed to increasing the Public=92s awareness of the art and sport of knife throwing.http://www.ikta.com/

KNIFE THROWING WEBSITES

96. The Thrower Page: Everything you could think of that has to do with throwing weapons. Economics, how-tos, books, grips, articles, clubs and organizations, competitions and rules, an Internet mailing list and many other useful things about throwing.http://www.quine.home.sonic.net/thrower.html

97. The Sticking Point: This is another excellent site about throwing. Includes information on; the history of throwing, do-it-yourself knives, clubs and competitions, a Coat of Arms java applet where you can design your coat of arms with your favorite knife models. There is also a contest link to win cool throwing stuff!http://www.commonlogic.com/knife/index.htm

98. The Knife Throwers Page: A great up and coming page from John Bailey. John has 2 throwing videos available and also an online catalogue with lots of throwers!http://www.throwingknives.com/

99. Tonkasila and Knives: Custom knife maker Lee Fugatt. I own some of Lees Ugly Knives and think they are great! Every knife I own is abused daily and theyre all pretty beat up. Im always bouncing knives off of one another. All except for Lees! Theres not a knick or gouge on em. Ive even had sparks fly off of them from being hit so hard and still nothing! He has a catalog available that has more of his products listed than his web site does.http://www.geocities.com/leefugatt/index.html

100. Harald Moeller. Master knife maker: If you like to drool... then check this page out! These knives are consid-ered the best of the best.http://www.horn-net.com/hmoeller/viper.html

101. The Great Throwzini: The Great Throwzini, a knife throw-ing site thats all about knives and throwing weapons. How to make different targets and games to play with throwing knives. Lots of pictures of knives and other throwers.http://www.throwzini.com/

Copyright 2003 by Scott Gracia. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used without permission from the author. Page design by Pep : http://www.alkaa.com

DISCLAIMER: You participate in the sport of knife throwing at your own risk. The author of this tips report urges the reader to take all safety precautions available. The author is not responsible for any injuries resulting from knife throwing or any use of the above mentioned tips. To learn the specific techniques for throwing knifes properly and safely we highly recommend that you seek a professional knife throwing trainer or organization to assist you in learning the sport of knife throwing.