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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. Choosing A Throwing Knife Part 2 of 3 by Matthew Rapaport 3. Recreational Knife Throwing Video 4. The Day Before the Hurlathon by Chuck - Travelling Knife Throwing Reporter - Fogarty 5. Contact Info/Reprint Guidelines ======================================= 1. WHAT'S NEW Hi everybody! I've got a few new additions to mention before we get started so here we go... NEW PICS/BIO'S FROM PKT EVENT First of all, I put up some pictures taken at the West Coast Master's Open, (aka Hurlathon), on the PKT Event page. There are also bio's of the contestants, written by one of the other competitors. NEW WEB POLL Be sure to stop by and cast your vote in our newly updated Web Poll. It's right 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! Be sure to check them out! http://www.throwzini.com PREVIOUS WEB POLL RESULTS It is definitely easier to learn to throw bigger knives, but once you have the basics down, you can throw any size knife. It just depends on personal preference and what type of throwing you plan to do. If I want to throw indoors I use my 9" Skyhawk Throwers. Outdoors I bring out the heavier artillery! Anyway, thanks to everyone who participated. The final results were as follows: What is the length of your favorite thrower? 3" - 6" - 15.1% 6" - 9" - 31.5% 9" - 12" - 34.2% 12" - 16" - 16.4% other - 2.7% Total Voters: 292 Don't forget, if you plan on entering a competition, all the clubs but the IKTA have a 12" minimum rule. I love to throw the big knives! Either my 13.5" Pro Target Dragons, or my 16" Zephyr's from Jeff Koch. It doesn't matter what size knife you throw, or even how you throw it. As long as you're having fun! EVENT REMINDER There is an event in Creede, CO coming up on July 1st and 2nd! It is called the ROCKY MOUNTAIN KNIFE AND TOMAHAWK CHAMPIONSHIPS. If you want to find out what you have to do to win some of the $2000 prize money, just look under the EVENTS link for the "MOUNTAIN MAN 2000": http://www.throwzini.com Thanks again to everyone that submitted their info/pics!!! ======================================== 2. GUEST COLUMN: CHOOSING A THROWING KNIFE - Part 2 of 3 by Matthew Rapaport Continued From Issue #15 WEIGHT/LENGTH RATIO As a rule, the ideal ratio between length and weight appears to be somewhere around 1 ounce per inch. That is, a 12 inch knife should weigh about 12 ounces. As the knife gets bigger, a slightly greater ratio is preferred, say 1.25 ounces/inch, while a smaller knife, for example 8 to 11 inches, might do well with a ratio around 0.80 ounces/inch. Still smaller knives 6 to 8 inches might throw well with a weight/length ratio down around 0.6 or 0.7 ounces/inch. Such knives, however, while they can be fun to throw, are more or less useless from a survival viewpoint. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS Remember though that these are rules of thumb and can be over-ridden in special situations. I have a very small indoor throwing range in which I can perform half turn and full turn throws with very small knives and 6 inch nails. My knives, in this case have a weight/length ratio of about 0.5 which is just fine for indoors at short distances. Since I'm throwing at cardboard targets, anything heavier would quickly go completely through my target material and ruin the walls! Location is another factor. Larger knives require larger, thicker targets. In my first year of throwing, my largest knives were about 11 inches long. Most of the time I was throwing things in the 8 to 10 inch range. My targets were made out of 2 inch thick Fir, and lasted months before I had to change out boards. In my second year, I began throwing larger knives, 11 to 16 inches. Some of these would shear through the two inch boards in but a dozen throws! I had to upgrade to much heavier 4 inch thick Fir. COST There is also, of course, cost. I have seen small and "too-light" sets of throwing knives for as little as $4 a knife. I admit that my own first set was one of these, and I broke them all, but not until after they taught me the basics. The better off-the-rack throwers like the Hibbens, and Cold Steel TFTs run anywhere from $15 to $25 each. The "Blazing Arrow", a cheap Chinese knockoff of the Harald Moeller VIPER, can be had for even less, usually about $10, and while not very good, is more than adequate at this price. The big BlackJack "broadhead", probably the best single off-the-rack thrower at 12 inches and 14 ounces, used to be about $25, and was about the best over-all deal around, but BlackJack stopped making them in early 1997, and then went out of business, so if you find any of these, buy them! Part 3 of 3 continued in our next issue. Article Contributed by: Matthew Rapaport mjr@throwingweapons.net http://www.sonic.net/~quine/choose.html ============================================= 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. CHUCK - TRAVELLING KNIFE THROWING REPORTER - FOGARTY THE DAY BEFORE THE HURLATHON by Chuck Fogarty The Hurlathon, in Redding CA. was Sat the 10th of June. Thursday I went to Matt Rapaport's house in Petaluma,CA stayed overnight and we left Friday about 11:AM for Redding. It's about a 4 hr. drive and we arrived in the late afternoon. Lee Fugatt, our host, was there and David Delgado, a thrower taking part in his first event. Lee has 6 acres of beautiful rolling land and I explored a bit before we got down to throwing practice. Everything on Lee's land is a treasure trove for knife throwers. Every stump you walk by has a few knives sticking out of it since there is some kind of target closeby. There were knives and hawks everywhere! I checked out the throwing area and the rest of the property and felt the usual envy of an apartment dweller for people with large plots of property. Then I went into Lee's garage and if you're a knife person it's overwhelming to see literally hundreds of knives. Lee is a well known knifemaker and there were knives in various stages of construction and other knives just kind of being there. All types of grinders and saws, spears, atlatls, swords, axes... it was marvelous! Then in the house there were more knives everywhere, a couple of whips Lee was fine tuning, a huge double bladed battle axe... etc. etc. There's just too many things to mention. I remember the 1st time I met Lee, it was in Reno where I was throwing in my first event. He pulled up in his truck and I introduced myself and since it was early we went to breakfast in his truck. He had to clear the front seat since a couple of boxes of knives were there. I looked in the back of the truck and there were boxes of knives, spears, slings, atlatls... I thought I was in heaven! I had only been throwing for a couple of months and had about 6 knives. Now I have well over 100. This is how throwing grows on you :) Rick Lemberg arrived and we went out to the throwing area to practice, throwing all sizes and weights of knives and hawks and just plain enjoying ourselves and having throwers fun. We threw until it was too dark to see anymore then went out to a local restaurant. We returned, sat around and told a few stories and had a great time just visiting. Rick went back to town to a motel but the rest of us camped out and were up early throwing a little and putting up the targets for the contest. All this and the event hadn't even started yet! Until next time... Article Contributed by: Chuck - Travelling Knife-Throwing Reporter - Fogarty thechuckster@webtv.net ============================================= 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. |