January 16th, 2012 
Hiker Knives should be treated with caution, especially when you are initially learning to throw them safely as well as successfully. This will make sure you prevent injuring your self or others that might be around you.
Make sure that no one is near your target area simply by being very aware of your surrounding area. It is a good idea to set up some kind of border around your throwing area so that no one can get inside of it and get hurt. Rope or string works well for this. A stray flying knife will then not be able to hit anyone.
If your throwing knives have are sharp (usually they shouldn’t be) you can use electrical tape to wrap around the blade. This will enable a thrower to throw the knife by the blade and not get cut in the process.
Especially if other beginners are around you will want to take care to be extra careful with your knives.
Now when you first get started, try standing approximately six to eight feet from the target. A distance such as this will give the knife time to rotate just one half turn in the air before it gets to the target. When the knife is directly parallel with the ground when it sticks in your target you know the distance to the target is correct. If the handle is high or low you will need to adjust your distance to the target accordingly.
Then you can use math to find the right distance to get in more rotations of the knife. You can multiply to get three or more rotations before the knife hits the target.
Just small changes in how you throw your knives will make a big difference in how they fly to your target. For instance, a knife that has a heavy handle will be easier to throw by holding its blade. And conversely, a knife that has a heavier blade will be more easily thrown by the handle.
A heavier knife is usually a lot better for throwing longer distances. With more weight you won’t have to strain your arm as much to throw a longer distance. But a knife that is lighter will generally be better for throwing short distances.
When throwing knives you are usually better off trying not to snap your wrist as you throw. The reason is because you will never be able to snap your wrist the exact same way every time your throw. That will interfere with becoming a consistently accurate thrower. You should instead strive to keep your wrist locked.
And you might find that after a while of throwing your arm will get tired. And you may try to compensate for this tiredness by snapping your wrist. Better to then take a break until later when you are feeling stronger. That way your practice will be more productive and fruitful.
These are just a few tips on getting started throwing blades and gaining practice. It can be a lot of fun, especially once you start to get good at it.
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