Recommendation? Szco Supplies Heavy Throwing Knife Set

G

Gordosoar

Joined
Jul 10, 2018
Messages
11
I am a total newbie to knife throwing and haven’t thrown I knife since I was a kid playing mumble peg. I bought these knives as a starter set, and when they came I was so impressed by the looks and feel of them I immediately bought two more sets.
I read lot of reviews on them, some were not good but most were very positive.
Does anyone have any experience with them and what do you think of them.
 
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He's talking about these:
41S-PlwjqYL.jpg
 
For general throwing, I "guess" they'll be OK, but don't be surprised when the break - stainless steel is NOT the preferred steel for throwing knives.

Also, the "cheapie" knives off fleabay and amazon are USUALLY NOT tempered properly for throwing, which is why a lot of them, stainless or not, end up breaking. Throwing knives should be tempered down into the upper 40s up to the mid 50s max so that they have more flex to them so that stress from hitting the target round is spread out more.

My recommendation is never buy multiple sets of a throwing knife model until after you have thrown the first set a whole bunch to see if you really like the way they throw. Many of us have bought hundreds of knives only to resell them at a reduced price to get rid of them or flat gave them away to someone to try.

Some questions you have to ask yourself, re: throwing knives are:

1 - What style of knife throwing are you interested in?? No-spin, rotation, mountain man, ????? Each style of throwing has it's own criteria for throwing, some knives that throw nicely in no-spin styles really suck for rotational style and vice versa.

2 - Are you wanting to go throw in competitions or are you just gonna putz around in your back yard? Different throwing organizations have different specs, re: knife length, weight, edges etc. IKTHOF, AKTA, MM in the US, European and Asian countries have their own rules.

As an example, the knives you reference would be fine for back yard putzing but would be deemed illegal (not meeting the rules specifications) for IKTHOF rotational throwing - minimum 12"/minimum 12 oz. They are right at the bare minimum for IKTHOF no-spin length. They also don't meet the specs for mountain man throwing - re: profile/length.

For no-spin throwing, I would NOT like that knife profile - the spine is too curvy. An exception might be made if you chose to throw them "unconventionally" and let you forefinger ride down the blade flat rather than the spine, which is more typical.

3 - Where will you be throwing? Outside in your back yard? In your basement? Across your living room and down the hall in your apartment? I'm serious - there are people who have indoor ranges as they can only throw inside their homes or apartments due to local laws.
 
And you've been transferred to the right place ! :) Here's video of the set :

 
They look OK to get a start . Better than those lighter and shorter models . No spin is much more challenging to learn but is almost magical when done well .

Throwing is very hard on knives . Stainless is often too brittle , so don't be shocked if they break . Hitting one knife with another on the target . Hitting at an extreme angle instead of sticking in straight . Bouncing off the target onto concrete or rocks .

This set may be thick enough to not break too easy , but time will tell . Main thing is to keep practicing as much as you can . Read and watch training videos . Keep at it and have fun ! ;)
 
zzyzzogeton said:
For general throwing, I "guess" they'll be OK, but don't be surprised when the break - stainless steel is NOT the preferred steel for throwing knives.

Also, the "cheapie" knives off fleabay and amazon are USUALLY NOT tempered properly for throwing, which is why a lot of them, stainless or not, end up breaking. Throwing knives should be tempered down into the upper 40s up to the mid 50s max so that they have more flex to them so that stress from hitting the target round is spread out more.

My recommendation is never buy multiple sets of a throwing knife model until after you have thrown the first set a whole bunch to see if you really like the way they throw. Many of us have bought hundreds of knives only to resell them at a reduced price to get rid of them or flat gave them away to someone to try.

Some questions you have to ask yourself, re: throwing knives are:

1 - What style of knife throwing are you interested in?? No-spin, rotation, mountain man, ????? Each style of throwing has it's own criteria for throwing, some knives that throw nicely in no-spin styles really suck for rotational style and vice versa.

2 - Are you wanting to go throw in competitions or are you just gonna putz around in your back yard? Different throwing organizations have different specs, re: knife length, weight, edges etc. IKTHOF, AKTA, MM in the US, European and Asian countries have their own rules.

As an example, the knives you reference would be fine for back yard putzing but would be deemed illegal (not meeting the rules specifications) for IKTHOF rotational throwing - minimum 12"/minimum 12 oz. They are right at the bare minimum for IKTHOF no-spin length. They also don't meet the specs for mountain man throwing - re: profile/length.

For no-spin throwing, I would NOT like that knife profile - the spine is too curvy. An exception might be made if you chose to throw them "unconventionally" and let you forefinger ride down the blade flat rather than the spine, which is more typical.

3 - Where will you be throwing? Outside in your back yard? In your basement? Across your living room and down the hall in your apartment? I'm serious - there are people who have indoor ranges as they can only throw inside their homes or apartments due to local laws.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for that Insightful response.
I will not be competing in any event. I will be trying to learn the No-Spin method.
I will be outside in my backyard. I am making an end grain target today.
I won’t be throwing very much at first as I am 77 yrs old and my arm won’t take it.
I was getting set up to make my own knifes, but at 3 for $17 it’s not worth it to make my own.
That being said, I will make them if these prove to be inadequate. It’s pretty simple to make a good no spin knife. Question, can I temper the knife in the oven to make them less brittle?

DocJD said:
And you've been transferred to the right place ! :) Here's video of the set :

Click to expand...

Thanks for the video.

DocJD said:
They look OK to get a start . Better than those lighter and shorter models . No spin is much more challenging to learn but is almost magical when done well .

Throwing is very hard on knives . Stainless is often too brittle , so don't be shocked if they break . Hitting one knife with another on the target . Hitting at an extreme angle instead of sticking in straight . Bouncing off the target onto concrete or rocks .

This set may be thick enough to not break too easy , but time will tell . Main thing is to keep practicing as much as you can . Read and watch training videos . Keep at it and have fun ! ;)
Click to expand...

They are 3/16th thick, so they might hold up.
I would make my own out of 1/4” if it becomes necessary.
 
knarfeng said:
To post a photo as a registered member:
If it is an on line picture, copy the web address of the picture.
Go to the post where you want it. Click the picture tool (next to the smiley on the tool bar)
paste the address into the popup and click INSERT.

If the picture is not already online,
open an account on a picture hosting site.
Upload the picture.
Copy the web address.
Go to the post where you want it. Click the picture tool (next to the smiley on the tool bar)
paste the address into the popup and click INSERT.

Please do not post links to Amazon or other knife sellers who do not have BF dealer memberships. We try not to promote sites which compete with the people who support this site.
Click to expand...
Thanks and sorry. Should have read the rules
 
The problem with self-tempering in your oven (it can be done) is that you don't usually know what your starting hardness is or what the actual steel is.

There are generic approaches to home tempering with unknown steels but....

Each steel type (1095, AUS6, 1055, D2, 440A, 440C, etc) has a preferred tempering temperature/time that works best for that steel type.

You could use a generic single pass tempering by "baking" your knives for 2 hours at 400F and it would lower the temper somewhat. Without the starting Rc and the actual steel type, your end result will be a mystery, though.

I find that 3/16" is thick enough. Too thick and the knives become too heavy for any significant distance.

There are many youtube videos out there on knife no-spin knife throwing. Some are good, some are bad. There are a few facebook groups for knife throwing where you can ask questions, get links to videos, etc. There are also several quality no-spin knife makers on the pages, as well.
 
zzyzzogeton said:
The problem with self-tempering in your oven (it can be done) is that you don't usually know what your starting hardness is or what the actual steel is.

There are generic approaches to home tempering with unknown steels but....

Each steel type (1095, AUS6, 1055, D2, 440A, 440C, etc) has a preferred tempering temperature/time that works best for that steel type.

You could use a generic single pass tempering by "baking" your knives for 2 hours at 400F and it would lower the temper somewhat. Without the starting Rc and the actual steel type, your end result will be a mystery, though.

I find that 3/16" is thick enough. Too thick and the knives become too heavy for any significant distance.

There are many youtube videos out there on knife no-spin knife throwing. Some are good, some are bad. There are a few facebook groups for knife throwing where you can ask questions, get links to videos, etc. There are also several quality no-spin knife makers on the pages, as well.
Click to expand...
Thanks for taking to time to post this answer. Being that the knives I have are 3/16 th I’ll wait to see how they hold up before I do anything like tempering. And as I said, they are very reasonablely priced and I have more money than brains.
 
If money is no object, the fellow that Mods this forum, Bobby Branton, is one of the worlds top throwers and runs True Balance, which are really good knives at decent prices.
 
Well I’ve been throwing these knives for the past month and have not broken any of them.
They have a few nicks here and there, but they have held up very well and I’m glad I bought them.
They aren’t the best for no spin but they work well for half and full spin. They could be a bit heavier but they are great for a newb. I’m in the process of grinding my own knifes from 1/4 x 1” steel bar stock, and so far I love the way they stick. The straight sides make no spin a lot easier.
I’ll post some picks when I get them done.
 
I've been throwing no spin for a couple of years with my own homemade knives. Before that, the last commercial knives that I used were the ones you're talking about. They were the best of the commercial knives for no spin due to their balance point of 44% (handle heavy). The only problem I had is that they were not heavy enough (218 grams, 7.8 oz.) or thick enough (5 mm, 3/16") for how I throw--a finger spring variant. We used to tape two together and they worked pretty well. I have found that if you have the skill and equipment, making your knives to fit your style will increase your throwing performance. Of course, that's just the opinion of another old guy. Also, using an oven (max. temp 400° F) will not provide a hardness in the low 50s to upper 40s. I temper mine at 785° F for a Rockwell of 50C.
One other thought, if you have shoulder problems, try the finger spring technique--far less arm involvement than a Thorn or baseball throw.
 
I'm new to throwing. I learned no spin using these. I watched some videos by Adam and Xolette then went outside to throw and about 2 hours later I was hooked. I throw about 2 hours a day now.

I like the weight. They hit hard. It's the only knife ever thrown as of now but I'm loving them. I ordered an extra set.
 
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