"Bob Karp is one of the few professional knife throwers left in the world. Bob designed his knives which were fabricated for him by Randy Lee up through the early 1990's. I do not know who makes them now. There are a number of unusual things about them as compared to most of the custom knives, but in summary, they are the best throwing knives I have ever used.
Bob Karp is the only throwing knife supplier I know of who makes the same knife (in fact he has only ONE design) in multiple configurations. They can be obtained in 4 sizes (11, 12, 13, and 14 inch), in two thicknesses (3/16 and 1/4 inch), in stainless or carbon steel, with or without handles. Adding handles or choosing stainless steel adds immensely to the price of these knives. I happen to own a set of 11 inch, 1/4 thick stainless with handles (these would be about $90 U.S. if new), and a set of the 14 inch 3/16 stainless without handles. I bought both sets used from Randy Lee himself. I have ordered a set of 12 inch, carbon steel knives without handles in the 1/4 inch thickness. These will weigh about 14 or 15 ounces.
These knives are the narrowest of the professional knives I have seen. They have dull edges, but very wicked points and will penetrate deeper into my targets than any other knife I own. They throw well from handle or blade. I can throw them easily up to two turns, and they are the only knife I own I can throw reliably for one half or one turn with my LEFT hand. Because they are so narrow, they can be held easily with several grip styles.
A few extra comments on the Karps. I happened to buy stainless steel Karp knives from Randy Lee because that is what he had to sell. Stainless is, in fact, inferior to carbon steel in throwing knives says Bobby Branton at least. There is no need to pay the extra $30 or so Bob charges for the stainless variety. Even he does not recommend it. As for handles, Bob doesn't think you really need those either. He likes to take his own handleless knives and wrap the handles in linnen strips (three layers), and then cover that with three layers of common black electrical tape. This makes a light but otherwise indestructable handle. When wrapping, start at the end furthest from the point and spiral up, down, then back up with both the linnen and the tape. This causes the layers to point DOWN toward the end of the handle, like the shingles on a roof. Bob tells me this insures that the layering will not impede release from the hand."
Taken from -
https://thrower-archive.knifethrowing.info/knives2.html .
Karp's site -
https://sites.google.com/site/themasteroftheblade/home/merchandise .
