Because the art of throwing knives is an intriguing and skillful form of recreation, if you can make your own throwing knife it can provide you with hours of fun and practice—and not to mention valuable training. There are many ways to make your own throwing knife; most of them involve steel and hacksaws or a good working knowledge of metalworking and machinery. Although these implements can produce beautiful and dangerous knives if given the right time and skill, there is a cheaper and simpler way to come up with an effective tool for learning this great art.
The first and most important thing is to determine the length, weight, and balance of your knife. In order for it to surpass the rank of just a regular knife and achieve the status of a throwing knife, it needs to fly right. It also needs to have enough power to penetrate the target and be sharp enough to do so easily.
Make sure your knife is between eight and fifteen inches in length. If your throwing knife is too short it may not stick into the target properly, and if it’s too long it will turn out awkward, clumsy, and harder to throw. Choose a length between the above stated figures that accurately suits your own size and the size of your hand.
Your throwing knife’s weight should be the equivalent of one ounce to every inch of its length. If you have chosen to make an eight inch knife, try to make sure it weighs around eight ounces. For a fifteen inch knife, get it as close to fifteen inches as possible. If it’s too light it won’t fly right and if it’s too heavy, not only will you decrease your range considerably but your throwing knife will also be more difficult to throw properly.
It’s important that your knife is balanced correctly and this can be fine tuned by finding the center of gravity of the knife before it is fully finished. Balance your throwing knife on the tip of your finger. If the place where it balances is not exactly in the center of the knife, make the necessary adjustments before finishing your project.
Now for the fun part. To make your own throwing knife, find or buy a standard letter or enveloper opener. Some letter openers made for right and left handed people have a blade on both sides and some only have one blade and a handle. Either one of these is fine to use.
A throwing knife is usually thrown from the blade and generally only needs to be sharp at the very tip. Use a sharpening stone, metal file, or some concrete to file the tip of your letter opener down to a sharp point. Be sure to sharpen only an inch or so above the point. If you sharpen any more of the blade you may cut your hand when throwing the knife.
Once the tip is nice and sharp, wrap the other end with electrical tape. Use the previously mentioned balancing technique to help you know exactly how much electrical tape to use and stop wrapping once your knife’s balancing point is right in the middle. The electrical tape not only adds a nice handle and a beautiful finishing touch, but it adds some good, solid weight to your throwing knife that should help it to perform better.
You may wish to make a sheath for your knife out of cardboard or material and, if so, corrugated cardboard makes the safest and easiest sheath. Simply cut out two appropriately sized lengths of corrugated cardboard, measured carefully against the length of your knife. Place these on both sides of your throwing knife and wrap them up with the same electrical tape you used for your knife’s handle. If your sheath is too loose at first you may want to wrap it tighter with the tape. Just make sure your knife comes out easily when you need it to, but doesn’t fall out when you’re not looking.
To throw, pinch the blade of your knife between your thumb and a finger and pitch it at the target with a quick flick of your wrist.