Knife Throwing for Fun and Profit (Well, for fun anyway) Part 1

The targets pictured here were about 6-7 feet away.

I admit I liked Danny Trejo’s knife work in Desperado. Yes I know his brief scene was highly implausible. He not only accurately threw knives at various distances, the tiny knives (with blades that only appeared to be about 3” long) were killing drug cartel members instantly. Poisoned blades perhaps? Apparently not, Banderas took several hits from the tiny knives and after being patched up by his hot, newly found girlfriend was back in action.

About 25-30 years ago, I purchased a book titled Knife Throwing by Harry McEvoy. I attempted to get into knife throwing back then, but didn’t stick with it (Admittedly, quitting too soon is a personality flaw of mine). Not only was I getting too frustrated with failing to get the knives to stick properly, the cheap dart board I used as a target came apart. A dart board made from wrapped cardboard is not a suitable target for knife throwing.

Rather than first reading the entire book again, I purchased a set consisting of 12 cheap throwing knives online from BudK and practiced throwing the knives at a wooden board, tied to a tree.

From Top to bottom: CRKT neck knife, unknown brand throwing knife, Ridge Runner single and double-edged knife.


More frustration. After several days practice, I was able to get them to stick, sometimes three or more times in a row. After about a week or so, I could even get them to hit where I wanted them to.

One thing I did find out, or rather relearned from the book, after finally reading it again is that profession knife throwers throw from the same distance, using the same or similar knives of the same weight. Another thing I relearned from the book is that a throwing knife should weigh approximately an ounce for each inch of the knife. McEvoy also suggested the knives should be about 10” in length.

The new knives I purchased were 6” long and weighed between 1.4 and 1.9 oz. An older throwing knife I owned which worked better and was about 7” weighed 2.5oz. Ironically, I have a CRKT (Columbia River Knife and Tool) neck knife, weighing about 2oz, which I throw the best, yet it’s not designated as a throwing knife.

The first 12-knife set I ordered were singe-edged, Ridge Runner brand knives. I had been throwing six knives in a row and trying to get tight groups. Getting tight groups in knife throwing is not a good idea if you want to keep your knives pretty-looking and intact. While I was rarely able to get tight groups, I was able to get the knives pretty nicked up. Now I just throw three knives in a row at three different targets. Occasionally I even hit them.

I mentioned that professional throwers throw at the same distance each time. For now my distance indoors is about 6-7 feet and the distance for my outdoors target is 7-8’. The knives I have are too small to hold and throw with the recommended, official grip, so I use either two or three fingers and thumb. When throwing my single-edged Ridge Runners at 6-7 feet, I hold them toward the center of the blade, at 7-8 feet, more toward the tip.

I still have the problem of doing three or sometimes even six perfect throws with and then having the next few throws slamming flat against the board.

I found I need to concentrate, estimating how the knife turns in flight for it to stick into the target. I’ve also found that I get them to stick better when I don’t try to throw them at a high rate of speed and concentrate on my throw. These past few days however, I’ve been increasing my speed.

This time I may stick with it. I plan on getting a better set of knives and a better target board though.