Talk:Knife throwing

At the moment, there is a section about a "throwing knife" right here at the start of the topic of "knife throwing", linking directly to the main topic "throwing knife", with different content. I'd say, put all the "throwing knife" information where it belongs, in its own topic. ThrowingKnowledge (talk) 11:55, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

Old conversation

Can someone add to this page a comparison of some modern throwing knives, or even just a recommendation about which brand of knives are of the greatest quality? Please.

The American knife manufacturer "Cold Steel" make excellent modern throwers in a range of sizes and styles

ThrowingKnowledge 23:06, 20 March 2007 (UTC) says: I think a general description of what qualities a throwing knife should have would be more of use. Brands are not universally available, and no agreement on a "perfect" model/manufacturer exist.

---

"It is often alleged that some of these circus acts, such as those involving blind folds, are actually a trick in which the thrower palms the knife as he pretends to throw it and a knife springs out from the target, giving the illusion of perfect aim even while blindfolded. While there is a trick to this, it does not involve a knife springing from the target." I'd like to see a reference for this; otherwise we are left with the suspicion that the article is deliberate misdirection for illusionists. The knife-springing-from-board trick has certainly been documented, even if it's not universal. Skookumpete 16:59, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

---

I think this page needs some editing into sections. Also, I have just created a new and fairly detailed entry on "impalement arts" which covers a lot of the entertainemnt side of knifethrowing. I suggest this page should concentrate on throwing techniques, types of knives and on competition throwing. The references to entertainment and knifethrowing acts here should be edited out and turned into links to the impalement arts entry. Circusandmagicfan 22:14, 12 February 2007 (UTC)Circusandmagicfan

Sound made by thrown knife

The statement about telling the rotations from the sound reads like BS to me. Never heard it myself.Kid Zed (talk) 12:59, 28 December 2007 (UTC)Kid_Zed

Mai from Avatar the Last Airbender

I think it should be inserted in the pop culture section that Mai from Avatar the Last Airbender used throwing knives in combat during the course of the series. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.236.137.228 (talk) 23:28, 15 March 2015 (UTC)

Combat skill?

At present, I don't think this article makes any plausible, sourced claims that throwing knives have appreciable martial application. I don't think you can handle a throwing knife or watch a competition and not conclude that it's pretty useless for harming other human beings, particularly combat-ready people who are trying to harm you back, when a spear, javelin, or large rock would do the trick better. Even Central African "throwing knives," which don't really fit the traditional definition, aren't well understood in their function and may be (like throwing sticks) a kind of hunting weapon.

Where's the historical basis besides movies and videogames? 72.198.13.165 (talk) 19:18, 20 November 2018 (UTC)

It would seem to me that throwing knives would have the exact same martial applications as shuriken, which have well-documented historical use (granted more for superficial damage rather than lethal, but it's still martial). You say that a spear, javelin, or large rock would be better, but those are all far less portable and concealable. However, it doesn't really matter what either of us think about their usefulness; what matters is what reliable sources have to say on the subject. The section you removed had no sources, so it's pretty hard to argue for it staying, but hopefully someone will find some quality resources and we'll have a new section out of it.

Edit: I've just now seen that one of the books in the Sources section is titled Knife Fighting: Knife Throwing for Combat, so...yeah, we pretty definitely have reliable sources for combat use. -- Fyrael (talk) 20:07, 20 November 2018 (UTC)

Skysmith, could you please share your thoughts, since you've reverted? -- Fyrael (talk) 16:17, 21 November 2018 (UTC)

As far as I know, there is a difference between competitions and combat use. _Modern_ throwing knives used in competitions are usually balanced specifically for throwing to a target _and_ deliberately made so that they would not harm any bystanders but those are not the kind soldiers and warriors historically used. Knife-throwing has probably existed as long as there has been anything resembling a knife. It is not the matter of how much damage the blade does but where it hits (real-life wounds are not based on hit points - ask any average paramedic who has probably seen minor punctures who turned out to be lethal).

As for _modern_ combat application, knife thrower against a fully equipped soldier would be as effective as average martial arts user; that is, not very effective. Like average karateka, _modern_ knife thrower practices for competitions, against non-moving, clear targets and have to follow rules. If they would somehow meet historical knife-thrower (who would have to had try to hit moving targets trying to dodge in non-optimal surroundings), they would certainly lose. In modern terms, knife throwing would be effectively only in conditions where, for example, commandos try to practice "silent sentry removal" and that requires more stealth than anything else.

As for the aforementioned African throwing blades, I assume the anon means things like mongwanga which really are not throwing _knives_ and not comparable to them. As for throwing stars, those do not cause big wounds but historically they were _poisoned_. In that respect, the article Throwing knife should probably be renamed throwing blade.

So, knife throwing has been historically used for combat, although its modern use for that is limited and possibly limited to streetfighting, not military. It is still usable for that. - Skysmith (talk) 19:59, 21 November 2018 (UTC)

Do you have any sources for any combat-related knife/blade throwing? -- Fyrael (talk) 16:34, 22 November 2018 (UTC)

Mainly historical accounts lots of people seem to consider legends - Skysmith (talk) 18:59, 23 November 2018 (UTC)