The Great Throwzini
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The Great Throwzini
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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 web site * 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. Notes on Homemade Knives Part 2 of 3 by K.E. Sackett 3. Recreational Knife Throwing Video 4. Ya Just Never Know... by Scott Gracia 5. Contact Info/Reprint Guidelines ======================================= 1. WHAT'S NEW Hello fellow throwers! We've got a few updates to tell you about on our homepage, but first... I got some new knives in the mail this week :-) 16", handle-throwing, mega-meaty knives! These knives are awesome! You have to check them out! They are made by Jeff Koch. Jeff has lots of great designs and ideas. You can see them here: http://www.throwzini.com/jkoch_designs.html Now on to the updates: NEW WEB POLL Be sure to stop by and cast your vote in our newly updated Web Poll. It's on the home page. Bottom right. Thanks!! (Results of our last Web Poll are listed below.) OTHER UPDATES When you visit the site you'll also notice a brand new QUICK IDEA and lots of great new posts on our Great Throwzini Discussion Forum! Stop by and check them out: http://www.throwzini.com PREVIOUS WEB POLL RESULTS Following are the results from our last Web Poll. The question on our last Web Poll was: "What Type of Target Do You Throw At?" All of the materials listed make great targets... in certain situations. Say for instance you wanted to show your girlfriend's parents that you REALLY can throw anything... From coat hangars to 10 lb. jack-hammer drill bits! Now I doubt if they're going to let you haul a 200 lb. log round into their living room to show them the jack-hammer toss, but you might get away with a dart board or piece of cardboard and a few wire coat hangars :-) Anyway, thanks to everyone who participated. The final results were as follows: What type of target do you throw at? Cardboard - 17.2% Dart Board - 6.9% Plywood - 24.1% Log End - 34.5% Other - 17.3% Total Voters: 368 Thanks again to everyone that submitted their info/pics!!! ======================================== 2. GUEST COLUMN: NOTES ON HOMEMADE KNIVES - Part 2 of 3 by K. E. Sackett After heat treating, the knives may require a final polishing, again with a wire wheel, to a smooth satin finish. Avoid giving them a high polish, as this tends to become clammy from the sweat of your hand, and will cling when the knife is thrown, hindering a smooth release. (Some buckskinners leave their throwing knives file-roughened, to increase the friction between blade and target. This helps keep knives from falling out of the wood during competitions.) Another approach to knife making, one that appeals to growing numbers of hobbyists, is to buy steels already tempered to the correct degree of springiness, work them by cutting and grinding, and bypass the heat treating step altogether. Consult with other hobbyists (the good old Internet is tailor-made for this) to locate suppliers, determine the best choice of steels, and exchange experiences. Remember that when it comes to the best temper for throwing knives, soft and springy is better than hard and brittle. A knife that bends a little can be straightened (lay it on the ground and step on it), but a knife that broke is junk. HANDLES About handles on throwing knives: Most experienced knife throwers don't bother with them, first to reduce expense, and second because handles tend to break. But for many of us amateurs, there's something unsatisfying about calling a simple steel blank a knife. Also, throwing with a handle grip is sometimes more comfortable if the bare tang of the knife is helped out with some kind of material. Remember that durability is the most important feature of a throwing knife. This means that riveted grips are a bit chancy; rivets can crystallize and break, and many handle materials are too brittle to withstand the shock of throwing. On the other hand, riveted handles look classy and give a knife a substantial feel. If you want to try riveted handles, use large steel rivets -- a 3/16" shank is not too big. Make your grip scales from vulcanized rubber or some other slightly flexible material, to cushion the rivets from blows and from the vibration that causes crystallization. Heavy cape leather comes in thicknesses up to a quarter-inch, if you need a traditional material, say to make your knife acceptable in a buckskinners' competition. Leather is not as resilient as rubber, but has some of the same shock-absorbing properties. If you want a non-riveted handle for your knife, try thin scales of leather fastened with epoxy. Leather is durable, cheap (if you can't locate a supply of cape leather, an old shoe can provide big enough scraps for this purpose), and easily worked. Roughen the surface of the tang with a file before applying the glue, and clamp the whole assembly tightly during curing. Finish the leather to a smooth but not highly polished texture, to assure a smooth release when throwing with a handle grip. Should you treat your leather grips to some saddle soap and oil dressing? Of course! Note that the illustration shows handle scales stopping short of the end of the knife's tang; they're also narrower than the width of the tang, by a small amount. This is so that when the wrong part of the knife hits the target, the handle scales don't take the direct shock of impact. Part 3 of 3 continued in our next issue. Article Contributed by: K.E. Sackett sackett@dbo.eng.wayne.edu http://www.commonlogic.com/knife/knives/diyknives/ sackett/homemade1.htm ============================================= 3. 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 ============================================= 4. YA JUST NEVER KNOW... by Scott Gracia We had a problem with our Digital Cable last week so I called the company and they told me they would send someone out. So the repairman gets here a few days later and resets some things. When he is finished he has to wait for the office to call him back and let him know if everything is ready to go. This looked to me like a fine opportunity to throw some knives and maybe get someone else interested in our sport. He was standing in the doorway between our living room and our *"Indoor Target" room. He turned around and saw all the logs hanging from the ceiling in the target room, then turned back at me and gave me a strange look... (Imagine that ;) I asked him if he ever threw a knife before and he said yes. I was shocked! Thats usually not the answer you get. I picked up some of my Pro Target Dragons and handed them to him. He seemed a bit surprised and then told me it was mainly old pocket knives that he threw. I said, "Then you're gonna love these!" I handed him 4 knives and I kept 1 to show him the grip and release. About 30 seconds later he stepped up to the line with his new knowledge... and stuck the 1st 3 knives! I think he missed the 4th just because I started talking telling him he was a natural! He told me it reminded him alot of darts. Except plastic tip darts only weigh about 16 grams each. (The Pro Target Dragons weigh about 357 grams each.) We threw for about 5 more minutes until the phone rang. It was the cable office telling him everything was done. So I wrote down the Throwzini web site address for him and told him to stop back if he ever wanted to throw again. Hopefully he'll tell some of his friends about it! I try to never pass up an opportunity to get someone to try throwing. Even if its only for a minute. They could be hooked after the first throw, ya just never know. We should all think like this! If we don't get more people to notice the sport, we're never gonna get to throw knives at some famous model on TV :) I think the Strongest Man contests started this same way. First just a few competitors, and then the sport began to grow and attract more attention. Now its on ESPN2 all the time, with big dollar prizes! We need some of that!!! So let's get on it! Start promoting!!! Until next time... Scott Gracia sgracia@wi.rr.com http://www.throwzini.com *Follow this link to see pictures of the Indoor Target room: http://www.throwzini.com/walltargets.html ============================================= If you have any questions about throwing that you would like answered in one of our upcoming issues, simply send an e-mail to: sgracia@wi.rr.com with QUESTION FOR NEWSLETTER in the Subject Line, and your name and question in the body. ============================================= (Copyright 2000, 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 lots of great throwing tips and ideas to help you with your throwing game, at The Great Throwzini web site. http://www.throwzini.com ============================================= Scott Gracia, The Great Throwzini, 5321 4 Mile Rd. Racine, WI 53402-9791 Phone 262-681-7942, E mail: sgracia@wi.rr.com http://www.throwzini.com It's free, and there's no obligation. |
Want to improve your accuracy?CLICK HERE "...the ability of David to throw different turns at different distances was outstanding and the impalement acts were 1st rate..." Chuck Fogarty Countryside, IL FREE STUFF CLICK HERE for FREE 101 Knife Throwing Tips Info-Pak Want hundreds of great knife throwing tips, ideas, articles and interviews with some of the biggest names in the sport of knife throwing? Get our FREE, twice-a-month Great Throwzini Online Newsletter. Just click below and send. CLICK HERE for FREE Online Newsletter or send e-mail to: sgracia@wi.rr.com with SUBSCRIBE in the Subject Line. I respect your privacy and will never share or sell your e-mail address to anyone. |