Advice On Making Throwing Knives

S

schwatk

Joined
May 1, 2008
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I've just started throwing knives and would like to make my own. I was hoping for advice on what to use and how to make my throwing knives.

What type steel should I use?
Should I forge them or do stock removal?
Do I heat treat them and if YES what do you recommend for the suggested steels?

Please feel free to email me at joe.schwatka@navy.mil

Thank you for any and all help!

Joe
 
Joe,
I have made a few throwing knives

Stock removal is fine

I would use 1050 or 1060

heavier is better

Yuppers you want to heat treat it...I would shoot for low 50's in the heat treat
 
What Stacey said:thumbup::thumbup:
I get my 5160 from a local OffRoad truck spring place
 
bladsmth said:
5160 , and harden the tips only.
Click to expand...

With all due respect to Stacy. If you are going to make a throwing knife, you need to harden it all the way through or the knife will look like a potato chip after a few throws. You will spend more time trying to straighten it out then throwing it. Use at least 3/16ths thick steel.
BB
 
Bobby Branton said:
With all due respect to Stacy. If you are going to make a throwing knife, you need to harden it all the way through or the knife will look like a potato chip after a few throws. You will spend more time trying to straighten it out then throwing it. Use at least 3/16ths thick steel.
BB
Click to expand...

What RC would you recommend?
 
Bobby, I have been told that by others ,too. It makes sense to fully harden the thrower and then draw it back to a low Rc. Your experience is far greater than mine in this field.

The ones I have made were 5160 and 1/4" thick. they were about 14" long. I heated them in the forge and quenched the tips about 4" back. The body probably air hardened to the low 40's RC. The temper was at 600F, IIRC. Tips were about Rc48-50 as I recall.

What temperature do you temper at for Rc45?
 
The first thrower I made I hardened it all the way, it stuck great when thrown on the money, but if it hit wrong would bounce, ringing like a bell and was very dangerous to spectators as well as the man throwing it.

Since that time I multiple quench the front third of the blade temper at 388 f and leave the rest soft.

That is using 5160 and usually from any old junk car or truck spring nearest the shop when I decide to make one. They bend sometimes, but are easily straightened between the target and a piece of fire wood.
 
bladsmth said:
Bobby, I have been told that by others ,too. It makes sense to fully harden the thrower and then draw it back to a low Rc. Your experience is far greater than mine in this field.

The ones I have made were 5160 and 1/4" thick. they were about 14" long. I heated them in the forge and quenched the tips about 4" back. The body probably air hardened to the low 40's RC. The temper was at 600F, IIRC. Tips were about Rc48-50 as I recall.

What temperature do you temper at for Rc45?
Click to expand...

To fully harden the blade is fine. When I make a few for custom orders, I temper the whole blade at 600 to shoot for RC 44-46. I make my throwers in batches of 100-200 at a time and send them to a professional heat treater to help me achieve consistency

The point that I am trying to make is that I make throwers mostly for professional knife throwers who don't want to have to bend their blades back into shape after each throw. Just don't leave them soft.
 
I want to thank everyone for their input. I have some of Aldo's 5160.
It's 1/4" x 2". I want to make my throwing knives a basic Bowie shape
measuring 2" x 14". These will be the first knives I've ever made. Do I need
to forge in distal tapers? And since it will be double edged how should I HT and temper them. I have Vet. grade Mineral Oil for the quench.

As always thanks for any and all help!

Joe
 
Agreed, Bobby is the go-to guy on throwers.

The HT is the same for a single edge as a double edge in 5160. The vet oil will be fine. Heat it to 120-130F. You can grind the whole knife ,including distal taper, or forge it to shape and clean it up on the grinder. Either way, normalize the blade before HT.

When you say, "Basic Bowie Shape", I am not sure what you mean. Most throwers I have seen are symmetrical, not Bowie shaped. Here is a list of types:
http://www.knifethrowing.info/various_throwingknives.html
 
Everyone keeps talking about shooting for this this or that hardness or RC.
Are you talking about the Rockwell hardness? And how does one know what they have achieved after heat treating? If I need to buy something to figure this out please suggest what I should look to buy.

Sorry if this is a stupid question but as I said I'm brand new to this.

Joe
 
The correct RC can and I feel should be determined by the maker using the knife for what it was intended to be used for. Personal testing is the key!
 
I go for 50 Rc in 1075 steel, thru-hardened.

You get the desired Rc by following a tempering chart/graph for your steel (try google).

Or, if you send your knife out for heat treating, you specify the desired Rc to the vendor.
 
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