Question on knives in combat

[bill2]

I was watching NCIS last night, and the hot new female agent is in a tight spot and throws a knife underhanded at one of the bad guys (actually a bad woman) and of course it is buried to the hilt and the baddie dies. I was wondering, can you actually throw a knife and have it be effective, let along bury itself to the hilt in a human body? I have always thought, that even though it looks cool in the movies, that knife throwing is pretty much useless in a fight except as a last resort. True?

 

[miko]

All the knife-throwing books and web-sites (there is a whole lot of them - apparently quite a popular hobby) unanimously claim that throwing a knife in combat is not a realistic option.

Personally, I'd say that a few hundred/thousand hours of practice would probably allow a person to throw a knife at arbitrary distance (within 7-10 yards).

miko

 

[Thefabulousfink]

Having tried to throw knives (mostly out back when I was younger) I can say that it is quite difficult w/o LOTS AND LOTS of practice. After several weeks of regular practice I was able to stick a tree from a set distance (@10 feet) about 6 out of 10 times. Trying to hit a moving target is even harder b/c you have to change how you release the knife based on the distance to the target.

Could a expert knife thrower hit someone whith a knife in combat, I don't doubt it, but it would be no easy feat.

 

[bill2]

thanks for the answers. Do knife throwers throw over hand ( I assume since it's a more powerful throw), or do they ever throw the knife underhanded, which is what the agent did in NCIS. That looks like a very weak way to throw it.
and I've always heard you have to throw a perfectly balanced knife in order for it to stick.

 

[el44vaquero]

An ax is a lot easier to throw and make it stick. If I'm going to be slinging anything at someone with the hopes of killing them, it's gonna be lead. Less likely to pull it out and use it against me.

 

[hso]

I have always thought, that even though it looks cool in the movies, that knife throwing is pretty much useless in a fight except as a last resort. True?

You are correct. You never throw away your knife unless you have another to follow through with. Throwing anything is a distraction/diversion/desperation move.

 

[Thefabulousfink]

thanks for the answers. Do knife throwers throw over hand ( I assume since it's a more powerful throw), or do they ever throw the knife underhanded, which is what the agent did in NCIS. That looks like a very weak way to throw it.
and I've always heard you have to throw a perfectly balanced knife in order for it to stick.

The meadthod is not so important as making sure the knife flips so that the blade is pointed at the target when the knife reaches it(you can even throw a knife sideways like a frisbee if you can manage this). You are right though, overhand gives you the most power/range.

As far as balance goes, any knife can be thrown as long as the point hits the targed first. I have noticed that knives are easier to throw if either the blade or the hilt is heavier, allowing the knife to flip more naturally.

 

[CAS700850]

+1 to hso. Back in my youth, I bought a cheap copy of a Gerber Mark I to use to teach myself how to throw a knife. Was working on it in the backyard on a large stump when a friend of my dad's (ex-Ranger, ex-FBI, then a SWAT cop) asked me what I was doing, and why. AS he said, it's a neat party trick, but what's the point. At best, you just threw away your weapon, which is now stuck in your opponent. At worst, you just threw your weapon away.

 

[Biker]

I threw knives for years, very well I might add. Fact is, if the target stood still no more than 30' away and wasn't wearing heavy clothes, I could likely stick 'em good (I tried it on hanging beef carcasses).
However, let the target move even 6" forward or backward while the knife was in flight and the deal was off. Throw in a field jacket at the same time and it becomes un-do-able (yeah, I guess it's a word).
How many people are going to stand still while you're chucking a knife at them?
Biker

 

[itgoesboom]

When I was a teenager, my step-father bought me a couple sets of different throwing knives, and helped set up a target. I would practice an hour or two outside almost everyday. When I was in my room I would throw from my bed to one of the walls (parents loved that when they discovered that ).

I got very good at it, and could hit a target to about 10 yards, but my hit would drop down past about 5 yards. I also practiced with different pocket knives, and got good with a couple of folders.

I was best at room distance, and could hit a small target anywhere in my room while sitting or laying on my bed at the time (way too much time on my hands as a kid).

My assesment would be that it would be virtually useless in any fight, except as mentioned already as a distraction. It took lots of practice to learn how to do it, and if I missed a day or two of practicing, it took me lots of time to catch back up. You could cover the distance to a target and slash or stab almost as quickly, and not worry about losing your knife or having it bounce back if you hit the wrong thing (a large knife flying back at you is a scary thing).

The only thing it was ever good for was impressing friends.

I.G.B.

 

[DontBurnMyFlag]

from what i learned, theres alot of guestimating on distance, speed and power of a knife throw. ninjas used throwing stars and small knives as diversions and to slow the enemy. hatchet throwing, folding shovels, and knife throwing has been discussed and taught to militaries. However, I am not about to throw my weapon and possibly give it to the enemy.

 

[Preacherman]

I'd rather throw something much smaller and lighter (say, 230 grains or so), much faster (say, 800 fps or so)... Helloooooo, .45 ACP!

 

[Jayman]

My JKD instructor says the same thing. Don't throw your knife unless you have another ready to go, and only throw one as a distraction move to set up your "real" move. Underhand actually gets the point forward better than other methods, but only at CLOSE range. We played with this some, and it works well, but understand that this will only work inside of say 5 yards reliably.