Now the weight of the knife comes into play. Since momentum is proportional to velocity and mass, a knife with some properly proportioned heft considerably improves your odds of sticking in the target. A sharp point is essential, too, because pressure, which drives the knife into the wood, is inversely proportional to the area of contact. If you've ever had a cat wake you in the morning by putting all of its weight on one kidney-punching paw, then you are familiar with this concept.
This is a good thing, because it's going to help you choose your weapon. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. After releasing the knife, it will fly forward and continue to rotate around its center of gravity with the same angular velocity it had during the throwing movement.
At the end of the throwing movement, the tip of the blade goes down if you are holding it at the handle for the throw, that is , and so it will during the flight: tip going down, handle coming up. Thus, if your knife reaches the target with the handle pointing up , it has turned too much, and you must go nearer to the target to allow less time for rotation. Accordingly, you can also slow down the rotation using a larger circle, extending your arm.
This is also accomplished by the technique of "leaning in", where you stretch the throwing movement towards the target, making it into an oblong oval. It is very interesting to note that the velocity of your throw has no impact on the distance the knife will travel during one full rotation! The distance d the knife travels while completing one full rotation is his forward velocity V f multiplied by the time needed to complete the rotation:. The forward velocity V f of the knife equals its circumferential velocity V c at the moment of release.
The distance d which the knife travels during one full rotation hence only depends on the radius of the throwing movement, not on the force or speed of the throw!
The last formula also explains why axes and large knives travel longer distances during one full turn: their center of gravity is well away from the hand, making the radius r of the circular throwing movement bigger. The throwing movement is not an exact circle, but a bent curve, and the relevant radius r is the one of the curve at the moment of release.
Because the arm length of the thrower remains constant, and only the radius changes with different throwing devices, it is possible to empirically determine the parameter d for throwing devices of different length. Experiments yielded the following diagram:. With axes, the center of gravity is nearly exactly at the end of the handle, hence we set ls equal to lg. Therefore, the lg axis in the diagram is for the knives, ls for the axes. These values are true for a normal throw using the hammer grip.
Due to different grip variations and other factors, the real values can scatter around the ones given yellow area in the diagram. Knife throwers know that they can slow down the rotation of a knife by taking more of it into the hand, holding it more towards the middle. This results from the fact that the knife needs more time to clear the hand after the release, whilst the hand continues to travel downwards, pushing onto the handle.
This slows down the rotation, which normally would have the handle going up. The technique of throwing the knife with the thumb on its spine slows down the rotation for the same reason. Another alteration of the grip does slow down the rotation: do not hold the knife so that it is a straight extension of your horizontally outstretched forearm, but bend it slightly back up. After being released, the knife can now not easily slide out of the hand, but has to work against the front fingers, tumbling over them, thus adding spin.
A knife thrower, Tim Valentine, wrote a great article on how to find an appropriate distance for each type of throw. However, your personal distance will depend on your knife as well. Generally for a half rotation spin, you will want to be about six feet from your target.
Next, grip your knife with blade facing you handle towards the sky. Throw the knife at your target with moderate force. Don't try to throw the knife as hard as you can. Just a moderate throw will be sufficient if you have the correct target and knife. If the knife will not stay in the target and your rotation is accurate make sure you are using a soft wood target and that your knife's tip is sharp! After sticking the half rotation throw, you can move onto your first single rotation knife throw.
This throw will take more precision so it is critical that you review correct throwing stance and knife grip. To begin this throw, find your most optimal distance from the target. According to Valentine's article , for a single rotation throw you should stand about ten to eleven feet from your target.
Once again, this is an estimate. Your knife and your form will alter these approximations, so try to find your own "sweet spot". Now grip your knife from its handle blade facing the sky. Throw your knife with moderate force at your target. Focus on your stance and staying relaxed, since this throw will take quite a bit more precision than the half rotation throw. If the knife doesn't stick in your target, make sure you are using a soft wood target, and that your knife's tip is sharp.
Since this is a beginners guide, I won't be going over the specifics of other throws. However, for those looking for a challenge, I will mention some more advanced throws. Basically, more advanced throws just involve more spins, or even no spins.
You can find the approximate distance for any number of rotations of throws. In his article he even talks of a seven rotation throw. Alternatively, there is the "no-spin" technique. This is a method of throwing where the knife has no rotation.
This a more practical technique for close distance throwing, since there is no rotation any object that passes the knife's trajectory will be hit. If you would like to get more into advanced knife throwing, there are plenty of articles and books on the physics of throwing and other techniques. The most important part of knife throwing is to continue to practice. Since much of throwing is in "muscle memory", practice can help you retain and build on your skills.
I hope you have had fun learning how to throw throwing knifes, and are hooked on the sport. Please share your favorite knife throws in the comments section of this instructable! If you think this article was awesome please support me by voting in either the Great Outdoors, squeeze more awesome out of summer, or Vintage contest! Thanks for reading! Participated in the squeeze more awesome out of summer contest.
Question 3 months ago on Step 4. Great tutorial! I actually wrote one on my blog as well, if anybody wants to check it out, it may help with some different visualization on how to do it! When my older brother moved out and joined the army, he left behind a collection of switch blades and a couple of army knives he'd collected; he took over half the knives he owned with him and left the rest to me the butterfly knives were among my favorite.
You can imagine how my mom reacted to her daughter being passed down a couple dozen knives, but she was even more upset when I picked up knife throwing and a range of small-scale combat moves.
We had an old tree slightly rotting in the back yard, so I'd go out just about every day and practice with it. The wood was slightly soft from termites and insects eating away at it, so the knives stuck easier than usual, which was perfect for practice for a teenage girl such as myself.
I actually found that I preferred the heavy-grip locking switch blades for throwing and street fighting; they had design in the handle and blade, but were well balanced, compact, and surprisingly durable, on top of the fact that they're legal as a concealed weapon in the state of Texas; I could take them almost anywhere. I hardly had trouble with breaking knives, though that might be because of a lack of upper body strength in comparison to a man. I'm told that while I wouldn't win a contest for the force of my throws and depth of blade entry into the target, my speed and accuracy is thoroughly impressive.
It's important when becoming a knife thrower to decide not only what blades are best for you, but also what areas you wish to be best at. Maybe you want to throw the furthest, hardest, fastest, or most accurately. Don't be afraid to use an untraditional knife if it works for you, and having the most force behind your throw isn't always everything.
Women, too, can be efficient in knife throwing, where speed and a lighter knife can be just as deadly effective as a heavy strong blade. I've personally found that simultaneously throwing up to three knives works best for me in general practice, though this requires special flat blade-only knives and an extra permit in Texas.
The image I've uploaded is of one of my favorite everyday carry-around switchblades. The curve of the knife from hilt to tip makes it difficult for a beginner, but with practice it becomes a very effective throwing knife and is good for close hand combat.
It's sturdy enough that in over five years of throwing and general use it has not broken; on top of that, it is styled and not bland or plain.
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