Can Bowie Knives Be Used As Throwing Knives

You might think that due to their heft and size, that bowie knives would make an ideal throwing knife. You might even have chanced to watch some of the many YouTube videos that show people using bowie knives as throwing knives (sometimes with some very mixed results). However, the fact remains that bowie knives are not designed to be thrown. They are handheld tools, designed for cutting, cleaning and any number of other uses.

For a knife to have any hope of being accurate, it has to be correctly balanced. This ensures that the knife flies through the air properly. Bowie knives are not balanced for throwing. They're balanced for hand usage. Hold a bowie knife in one hand and a throwing knife in the other and you will feel the weight difference. Balance each in turn on your hand and you will immediately notice the different centers of gravity. This means that bowie knives are not a good choice for throwing.

Second, you might notice that only some of the throws are successful. While a couple of individuals might have been able to hit the target with sufficient force for the blade to stick, you will also see a very large number of people bounce the knife off the target. This is because the knife is not weighted for throwing - it's designed to be held in the hand. This means that it is quite well weighted for many different uses, but flying through the air with any degree of accuracy is not one of them.

These are only a few of the things that can happen when attempting to use bowie knives as throwing knives. A much better option is to use them as they were intended to be used - as handheld tools. Throwing knives can be purchased in almost any size and you can even find bowie style throwing knives that are balanced correctly for the purpose.

Do yourself a favor and buy a throwing knife for throwing and keep your bowie knife for the purposes it was intended. You'll enjoy your knife for a longer time and you won't have to worry about damaging the blade through misuse.