Knife throwing to kill: True or false.

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Fatstrat

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When I was a kid, I taught myself how to throw & stick a knife because I'd seen it in movies and thought it looked cool. Got pretty good at it too. I can throw pretty much anything knife shaped or similiar (screwdrivers etc) and stick them.
I see here there seem to be several methods or styles. Not sure what mine is. Basically I start by holding the blade and when thrown the knife makes 1/2 rotation. Basically blade and handle switch ends. Not very good at long distance, but I used to stick it reliably up to maybe 10 yrds. (been awhile since I've done it).
Anyway, I've never thrown a knife at any living thing except perhaps a tree. But I've always been skeptical that a knife could be throw w/enough force to bury into a human chest deep enough to kill. Is it true or just a good movie stunt?
 
It's a bit of both.

A small screwdriver, light blade, or other minor projectile will certainly stab and penetrate skin over a typical throw. The depth of penetration should be enough to cause shock, but not immediately so.

The response of the target will be a momentary feeling of something thumping into him, sharp pain, followed by numbness, and then a realization that something is stuck in him... he may not even notice it at all.

Tactically, this isn't very good: he has plenty of time to react and keep coming at you (and it won't take much for him to take you down unless you have a couple of back up plans--such as additional weaponry, an escape path, and/or friends).

He'll eventually feel shock from the blood loss to some degree: anything from waves of nauseating dizziness up to loss of consciousness and collapse, but the actual blood loss (if he leaves the projectile in) could be fairly light.

There's a wide variety of variables.

However, a large blade designed for throwing? Could be a dramatically different story. A large 12" throwing blade, say a spearhead or some of the dagger-shaped throwers or the drop points, could easily drive deeply into the thoracic wall--even through ribs. Will that kill? Probably, but not necessarily immediately. The shock will occur faster, with loss of consciousness sooner, but he could easily stagger out some sort of counterattack or easily fire off a shot before he fell. But his wound would be extremely serious, and would need almost immediate medical treatment to prevent fatality.

There are no guarantees in this situation. But bigger and/or faster has more kinetic energy and so tends to be more effective.

On a personal level, and what follows is pure opinion subject to debate, but I would not recommend you expect a single throwing weapon to kill. As a first shot, it's better than a lot of folks will admit. A measly butter knife, awl, small screwdriver, nail, or skewer jamming into anyone's skin is possibly enough to stop a fight right then and there.

But a fight-ender is not always a life-taker. In a defensive situation, you need something MORE than a single thrown weapon.
 
If the knife is fairly large, it can most certainly kill. They have killed wild boars with thrown knives. I can stick my large PJ Tomes throwing bowie into a wood stump far enough that it isn't easy to pull out. I'm confident it would penetrate well.
 
I recall an article, in one of the knife rags many years ago, about Skeeter Vaughn where he said that he made a kill during WWII with a knife throw at some ungodly distance. My memory might be a bit off but 30 yards and the back of the neck ring a bell. ???
Regards

Shike
 
If the target is aware that you're holding a knife, when you throw it at distances past 5metres, you're going to miss, just one step from the guy could have you missing him, unless you throw with no spin with extremely fast speed which is very hard especially under stress.
 
Roger999 said:
If the target is aware that you're holding a knife, when you throw it at distances past 5metres, you're going to miss, just one step from the guy could have you missing him, unless you throw with no spin with extremely fast speed which is very hard especially under stress.
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Agreed: and I would add, at 5 meters you probably have no business throwing anything at him, but just getting out of there fast.
 
I don't remember the details. It seems like he had to do it to take out a sentry in Vietnam. For some reason, he couldn't get closer. Obviously, he couldn't use anything that would make significant noise. He had to make a perfect throw and was successful; but he was not your average knife thrower either.
 
Jagged said:
I don't remember the details. It seems like he had to do it to take out a sentry in Vietnam. For some reason, he couldn't get closer. Obviously, he couldn't use anything that would make significant noise. He had to make a perfect throw and was successful; but he was not your average knife thrower either.
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That's it. But I reckon it was during WWII. Not that it really matters:D
 
WWII is correct. There was snow on the ground and no cover between him and the sentry.
The throw was later measured at 87 feet, if I remember correctly.
 
Ok, I have never killed another person in hand to hand or thrown a knife at anyone, however I do have experience hunting with a knife, and I have tried several different tests on deer carcasses using knives.
I found that an average 3/16 bowie style knife with a sharp edge is lethal when used against all sorts of varmints and even saltwater crabs, completely piercing the animal to the hilt and skewering it to the ground beneath. This was using a half-turn and combat throw.
The knives I threw at the deer carcasses were both light and heavy; several split ribs and flew out the other side, some simply sank instantly to the hilt. No problem at all. I know two men who have used a thrown knife in combat, and they said that it was quite effective.
The knife does not simply stick into the target on contact but continues to spin, following the path of least resistance, IE the edge. Usually the knife carves a long, deep slash as long as the blade in the target. I have seen varmints sliced in half with one throw of a medium bowie knife.
Yes, definantly lethal.
If you know how to throw a knife it makes a great weapon and tool.
Not recommended as a first choice weapon unless all the chips are down but I think that goes somewhat without saying. :)
 
if you have a knife dont though it keep it in your hand and use it ive thown knives scewdrivers and axes but never give up your weapon or at least have two knives my 2 cents
 
QuinnBowie said:
The knife does not simply stick into the target on contact but continues to spin, following the path of least resistance, IE the edge. Usually the knife carves a long, deep slash as long as the blade in the target.
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Indeed! I wish I had said this.
 
Excellent post Watchful and QuinnBowie....

I'm just a new guy. Sorry I have nothing to contribute (yet).

:)
 
bradph said:
Excellent post Watchful and QuinnBowie....

I'm just a new guy. Sorry I have nothing to contribute (yet).
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Never a problem! We're still glad to have ya.

I'm no expert, but have a lot of fun with throwing. Drop me a line if you have more questions on the mechanics and principles. QuinnBowie seems like a guy I'd like to chat with and share some beverages, as well!
 
bradph said:
Excellent post Watchful and QuinnBowie....

I'm just a new guy. Sorry I have nothing to contribute (yet).

:)
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Hi all!

I agree! I'm new to this thread as well but not new to knives :)

I very much agree with Watchful. It does take more to make a killing blow for a projectile knife. I believe throwing knives is a great alternative to guns when all else fails.
 
if you have a heavy knife and you can throw it hard you can u kill a person? that is true! i have killed squirrels,beavers, and most recently rudolf with throwing knives! or it is good in hand on hand combat with the blade design that they usually have.
 
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