Getting the best throwing knife means you have to find the knife that’s right for you. We’ll help you find a knife that feels good in your hands, looks fantastic, and makes you feel like you could throw it across an ocean and still hit your target. We’ve pulled together 8 of the best throwing knives for you to look at. Our goal is to help you find a knife that’s perfectly suited to your style and needs and something you’ll keep around for years to come. Let’s go!
Top 8 Best Throwing Knife Reviews in 2023
We’ve carefully chosen these throwing knives for the balance between price and performance they offer. You find out what’s unique about each knife or set, and its important features. We’ll also cover what we did and didn’t like about each of the knives so that you can build a realistic expectation for their real-world performance.
By the end of our guide, you’ll be informed and ready to choose your next, or first, throwing knives. You’ll get value for your money and a clear idea of what type of knife best suits you as a user. Let’s dive into the reviews!
Perfect Point PP-060 Throwing Knife Set
This set gives you some of the best throwing knives for the money at this price. You’re getting massive value with 9-knives and a well-designed carry case. The knives are very well-balanced and sport a finger-ring at the base of the handle for easier gripping.
You’re getting a stainless steel construction for enhanced resistance to rusting and corrosion. These are fantastic looking knives with a coated black finish on the steel and a stunning red handle. Their overall profile is sleek, attractive, and minimalistic. We love the cord wrapped handles for more than just their color though.
You’ll find them to be incredibly easy to grip and it gives the knife a lovely textured and premium feel. You can store all 9-knives easily in the black leather sheath. It’s lightweight and compact enough for you to carry around, and does a great job at protecting the knives.
At just over 6”, each knife is well-sized and fantastic for you to get learning on. These are some of the best throwing knives for beginners, especially if you’re experimenting and don’t want to spend a whole bunch of money on test knives.
- Lightweight and compact when packed away in the provided sheath
- The black coating on the blade makes them resistant to rusting and corrosion
- Cord wrapped handle is easy to hold and non-slip
- Fantastic value for money
- Quite tedious to clean, sharpen, and maintain
- The black coating can come off over time
Smith & Wesson Throwing Knives Set
Sitting at 8” long, these knives take you back to the basics while offering you premium performance. The minimalistic design leaves out all the unnecessary bells and whistles and leaves you with a simple high-performing throwing knife set. This 6-piece set offers you fantastic value for your money.
You’ll have no trouble getting a good flight on these lightweight and well-balanced throwing knives. With 2CR13 steel, these knives are durable enough to keep around for a long time, while having enough malleability to file and shape the knives to your liking.
The black nylon belt sheath can be easily set up to give you quick and easy access to knives with either hand. It holds all 6-knives without being too heavy or bulky. You’ll find it’s a pretty well-secured setup and you won’t need to worry about the knives falling out or getting scuffed up.
Overall, you should go for these knives if you want something lightweight, minimalistic, high-performing, and easy to clean and maintain. They’re fantastic for beginners and enthusiasts alike and are some of the best throwing knives in this price range.
- Simple, sleek, and performance-centered design
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Sharp and sturdy tip
- A very well-balanced and aerodynamic profile without much throwing spin
- The no-textured grip makes them a little slippery when wet
- Edge retention isn’t great (steel is quite soft)
Expendables Kunai Thrower Set
If your budget can stretch a little bit further and you’re more concerned about quality than you are about quantity – here’s a brilliant 3-piece throwing knife set. These knives are made from carefully selected premium materials and build for performance and durability.
You can keep these knives with you for a long time and still be able to rely on them. They’re quite large length-wise at 12”. This gives you a hefty and well-balanced throwing knife that packs some serious power. With a strong and sharp tip, you’ll get great performance out of the AUS-6 steel.
We loved the cord wrapped handle and how fantastic it’ll feel in your hand. You can get good power on your throws without losing accuracy from a slipping grip. You’ll be able to control the spin and get a precise flight from these knives. The knives can be safely and easily secured in a nylon belt sheath.
It comes with a leg strap and a belt loop that give you versatile mounting options. Access is quick and the knives are well-secured without slowing you down much. Overall, you’re getting some of the best throwing knives for the money, and excellent hefty knives for powerful performance.
- Large, sturdy, and capable throwing knives
- Cord wrapped handle helps you control the spin
- Great steel quality and durability
- Versatile and can also be used as daggers (they’re very sharp)
- The black finish on the blade wears off quite easily
- The sheath is a little on the flimsy side when compared to some of the other sheaths in this price range
SOG Throwing Knives With Sheaths
These are fantastic knives for the competitive enthusiast who is looking to up their skills and knife game. They’re impeccably well-balanced and precise knives that have the potential to hold up in the professional arena. Sitting at 10” long, these full-tang knives are crafted from 420HC black stainless steel.
They look gorgeous and give you a tip and edge with exceptional durability and sturdiness. Not everybody is a big fan of paracord wrapped handles on their throwing knives and you’ll be able to easily remove the wrapping on this knife to get a more balanced feel.
They’re versatile and can be used for combative purposes, recreational freestyle, defense, precision throwing, and much more. There’s a multi-knife sheath that’s well-fitted and easy to use. It can comfortably carry all three knives without getting too bulky or heavy to be practical and functional.
You can attach it via a belt loop to keep it accessible and convenient. With their resistance to corrosion, good looks, and overall durability and functionality, these are some of the best throwing knives for self-defense and competitive use.
- Expertly well-balanced
- Easy to remove paracord wrap
- Very sharp edge with a sturdy tip
- Suitable for professional use
- Slightly more on the expensive side
- Not a great choice for total beginners
Gil Hibben Competition Triple Thrower Set
Here’s a triple knife set that’s been expertly designed with the competitive user in mind. They’re incredibly simple knives that don’t add tons of unimportant features or wrappings. They’re tested to rigorous durability and safety standards to make them suit competitive regulations.
These are reliable and ultra-consistent knives you can build up your skills on and execute perfect throws on. While they’re a little on the expensive side, you’re getting what you pay for. These are by no means beginner-friendly knives and will reward a skilled thrower or user. At over 12”, they’re competitive length and have a very firm spin-free flight.
You’ll find them incredibly comfortable to wield and can even add these to a collection if you’re into that. The durable 420 stainless steel combines well with the sturdy and impeccably sharp edge to bring you a high-performing knife with good resistance to rusting and corrosion. Overall, you’re getting some of the top best throwing knives for competitive use and avid collectors.
- Very sturdy with excellent sharpness
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Ergonomic handle and perfectly balanced profile
- Spin-free flight and excellent accuracy
- Quite expensive compared to other knives in this review
- A little slippery when used with wet or slightly oily hands
SZCO Supplies Heavy Throwing Knives
At 10” in overall length, these knives are a little shorter than your standard competitive throwing knives. They make up for this by being a little thicker and sturdier than most. The knives have a simplistic and elegant profile that goes back to the basics. You can shape and file the steel down to the shape and size you’d like without too much difficulty.
This also lets you get a throwing knife that’s perfectly balanced to your requirements and meet your technique. It’s a 3-piece that comes with a robust and lightweight sheath that’s pretty robust. You’ll get ample protection for your knives and keep them in tip-top condition for longer.
You’re getting an incredibly strong and sharp tip that can take a fair bit of punishment without showing it. Overall, while these aren’t very cheap throwing knives, they offer excellent value for money and simple but steadfast performance in the long run. They would make an ideal addition to an enthusiast’s collection and can be used as a fantastic training set for skill-building.
- Simple and sleek design/profile
- Easy to shape and file the metal to your liking
- Very quick and easy to maintain and clean
- Fantastic value for money considering the robustness
- Not the most ergonomic handle
- The sheath is a little on the flimsy side
Ka-bar Thunderhorse Throwing Knives
At an overall length of over 15”, this is the largest throwing knife in this review. It’s incredibly strong and capable of handle heavy-duty throwing and even defensive tasks. Ka-Bar makes fantastic knives and they’re keeping up that legacy here.
This knife is extremely well-balanced and makes it hard to notice how large and weighty it is. That being said, you’ll have no trouble being accurate and precise with your throws. The balanced profile helps to keep the blade spin-free when it’s thrown, and the strong tip along with the heavier weight gives you excellent piercing power.
You’re getting a versatile knife that can handle defensive and competitive use and can double as a dagger and utility knife. With decent edge retention (if you choose to sharpen it) and resistance to corrosion and rusting, this is a knife you’ll have around for a long time. Overall, you’re getting reliable and versatile best-throwing knives that are huge and capable.
- Large size makes it a powerful thrower with strong piercing power
- Resistant to rusting and corrosion
- Small finger guard to stop your finger from slipping
- Perfectly balanced
- Easy to keep sharp and to sharpen the edge (if you want a sharp edge)
- The black coating comes off over time
Whetstone Throwing Knives
If you’re looking for the best throwing knives for the money that is also small enough for beginners, this set of S-Force Kunai is perfect for you. The double-edged full tang knives have cord-wrapped handles for better grip, and the blades themselves are stainless steel. In case you’ve never used throwing knives and the dimensions are puzzling you, imagine a standard-sized fork.
These knives are even smaller than that. So if you’re looking for a larger, sturdier throwing knife set, this isn’t for you. For this price, you’d be hard-pressed to find a good set of beginner throwing knives. They take little time to master, and the knives are well balanced. They come quite sharp out of the box as well.
- Double edge full-tang blades
- Knives are very well balanced
- Comes quite sharp out of the box
- Affordable
- Small enough to master for beginners
- Tip tends to curl after a few uses
Important Considerations Before Buying a Throwing Knife
We’ll briefly go over some things you should think about or at least beware of. We want you to make the best choice possible and get a throwing knife that you’ll want to keep around forever. Once you’ve gone through these points, you’ll be better equipped to make the right choice and get the perfect throwing knife for you.
How We Chose Which Throwing Knives to Review
This wasn’t as simple as picking the most expensive knives and quite a lot of thought goes into choosing the right knife. One of the main deciding factors was of course the price. This is probably the most important aspect of choosing a throwing knife if you’re just getting started and still finding your way.
You’re not going to want to invest a ton only to find out you’re not that interested in them. We also factored in the balance of the knife and the sturdiness of the tip. This is probably the most important practical feature of these knives. If you want to get throws that don’t spin wildly out of control and want to get accurate results, you’ll need a well-balanced knife.
Some of the knives in our review have steel that can be reshaped and filed to get the balance you’d like. This is quite a complicated process and requires quite a bit of experience on your part. Other important features include ergonomic handles, slip resistance, corrosion and rust resistance, and blade finish.
While these aren’t the most important, some of them will influence the final decision you make and how you use the knife. Aside from these minor features, the final things we considered were the length and weight of the knives. Generally speaking, competitive throwing knives need to be 12” or longer and there are also weight requirements.
We’ve shown you knives that vary quite wildly in their weight and size, to make sure that you can find something that suits your needs. We’ve considered all these features and found knives that strike the right balance between them. We know there is some give and take, especially with the budget-friendly knives, and finding the knife that’s the best in every single area isn’t practical.
How to Choose the Right Throwing Knife for You
You always need to keep your needs at the forefront of any knife purchase you make. The best knife by reviews and ratings might be the worst knife for you in practice. There are a couple of things you should pay attention to, and bear in mind that these will likely change with experience.
The first is to get a feel for the balance of the knife. Some knife throwers swear by getting a knife with the center of mass snap bang in the middle of the blade. While there is some truth to it, you’d need quite a bit of experience to know what works for you. What I see is most often recommended is to get a knife that’s center balanced – but with easy to file steel or a paracord wrap.
If you don’t like the center balance you can remove the wrap to make the handle lighter, or file down the blade to make it lighter. If you’re going competitive then you need to have a knife most likely 12” or over, though you’ll need to check the requirements of the specific competition you’re interested in.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What Is a Throwing Knife?
A: A throwing knife has a special weight and design so that you can effectively throw it. It is part of a different category from regular knives.
Q: Are Throwing Knives Ready to Use and Sharp?
A: When getting a knife set, buyers likely do not want to spend time having the knives sharpened or doing the sharpening themselves. Therefore, it’s a good thing that many quality sets of throwing knives are already sharp and ready to use. Nevertheless, there are still throwing knives that have a slightly blunt tip for those who are concerned about safety.
Q: What Is the Ideal Length When Getting a Throwing Knife for the First Time?
A: What you need to remember when getting a throwing knife is that it should weigh 1.5 oz for each inch in length. The longest throwing knife available in the market is around 12 inches. The shortest throwing knife available is around 6 inches. Also, there will be more impact on your target if your knife is heavier.
Q: Is Bringing Throwing Knives Along Allowed or Illegal?
A: If your throwing knives can be easily seen while you carry them, they are legal. However, it might be against the law if your knives have a length longer than 2 to 3 inches and you carry and hide them. If you have small throwing knives, you can carry them as pocket knives.
Q: Do All Throwing Knives Have a Sheath?
A: Some throwing knives manufacturers do not have sheaths. Some manufacturers have arm sheaths, belts, or leg sheaths that are made of quality leather or fabric.
Final Thoughts
That’s it for our guide! Well done for taking the time to make better purchases and get a knife that’s right for you – value for money is always important. Getting one of the best throwing knives is all about centering on your needs and doing a little research beforehand. Soon you’ll be pegging target with ease and pinpoint accuracy!