Avery
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Post by Avery on Jul 18, 2009 6:36:31 GMT
Heavy Throwing Knife Review by Avery Pierce StatsOverall Length - 13 5/8" Blade Length - 8 1/8" PoB - 7 1/4" from tip Blade Width - 2 1/16" Blade Thickness - 3/16" Blade Material - Carbon Steel Handle Thickness -1/2 " Handle Material - 1/8" Leather Scales Weight - 18 1/2 ounces Price - $15US or 3 for $40 Introduction I recently placed an order to Ragnar over at Ragweed forge. Among other things, I picked up a set of three heavy "bowie" type throwing knives. I've thrown knives of one type or another since I was a kid. I've never cared for the "arrowhead" shaped throwing knives, they just don't fit my throwing style. No, I've always been a Bowie type fella. The problem is, there's not really alot of options out there for a guy like me. Oh there's plenty of stainless Bowie or high carbon jobs out there, but not many that are made for throwing. The problem with those knives isn't the blade, it's the handles. Almost all Bowie have wooden or bone handles. Great for show, or while you use the knife, not so good for throwing. This problem has been addressed very well with these throwing knives. More on this in a bit. History Although blades have been thrown throughout history, to my knowledge there's no example of Jim Bowie making a throwing knife. These types of knives have only gained popularity in the past couple of decades. Having said that, I strongly doubt a mountain man at a rendezvous would've hesitated to bury his long knife into the bladder of an enemy at four paces, if given the chance. Upon Arrival As I've said, I ordered these from Ragnar. I placed the order over the weekend and it was shipped on Monday. I received my package on Thursday. Ragnar has an exemplary track record with me, he always does a great job. The package carrying these knives (along with the rest of my order) arrived in a very well taped and secured box. After unpacking the contents I found the knives to be wrapped a second time. After opening the paper wrapping, I found the knives to be wrapped yet again in plastic. I removed the knives from the wrapping to find them covered in packaging grease. After wiping the grease away, I went outside and dry handled a couple of them. First Impressions The first thing that struck me about these knives was the weight. Coming in right at 18oz's these are heavier than some of my axes. These ain't no Pansy knives, I knew they would do some damage to the target as soon as I had one in hand. I've always had a habit of throwing my Bowie the same way as I do my axes, and I knew from handling these that they could stand up to the punishment. Handle The single biggest problem with throwing Bowie knives is the handle. 99% of all the Bowie handles out there are not made to withstand the rigors of throwing. They'll either bust all apart or the tang just won't stand up to the punishment. What sets these knives apart from the herd is the tang width and the handle material. The tang is a full 1 3/8" wide, which lends itself to a good grip. Added to which is the leather scales held on by threaded rivets. You can see the thickness of the handle in the picture below. Certainly no worries about busting the handles on these. Even though the look of the knife is severely changed by the thin black leather, I'll take it over wood any day. The 5 threaded rivets make it extremely easy for replacement should the leather wear out, get cut/ripped by another knife or just plain wear out. Blade Where to begin.. The great thing about this blade is that it's high carbon steel. It can take the beating from being thrown over and over and keep on smiling. The second greatest thing is that it comes completely unsharpened. The only thing remotely sharp is the tip. Every thing else has about a 1/16" blunt face. This comes in handy when throwing from 6 paces. Throwing (Video if requested) The pacing from the target on these is between 4 to 4 1/2 steps from the target. This makes these perfect for throwing in tandem with an axe. When being thrown from four paces, I find it best to grip the handle basically the same as I do an axe and follow through on my throw the same way. Also, if you practice a seven pace throw, the blade is completely blunt so gripping the blade is no problem. Even though the blade is blunt, the tip is sharp enough to bury deep into the target. With minimal force I got great results. In the above picture, I was attempting to over rotate one throw, throw clean on the next and on the last let the knife under rotate. I did this by taking a 1/4 step between each throw. The picture below shows throwing from the same step every time. You can tell my first throw was a little weak, it nearly under rotated too much. The other two hits did fairly decent, IMO. Pros1) Very durable blade. 2)Tough leather handle made for easy replacement. 3)Perfect for throwing the one/two axe/knife combo. Cons1) Made in India. 2)Completely unsharpened(might be a turn off to some). 3) Doesn't come with a sheath. 4) Maintaining the tightness of the threaded rivets every session. Conclusion If you're looking for a good Bowie type knife for throwing, I gotta admit these are pretty darned good. They're durable, cheap and fun to throw. The are, however, made in India from an unknown (at least to me) forge. Cosmetically they're a Spartan no frills tool. Some may that as a turn-off. Me, I like it. A true case of function over form.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2009 7:06:23 GMT
Let me be the first to congratulate you, and would you like a blue slushy with that???
I though the first pic of the package looked familiar! Got them with the Axe I see, Got to give credit to the forges in India, a little better than some of the forges in China......
Nice revue, keep them coming...SanMarc.
(I did the same with flat blade screwdrivers once to prove that you can stick almost any thing in a target by throwing.)
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2009 12:27:30 GMT
Now that's a knife...or three. I like 'em! Another great review- that makes two this week!
I expect a drop of loctite on the screws might help keep things tight. The wide handles are a big +1.
Do you give lessons?
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Avery
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Post by Avery on Jul 18, 2009 16:33:12 GMT
Let me be the first to congratulate you, and would you like a blue slushy with that??? I though the first pic of the package looked familiar! Got them with the Axe I see, Got to give credit to the forges in India, a little better than some of the forges in China...... Nice revue, keep them coming...SanMarc. (I did the same with flat blade screwdrivers once to prove that you can stick almost any thing in a target by throwing.) Yeah, some of the Indian forges do a great job. I put it on the Con list since a lot of folks who throw Bowie usually want the them be American made. Now that's a knife...or three. I like 'em! Another great review- that makes two this week! I expect a drop of loctite on the screws might help keep things tight. The wide handles are a big +1. Do you give lessons? I do indeed give lessons. I've also got some Vids posted in the cutting videos thread on how to throw axes, heres one that covers the basics /index.cgi?board=cutting&action=display&thread=6854 And heres a little tougher throw /index.cgi?action=display&board=cutting&thread=7367&page=1 I plan on doing a few more at some point.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2009 17:11:19 GMT
Man Avery those knives are pretty hefty... and rather ugly (with the leather ) too but hey they work and they're fairly inexpensive.
I am with you on the arrowhead style of knives - I don't like them. I'm not much a fan of the leaf bladed knives either.
Lately for throwing knives I've been buying crappo bowies from pakistan with the cheap wood scales for $5 each. I throw them till either the tangs break or the blades fail then I give them to my dad for him to play with.
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Avery
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Post by Avery on Jul 18, 2009 18:03:06 GMT
I know exactly the kind of bowie your talking about. I did the same thing for years. And yeah, these knives sure ain't gonna win a beauty contest, but I'll trade look for function on these any day.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2009 18:10:16 GMT
Great videos, now I see why you said to throw a backward seven on the five gallon bucket game!
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Avery
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Post by Avery on Jul 18, 2009 18:41:17 GMT
Great videos, now I see why you said to throw a backward seven on the five gallon bucket game! That reminds me, I have some empty buckets around here....might just be time to get some friends together for a cookout and a game of buckets.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2009 11:33:39 GMT
Never knew you had the old instructional vid on axe throwing, I'll have to check them out. I've done hammer throwing and was pretty effective with that at one time, but I never got the hang of knives or axes. I'll have to study your vids I guess.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2009 20:22:39 GMT
Very cool, man...I expect you're rather good with those, eh Avery?
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Avery
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Post by Avery on Jul 22, 2009 21:58:28 GMT
Never knew you had the old instructional vid on axe throwing, I'll have to check them out. I've done hammer throwing and was pretty effective with that at one time, but I never got the hang of knives or axes. I'll have to study your vids I guess. Yeah, those vids got lost in the shuffle, but every now and then they pop back up. Course most of the time they pop up 'cause I link'em (shameful plugging, I know.) I've been planning on making a few more, but can't get coordinated with my camera man. I figure the next vid will be on throwing an axe/knife combo. Like a 1-2 punch. @ebon - I guess I do ok with'em.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2009 0:22:05 GMT
Never knew you had the old instructional vid on axe throwing, I'll have to check them out. I've done hammer throwing and was pretty effective with that at one time, but I never got the hang of knives or axes. I'll have to study your vids I guess. Yeah, those vids got lost in the shuffle, but every now and then they pop back up. Course most of the time they pop up 'cause I link'em (shameful plugging, I know.) I've been planning on making a few more, but can't get coordinated with my camera man. I figure the next vid will be on throwing an axe/knife combo. Like a 1-2 punch. @ebon - I guess I do ok with'em. I'll look forward to more vids then. BTW what would you give as pacing for an 18" machete? That dang Ozark Trail POS has gotta be good for something.
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Avery
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Post by Avery on Jul 23, 2009 0:31:12 GMT
18" overall, I would say in order to get it to rotate for a tip strike would be 5 and a half to 6 paces back, depending on the force and style of your throw. 5 1/2 paces should get you a stick, IMO.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2009 3:27:47 GMT
Avery: where is their PoB?
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Avery
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Post by Avery on Jul 23, 2009 3:38:52 GMT
Damn good point, Wraith. I completely forgot to put that in the review. The PoB is is about seven and 1/4" from the tip, I just checked again to be sure. I'll amend the review now.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2009 4:38:53 GMT
I would think that would be the most important stat mate So the balance is dead centre? I wonder how you get the correct balance on this kind of knife. Are these the heaviest knives you have ever thrown?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2009 12:18:27 GMT
18" overall, I would say in order to get it to rotate for a tip strike would be 5 and a half to 6 paces back, depending on the force and style of your throw. 5 1/2 paces should get you a stick, IMO. Thanks, and that was 18" blade, about 22-23" overall. I'll try your suggestion on pacings next time I have a decent target. And I would be throwing it like you throw your axes. Last time I tried a tip throw (years and years ago) I sliced my hand open pretty good.
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Avery
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Post by Avery on Jul 23, 2009 23:16:08 GMT
I would think that would be the most important stat mate So the balance is dead centre? I wonder how you get the correct balance on this kind of knife. Are these the heaviest knives you have ever thrown? Yeah, it's a pretty important stat, I can't believe I forgot it. You really don't get the correct balance on these types of knives. The blade presence actually makes this feel like throwing an axe more than a knife, which I prefer. My style is of throwing is wholly based on western methods. I never was one for the shuriken,kunai or other Eastern types. I've used them efficiently, but just don't enjoy it as much as these. Having said that, I have great respect for the masters who can. I'll never reach that level of ability. And yes, I think these would be the heaviest Bowie I've thrown. I had a set a few years back, but I'd have to say these are even heavier than those. 18" overall, I would say in order to get it to rotate for a tip strike would be 5 and a half to 6 paces back, depending on the force and style of your throw. 5 1/2 paces should get you a stick, IMO. Thanks, and that was 18" blade, about 22-23" overall. I'll try your suggestion on pacings next time I have a decent target. And I would be throwing it like you throw your axes. Last time I tried a tip throw (years and years ago) I sliced my hand open pretty good. Ok. With 22"-23" overall, It'll be about 6 - 6 1/2 paces by the handle. I should have clarified, any time I give pacings, I always figure to be thrown by the handle unless I say otherwise. Talking about holding by the blade, thats one of the reasons I like these knives, a very blunt face so if I hold the blade, I have no worries of getting cut.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2009 23:53:47 GMT
I noticed you mentioned the blunt face in your review, good for safety. A couple years back I had been gifted with a Hibben pro-thrower and like the inexperienced fool I was, I sharpened the thing to paper cutting sharp and then tried a tip throw with it. I learned the hard way on that one.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2009 0:12:59 GMT
Avery: I have spent so long throwing kunai and shuriken now I am trying to understand the mechanics of handle throwing, it is a very different feeling, when you handle throw do you thumb and forefinger with a flick? Or do you grasp the whole handle? Have you done any handle throwing demos?
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