Anyone here into throwing knives or hatchets/tomahawks for fun?

If so, what style do you like to throw and what knives or tomahawks do you use?

What kind of target do you use?

I started using Smith and Wesson ones like you get can get from Bass Pro Shop or Cabellas.  But, as anyone who has tried these has probably found out the steel is too soft and they can generate metal splinters (I've read people flat out break them, too).

I tried the little SOG flingers, but they are too light to work well.

At first I used a rotating style where the knife completes rotation before striking the target.  Lately, I've moved to a flying steel knife that's weighted at the handle for a no spin throw for instinctive throwing (hit at any distance).

If you've never done it, it's fun!  You can expect to have a couple of afternoons where you brick many if not most of your throws, but before long you will be able to stick most of your throws if you keep at it.

I started knives more seriously during covid out of boredom, and think if interested most people who have some yard could get into it if they wanted.  You don't need that much space like you would for archery much less any kind of riflery at your place.

For a target, with knives, it is easier to stick in an end grain target.  That means a log round, or something like this.
https://youtu.be/ZdBwMq4DEmM
https://youtu.be/CY2RucU3c7k
Etsy has them if you don't want to make one, like this.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/7199452...e-thick-target

Tomahawks are even easier to learn.  However, because they strike with more force and have a bigger blade they will eat up a target quicker.  If you get into that you probably want a source of log rounds to use as a target.

How to throw a tomahawk
https://youtu.be/JfSrpUrezw8
^^^ you can throw a knife the same way, end over end...just measure out your paces and make adjustments based on how it strikes

How to throw a knife no spin style
https://youtu.be/SThz_pIUggA
^^^ more fun.  A lot easier with a purpose made no spin knife like from acejet or flying steel knives

No spin knives
https://www.acejetofficial.com/throw...acejet-stinger

https://flyingsteel.com/f/starship/

...bunch more on etsy

Rotating knives for cheap
https://www.bladehq.com/?search=throwing+knifes

https://www.bladehq.com/item--Cold-S...-Strike--21384

https://www.bladehq.com/item--Smith-...hrowing--16180
(Probably want to wrap handle with paracord and or duct tape because of metal splinters...but otherwise perfectly good to try out and see if you like it)


Target - just cobble something together.


No spin knife..flying steel brand.  They can be 100 buck plus. But harder steel that is harder to chip/break and they have great balance.


Tomahawks/hatchets


I don't recommend these (too light imo)


Another point...your knives and tomahawks do not need to be sharp.  Their weight will make them stick on the point into the target.  If you use very sharp knives or hatchets then it's maybe a safety issue because you will be handling them a lot and pulling them out of the target when tired.

Also...general note, remove any from target first before retrieving a miss from the ground.  They can fall out of the target while you are picking one up.  So, use all the safety cautions you would use as if you were playing darts.  These are just big darts. But...it's more fun than darts! Once you get to where you stick most of your throws it's very satisfying.

I used to enjoy practicing throwing knives and axes and then I moved to the city and there's nowhere to do it.

I used to be able to pull a knife out of a hip holster and throw it into a target like a cowboy shoots a gun. That was a tough move to learn.

It's fun and a good way to practice hand/eye coordination.

There's many places in Philly where people can throw axes but I have not gone yet due to not having friends who believe they can do it.

Anyway, throwing knives are cool due to how they are made and that's interesting.

I've been working on throwing knives underhanded, but have not gotten that down quite yet. It took a while to figure out no spin overhand, but I like that way as you can try like 3 throws 3 distances to keep it interesting.

I think anyone can get the hang of tomahawks in a single outing. That's part of the draw for those places that have opened up for customers almost like a bowling alley.

You will brick a few but really anyone can do it within an hour. Knives are a bit trickier because they're lighter and smaller variations in your throws can make them miss.

I do like those tomahawks with a spike, though. Then you can stick them upside down and have more of a range for a hit. I can throw them underhanded but not as hard, yet. Sideways throwing is fun, too.

Both are probably harder to pull off in the city, but knives you might be able to do if you have any sort of backyard...even small.

I wouldn't want to do it inside though because there will be ricochets eventually and you need to be able to have some room to move away.

Kids love it. Just watch out for ricochet...which isn't that huge of an issue with tomahawks at all because they will be standing at 5 paces and it just won't be bouncing back like that. More of an issue is they will just throw it off into the woods and you have to hunt for it.

Knives will ricochet worse imo...kids might throw them too hard so maybe watch out for that.

I wish I could do this stuff more!

I forgot that to draw a knife and throw it is an underhand throw. That's hard because as I recall it's a "flick" of the knife vs an overhand spinning throw. The flick has to have a very controlled movement.

I used to practice that stuff over and over growing up. I think I'm still pretty good because I can accurately throw a pocket knife and they are not balanced or anything close to a throwing knife.

I used to also do aerobics with nunchakus in the woods. I would see if I slowly clip pieces of leaves off of trees, meaning I was in control of what I was hitting. That was a good way to burn calories and do something fun.

Simple archery can be fun too.

Have you tried that?

I have enough space for archery and do that in my backyard, although I haven't done it as much lately. I have a hybrid recurve/longbow which is just 40 lbs...just for target practice. I used to do exercise with it, though...shoot a quiver and then sprint to retrieve them and do it again...back when I was losing a lot of weight and would try all kinds of goofy things.

I do have nunchucks, but I lack nunchuck skills. I gave up practice with them for exercise after accidentally throwing them a few times. I've seen a martial artist who was dual weilding a pair of them smack himself in the eye such that it was a bloody mess...I remember that time to time when I think it might be a good idea to get good at the nunchucks and then I hang them back up.

...
BTW youtube has guys throwing all kinds of stuff accurately. There's some Russian guy who throws spoons. People throw kitchen knives. I'm sure you can get good at just about anything if you practice enough.

I used to do the archery thing when I was a kd and use it for exercise. It's fun.

My brother and I used to try to make bows because we didn't want to ask our parents for expensive stuff. However, I later got a factory made bow that was simple in nature. In my area growing up hunting was huge and people had compound bows with triggers and all kinds of stuff I never tried.

I always wanted to try a compound one though. I think they have the force of a gun.

The nunchakus thing is funny.

I was at a gym and saw a guy practicing with them and he was pretty good so I asked him about them. He said he was a cop and into martial arts and he suggested I get padded kinds and read about how to use them.

I did that but the padded kind bounce off of my hands so I couldn't catch them correctly. I then got ones made of some kind of VERY hard and heavy wood. They worked great.

One time, and that was it, I cracked myself in the head and it hurt like HELL. If you used them on someone the results would be horrible.

I have noticed that the more I started developing my arms from lifting the harder it got to use them. Plus, I moved to the city and practicing with them outside would probably scare people, but I pull them out on occasion.

They were fun to learn.

I forgot to mention, I used to go to bars and play darts like every night, once again, not in Philly.

Since I'm a good throw it used to be a lot of fun and I would win beers off of people.

A couple of times I throw a bullseye dart and threw another into the back of it. I only did that twice but it got a great reaction from the crowd.

In Philly, they do not have darts in most bars because people will be killing each other with them. So, I stopped playing darts as well.

I haven't been to too many bars in Philly, but having in laws from there I can confirm it is not the city of brotherly love. It can be extremely rough in my experience.

I love darts, too. Grew up throwing them all the time.

Compound bows can be pretty heavy, but really the thing is you can easily hold them at full draw and aim unlike traditional archery.

Idk about being as strong as a gun but I would not want to be hit with a broadhead (or any arrow lol).

Crossbows can be ridiculous strong. Some can shoot steel balls as well.

They've been developed over the last few years such that now there's repeating crossbows with a magazine...Jeorge Spavre on YouTube has a 'slingshot channel' with all kinds of interesting stuff related to that.

I wouldn't mind having one but it's not really a need. I think they would be fun, though.

I did not know crossbows could shoot ball bearings! That must be crazy.

There was a guy in a old TV show who threw ball bearings to the point where he could hurt or kill people. If you are able to aim them you can throw them pretty hard at a target.

I have to look up how a crossbow does that.

Also, an archery place just opened in Philly and I would love to try it. I would find watching my gf shoot a bow. The place had better have insurance.

Anyway, all of this stuff is fun and good mental and physical exercise.

Here's an example of one that can shoot bolts as well as steel balls.


It has two strings and a pouch of sorts.

remember when libtards said mentally ill people shouldnt have weapons?

That crossbow is insane.

I wonder who decided to invent that. It reminds me of some kind of ninja weapon.

I also like the guy on the video with his German accent. It adds to his videos.