Knife Throwing

Is knife throwing a useful skill for fieldcraft, survival, and security? Can you use a throwing knife as and effective hunting tool? Is knife throwing useful for self-defense?

Generally speaking throwing your knife in the field is a bad idea. If you miss your target you may lose your knife. The range at which one generally learns to throw a knife is about three to four meters (9-12 feet), which means that you will have to stalk very close to game to be able to hunt it with a throwing knife. There are techniques for throwing knives at other distances, such as "No Spin Knife Throwing" developed by Yuri Fedin, which will allow you to increase your effective throwing distance by a few extra paces, but you will still need to stalk close to your prey to hunt with a throwing knife. A perfect throw with a knife will give good penetration into your target, but most throws will not be perfect, meaning that hunting with a throwing knife should be limited to small game such as rabbits, and similar sized animals.

Although knife (and tomahawk) throwing is not a primary survival skill, it can be fun and enjoyable way to spend some time outdoors. As knife throwing expert, Harry K. McEvoy said in his 1973 book Knife Throwing: A Practical Guide: "Not only is knife throwing fun, it is also a great sport, entertainment, recreation and exercise. It can be a wonderful hobby, pastime, or even a profession, and the fundamentals are easy to learn. Anyone who can throw a stick, stone, or baseball can also learn how to throw a knife with skill and accuracy. All you need is a good knife-designed for the purpose, whether made to throw by the handle or blade, a target, and a small portion of the back yard for the throwing range."

Many of us who spend our days in the forest try throwing knives, and perhaps become fairly good at it. If you are going to learn to throw a knife, I recommend learning the Yuri Fedin no spin knife throwing technique, and a similar technique taught by Ralph Thorn. With this technique, you are not tied to a particular distance (i.e. 3-4 meters), and can spend your time developing accuracy and power in your knife throws. A good discussion of knife throwing techniques can be found on the Flying Steel web-page and a fun YouTube channel with a lot of great knife throwing information is Xolette's Knife Throwing Channel.

I have also included links to a few knife throwing instructional videos below.

Yuri Fedin Throwing Knives

No Spin Knife Throwing Tutorial 

How To Throw a Knife Further? (No-Spin / Step By Step) (Adam Celadin)

How to Throw Knives: Introduction to Martial Arts Knife Throwing by Ralph Thorn 

How to Throw a Knife: Different Styles (Ralph Thorn)

How to Throw a Knife With No Spin (Ralph Thorn)

Throwing a Knife (Pathfinder School)

While most any knife can be thrown, if you are going to throw knives regularly it is a good idea to get yourself a knife or two specifically designed for throwing. There are any number of throwing knives on the market, and you should find a knife or set of knives that throw well for you. Some throwing knives that I like, and enjoy throwing are:

SOG Throwing Knives (Set of 3)

Cold Steel La Fontaine Throwing Knife

Cold Steel True Flight Thrower 

Although you may not need to know how to throw a knife to survive in the Taiga; knife throwing is an enjoyable pastime that gets you up and outdoors. So, get a throwing knife or two, and enjoy your time with friends and family learning to throw.