Throwing Spikes...errrr Nails

N

Nomad333

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Mar 18, 2010
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I was reading a thread on here where a guy couldn't afford knives.
Y'all reccomended various things, one being nails.
I went to Ace with my father, and saw these rather large nails for about $1 each.

Took 2, sharpened and just wrapped with para cord (now I feel a little lightheaded from melting the tips....)

Tomorrow I'll start throwing them, but all I have is plywood....

Pics:


 
Here's my set of "Throwing Nails". 7 inches long, 3.2oz.
Chopped the head off, polished the "handle" part, and sharpened them

They're fun to play with, but they feel too light for me...
...truth is I suck at the no-spin technique.

But they're fun :D

ThrowingNails.jpg
 
defaultuser said:
Here's my set of "Throwing Nails". 7 inches long, 3.2oz.
Chopped the head off, polished the "handle" part, and sharpened them

They're fun to play with, but they feel too light for me...
...truth is I suck at the no-spin technique.

But they're fun :D
-snip-
Click to expand...

Well I ground most of the heads off. (I don't have to patience to saw them off).

Should I sharpen them similar to yours?
 
Well, if they stick OK for you I see no reason to make them pointier.

As for me, I'd say on 10% of my good throw the nail fell off because of the too obtuse point. At 3.2oz, there's not a lot of weight behind the point. My tomahawk, on the other hand...;)
 
Throwing Nails is fun, I once bought a box of apprx 50 7" nails and have "shurikenized" ten of them by cutting off the heads and using a lousy grinder + hone on the points. The points is a bit obtuse, but I use cardboard as target (making the points more tapered is boring and the "nail steel" is of questionable quality).
In lucky (and I mean lucky) moments I can stick the things with no-spin throws at up to 6 meters. I find I have often more fun with these things than with knives, mostly due to the unbeatable price and sturdyness.
timann
 
I have made some spikes out of an aluminum clothes hanger that are approx. 8" long. They are 2.5mm or .100" diameter. I throw them indoors at a cardboard target at around 3.5 meters. Lots of fun! I think a longer spike is easier to throw, with 12" being even better. Ideally, you want your fingertips at the point of balance, but it is not required.

I made heavier ones out of tent stakes because my hardware store does not carry long nails. They are 8 3/4" long, 0.300" thick. I don't really have a safe space to throw them outdoors, but they will taste splinters someday.

Nomad, I would use thinner string for the wrapping at the end. I don't think you want an abrupt transition. The wrapping is to give a non-slip surface for your finger to brush down on.. The idea is to brush down on the end to prevent over-rotation; an abrupt transition makes it hard to control. Also, look up how to make a "whipping" knot. It will be nice and clean and will not have loops sticking out. Check out this link (I've had luck with method 2):

http://www.ropeworks.biz/reader/whipping.pdf
 
I make my own bo shuriken. and I have to say that square bar stock is easier to throw than round. you can make anything work with a little practice. but you can order any size square "low carbon steel" stock from McMaster Carr, and its damn cheap.

this is the last set I made, out of W1 tool steel (heat treated), with a hardened tip and soft handle.

dlmaro.jpg

the 5 black ones on the left are my new ones, the 2 on the right are some older ones that got left out in the rain. I made my new set thicker, they really seem to work well, I was getting them to stick out to 30 feet...just not very consistently.
 
I LOVE throwing my 10" tent nails. They're cheap ($1.50/4pk at my local sportg gds store), the extra length really helps, and they're tempered which is important for me because I fling the living crap out of 'em using something between a Ralph Thorn and a Yuri Fedin no-spin method.

I DON'T recommend the plywood. Between the cross grain structure and the adhesive, it's a bounceback disaster waiting to happen, and nails are MADE to PENETRATE not cut. I started out with some 4" foam cushions from an old IKEA mattress, which was perfect for learning because the soft foam is a little more forgiving(at least until it's nothing but holes, and then it's near impossible) on the sticking than my log rounds. It helped me in adjusting to counter the spin and get that perfect feel for it. Also, it's way better at absorbing some really hard throws with nails (can be scary with a knife tho', not sure what makes the diff). Plus it's a blast stacking 2 or three of them up and seeing if I can't shoot a nail out the back of 8 and 12" inches of material.

I also started out wrapping with cord, but if you really want somethin' nice I've been using some cheap tennis racket grip tape. (~$2.50/pk) Grrrrrrrrr. It feels good in the hand, and it helped some in fine tuning my technique.

I started with all this in anticipation of buying and learning to throw no-spin with a throwing knife (I take forever to shop online), and I eventually got a CS Perfect Balance Thrower. The nice thing was that for me, throwing these made for a nice transition to the much heavier knife. Even though I love throwing the knife, I still take the nails out with me every time.

*I'll try to get some pics up soon.
 
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Those are yes.

I googled them, which led me to another post of yours that says you got them for $3/ea.!! Everything I'm finding lists them at $15-20 new, $10 used. Have you got a secret source or did you just get them a while back?

Also, I can't tell from the photo, but I assume it's uniform construction through to the mortise if it's meant for impact while mounted to a rifle, right?
 
jeverettk said:
Those are yes.

I googled them, which led me to another post of yours that says you got them for $3/ea.!! Everything I'm finding lists them at $15-20 new, $10 used. Have you got a secret source or did you just get them a while back?

Also, I can't tell from the photo, but I assume it's uniform construction through to the mortise if it's meant for impact while mounted to a rifle, right?
Click to expand...

They are one piece construction, with a spring loaded slip collar (not pictured) for attaching to a rifle, that is not attached to the "blade" I have a whole box of the collars, bolts and springs.

They are very tough- Hard Chrome finish I believe, and sink deep while requiring no sharpening. They are basically a screwdriver tip with a triple fuller.

I got them from Centerfire Systems a few years ago, last time I checked they were sold out. If you look around, you can get them for decent prices still.

Also look for Sig PE57 Bayonets, they make fine throwers, and should be in the $15-20 range.
 
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