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by Scott Gracia sgracia@wi.rr.com http://www.throwzini.com ======================================= This newsletter is a FREE service you requested. You are on this list because: * You subscribed at our Great Throwzini website * You inquired about our products or promotions * You requested our free knife throwing tips or other information. If you'd like to be removed from this list, simply reply to this message with 'remove' in the subject. ======================================= IN THIS ISSUE 1. What's New 2. Light Throwers- Part 1 of 4 by K.E. Sackett 3. A Great Knife Throwing Video 4. Supporting Our Sport 5. Contact Info/Reprint Guidelines ======================================= 1. WHAT'S NEW Be sure to check out the WHAT'S NEW link to see what we've added since our last issue. We have a few new additions to tell you about... http://www.throwzini.com I thought it would be nice to get a page together on Throwing Collections. So we can see what other people are throwing and collecting. And now we have a new "Collections" link. You can check it out on the WHAT'S NEW page. http://www.throwzini.com We also have some new indoor target pictures from another one of our faithful visitors! As always, anybody who wants to show their throwers off can send their pictures in, and we'll post 'em! By the way, I’m happy to announce that we’re now accepting credit cards for all of our products. http://www.throwzini.com Thanks to everyone who submitted their pictures/info. ======================================== GUEST COLUMN: LIGHT THROWERS -- Part 1 of 4 by: K. E. Sackett Where I grew up, winter puts an end to outdoor knife throwing about October, and doesn't ease up again until the middle of May. Oh sure, you can throw outdoors if you really want to; just don't drop one of your knives, or it may vanish into a snow bank or, if the ground is bare, snap from cold embrittlement. Can't throw wearing mittens? Gosh, that's tough! As a boy, during those long months when Wyoming said Stay indoors, I kept in throwing practice using a cardboard target and a handful of ordinary icepicks. This did my bedroom wall little good, and got me into a certain amount of trouble with my parents, but since then I've learned a thing or two about light throwing setups. It's time to define "light knife throwing." By this term, I mean knife throwing at short ranges with light, usually short weapons that differ in design from conventional throwing knives. Because the throwing-tools are so light, targets can also be light. Light knife throwing is particularly suitable for throwing indoors or wherever space is limited. Light knife throwing has special advantages. It's cheap to get started, since your throwing weapons cost little or nothing. It's simple to improvise a throwing range, since distances are short. It's easy to build targets. And it's easy to transport your throwing setup. Let's talk about weapons first. LIGHT THROWING WEAPONS Let's start with the lightest and work up. ICE PICKS The icepicks I used as a boy cost all of ten cents apiece in Woolworth's. They had cheap cylindrical handles of red-painted wood, they were maybe nine inches long overall, and they weighed only four ounces or so. An accurate turn-and-a-half throw outdoors was just possible, if there was no cross-wind. They were hard to control in a full-turn throw because most of the little weight they had was in the handle. Indoors, in the cramped space of my bedroom, a half-turn throw was just right. Nowadays, icepicks are made with short, stout handles mounting a metal pommel cap for shattering icecubes. (They don't cost ten cents anymore, either, but that's a different story.) 'Picks of this design are throwable, although the balance is so grossly handle-heavy that they take some getting used to. AWL A heavier icepick-like device, sold to housewives as a "hole-making tool" (that is, an awl), may still turn up in your hardware store occasionally; look in the housewares department. This is a simple, robust tool about nine inches long. The blade, which is about twice as thick as an icepick's, has a round cross-section tapering to a near-needle point. The handle is a plain plastic screwdriver type. As a light blade-thrower, this one is hard to beat. SCREWDRIVER The next step up in weight is obviously the sharpened screwdriver. Old-timers like me feel a bit reluctant to discuss this type of throwing device, because it was once the weapon of choice among street hoodlums. Nowadays, of course, the sharpened screwdriver has been relegated to the Stone Age by Uzis and AKs, so maybe an honest hobbyist can mention it without feeling disreputable. Any plastic-handled screwdriver (avoid wood handles; they splinter) can be reground to a sharp point. A Phillips-head screwdriver will require removing the least metal. A standard-head screwdriver can be sharpened to a simple point (a "bodkin point" in the language of swordmakers), or the flat portion of the tip can be retained and simply ground thin to form a sharp edge set at ninety degrees from the centerline. If the tip of the screwdriver has been broken at an angle (I'm assuming you won't convert a new tool to throwing purposes) you can sharpen it in such a way as to conserve metal, locating the point off-center. Any way you do it, a screwdriver eight to ten inches long will stick when thrown with moderate force at the kinds of target best suited to light knife throwing. Part 2 of 4 continued in our next issue. Article contributed by . . . K.E. Sackett sackett@dbo.eng.wayne.edu http://www.crl.com/~mjr/knife_lite.html ============================================= RECREATIONAL KNIFE THROWING VIDEO If you want to learn the insider SECRETS, TIPS and TRICKS that the masters use to hit their mark every time, then John Bailey's Recreational Knife Throwing Video is for you. Here is a taste of what you'll get: - 9 inexpensive target designs - 11 demonstrations - How to eliminate the most common throwing error - Master grips, stances and throws and so much more! For a limited time, you can have the ultimate knife throwing video for only $19.95. By acting now, you'll save 33% off the regular price of $29.95 For a full description and ordering details, follow this link: http://www.throwzini.com/tgt_video.html AOL USERS LINK ============================================= If you have any questions about throwing that you would like answered in one of our upcoming issues, simply send an email to: sgracia@wi.rr.com with QUESTION FOR NEWSLETTER in the Subject Line, and your name and question in the body. ============================================= SUPPORTING OUR SPORT by: Scott Gracia As much as I enjoy throwing my knives, it's hard to find lots of other people that are interested in it. I have a few friends who enjoy it but not too many. If it were up to me... I'd have a knife throwing league! Kinda like a dart or pool league. Only we might have to get rid of the booze, insurance reasons ;-} There are a few throwing clubs out there already. Like the AKTA (American Knife Throwers Alliance), and the PKT (Pacific Knife Throwers Alliance) to name a few. There are lots of benefits to joining these clubs. Like a 10% discount on throwers from certain knife makers, quarterly newsletters, patches, and membership cards. Another benefit would be more throwers out there! Which is just what the world needs! If you're interested or want more information, check out the Favorite Links page on The Great Throwzini website: http://www.throwzini.com ============================================= (Copyright 1999, Scott Gracia, The Great Throwzini.) Reprint permission granted in part or whole when the following credit appears in full: Reprinted with permission from Scott Gracia's The Great Throwzini Newsletter. Get your FREE 101 KNIFE THROWING TIPS and Newsletter, filled with throwing tips and ideas to help you with your throwing game, at The Great Throwzini website http://www.throwzini.com ============================================= Scott Gracia, The Great Throwzini, 5321 4 Mile Rd. Racine, WI 53402-9791 Phone 262-681-7942, Email: sgracia@wi.rr.com http://www.throwzini.com It's free, and there's no obligation. |
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