When I was a kid I was pretty fascinated with throwing knives.  Both true balanced throwers and just throwing the blades I had in general.  I had a few targets specifically for it. I got to be pretty decent.  But obviously I never chucked any at anything moving or breathing.  

However, from looking at different sites and stores it seems throwing knives are now the new fad.  I couldn't believe it but wal-mart actually had SOG throwers in their christmas gift set display at the sporting goods section instead of the traditional shitty winchester sets.  Then last night at Cabela's, it wasn't the traditional SOG or Cold Steel...it was VERY well designed throwers and about half-dozen different brands, sets, models.  

I'm actually tempted to grab a set and build a target.  It's pretty satisfying when it hits the target.  I'd say even more-so than a bullet because it's 100% you.  No real machinery or optics.  

But something I'm curious about is what, if any purpose, throwing knives could have when it comes to survival?  Might be easy to conceal, silent, re-useable, etc.  But they aren't like a traditional knife.  The edges are rounded and it's just a sharp point.  I mean, would they even penetrate a human/animal enough to serve a purpose?  

Seems like they wouldn't be worth carrying or even the weight.  

What are your thoughts?

Thanks

-Emt1581

Want an honest answer?  No flames intended?  Here it is:  100% waste of time and money.  If you are going to throw a weapon at a target, you would be better off chucking a good fist-sized rock.  It will work no matter what 'edge' hits the target.  Thrown knives are a circus act.  They work when thrown from a specific known distance.  Its a parlor trick.  You'd be better practicing with a $20 wrist rocket sling shot, a river bed stone, etc.

For a weapon like that darts would be a better choice. No reason not to have fun practicing with them though. I do sport fencing for fun. I seriously doubt I'd ever need to use a sword in real life but the coordination and athleticism carries over into other activities. Getting good at throwing knives and judging distances could be useful in the same way. Sounds fun anyway. I might head over to the local wal mart and see if they have any

 

They come in a set of three and they actually look similar to a normal knife.

Now the better designed ones at Cabela's are the real deal.  Balanced, rounded edges, sharpened tip.  Not cheap though.  I think the set was somewhere between $40 and $80.

-Emt1581

Most people that deal with these are hobbyists at best. Missing the target is one thing, but say you hit your target and there is little to no penetration from the way the blade falls. You have  now surrendered a weapon to your opponent. Secondly, a single puncture to most areas of the body are not going to make a dent in someone with such a major sympathetic discharge. This is why knife fighting is taught in such a way as to increase the number of strikes to your aggressor and seek crucial landmarks that will stop the threat.

With that being said, take it up as a hobby but  I would advise to not add this to your list of defensive methods.

Worthless.

FPNI

No penetration.

A handheld pistol style crossbow would be more effective. As would a wrist rocket.

To be effective you need to throw the knife in excess of 750fps. Although at this speed a knife does not need to be sharp as much as it needs to have a high density and minimal impact area to penetrated deep enough to strike vital areas. However most people cannot throw a knife that fast, so you might need some kind of small, hand portable machine that can be concealed.



So your ideal basic "knife" would be small, most likely round (for aerodynamics), very dense, and travel at high speed thanks to a portable machine of some kind.



I suggest a compact 45acp or 9mm





In all seriousness, throwing knives are not effective tools when you're outside the set of a hollywood movie.

for any practical aplication: 100% waste of time. There's a thousand other things you could/should be learning instead.
for fun: sure go nuts. better than watching crappy tv shows.
FerFAL

 

After seeing the kitchen scene from the movie "Under Siege" I've always wanted to try it.

Never really got into it though.

What the hell is that??  

Thanks

-Emt1581

Totally think throwing knives are a waste of time, but where did you get 750fps?  For consideration a very high end, modern, compound bow has a hard time consistently slinging a modern carbon arrow in the 330fps+ range and bows have been reliably killing man and beast for centuries.  Your physics is all kinds of screwed up math wise IMHO but if you have a reference I'm interested.

Curious myself looks like RPB industries in ALT GA, their website doesn't list it but I did find this link throwing knife

I know very little about knives, and what little I do know I learned from people who knew a lot. For nearly everyone, throwing a knife is a good way to either give up or lose a weapon.

Of course, the counter to this is the story of Jim Bowie (as told by Jeff Cooper), soon after the Vidalia Sandbar Fight, being ambushed as he was traveling 'under the Hill' below Natchez, and killing the three assassins... the last by throwing his Bowie knife and hitting the fleeing miscreant in the back of the skull.

I guess, if you're the reincarnation of Jim Bowie, throw away! Otherwise, it might be a good idea to hang on to your blade.

The only "throwing knife" that has a possible use in a survival/shtf situation would be one of the cold steel torpedo style but just the weight alone would kill a small animal if it didn't puncture the critter. Not a traditional knife, but still looks like it might be an effective weapon. I am sure there are you tube vids showing the effectiveness of them. Like others said, the actual throwing knives in my opinion are just a different style of dart board game.

He used Gill Hibben throwers in that scene.

 

 

Worthless outside of a movie.

In Tunnel in the Sky, Robert Heinlein says that throwing a knife is an excellent way to disarm yourself in the face of an enemy.

But, it looks good in the movies.  Derailing slightly, I always bust out laughing when someone in a movie gets hits with one of the Ninja throwing stars that penetrates about 1/8 of an inch and instantly goes down like they were hit with a sledge hammer.

don't skyline yourself and watch out for stobor

I throw tomahawks and knives for fun and recreation.

I built a target stand and use wood rounds from large tree trunks.

Its kinda like throwing darts but on a larger scale, fun but I wouldn't count on a throwing knife stopping someone.

The throwing knife I use is not one of those weird looking knifes they sell, it's pretyy large and weighs about a pound.

http://www.hbforge.com/throwing-knives/rendezvous-throwing-knife

If you still want to throw something for defense I suggest getting ninja stars.  You will have a higher probability of the blades of the star sticking to your target.

For most people this is correct.  I know one guy who does unbelievable stuff with knives (balanced or just pocket knives), welding rods, tire irons, anything with a point.  I would not have believed if I hadn't seen it.  OP you would be better off with a knife self defense class.

When I was 13 my Uncle Frank taught me how to throw knives and axes. He was a SeaBee in WW2 and I think a few Japanese had his knife in them. It is not hard to do once you know the right form. I also was taught to throw, shaken, shuriken and more. It is an auxilary skill