An ancient art form needs your help to survive.

Enjoy this article from the January 1996 issue of Blade magazine written by Bobby Branton of the American Knife Throwers Alliance. He mentions Harry McEvoy’s influence on professional knife throwers.

Photo of Harry McEvoy in January 96 Blade Magazine

• Last of the Professional Knife Throwers? by Bobby Branton

Click the link above to open the article. It is a PDF document. You will need Adobe Acrobat to read it.

Here are two more articles written about famous knife throwers of old by Bobby Branton:

• Paul LaCross
• Prince Che Che White Cloud

Used with the permission of Bobby Branton.

I was just outside throwing my new Brokenfeather tomahawk from Joe Darrah. He just sent it to me and it’s a beauty! He made it to match the “Bullseye Seeker” mountain man bowie he made me several months ago. Since I don’t have any Tru-Bal throwing knives with leather handles (yet) I used this knife in New Mexico for my first mountain man style throwing competition where I took second place in the amateur division. Not bad for my first official throw!

Here you can see the throw I made not 20 minutes ago. A three point throw with the knife and a two point throw with the hawk. I’m still getting use to it over the 3J hawk I use. From now on I’ll use Joe’s!

3 points on the knife throw and 2 points on the hawk throw from five paces.

You might ask what the connection is with Joe Darrah and Brokenfeather knives and Tru-Bal knives. Well years ago when Joe was learning how to make knives like these he spent a lot of time learning from Harry McEvoy. Harry was very nice about answering Joe’s questions and critiquing his designs through correspondence they wrote back-and-forth over many years. Joe learned a lot from Harry and was also a very avid Tru-Bal collector for many years.

Brokenfeather Bullseye Seeker Mountain Man Knife and Hawk

Thanks for the knife and hawk Joe!

I was able to attend my first real throwing knife competition…as a spectator…this past weekend. The Rocky Mountain Knife and Tomahawk Competition was held in Creede, Colorado on June 27-28, 2009. It was just a short five-and-a-half hour drive through some of the most beautiful Colorado scenery I’ve seen in a long time.

2009 Rocky Mountain Knife and Tomahawk Throwing Competition

(There is a gallery of photos at the bottom of this post.)

Even though I didn’t get to compete since I did not get a chance to put together a pre-1840 outfit I enjoyed watching the events and meeting most of the competitors. I took some video and some pictures which you can see at the bottom of this post.

I didn’t quite get everyone’s name down accurately nor do I remember every game or hear every score. So if you’re reading this and you spot a mistake I would really appreciate it if you send me an email and let me know so I can fix it.

Overall there was a total of eleven events, or games. They did six games on Saturday and four on Sunday plus one bonus round since it was a pretty day and it was early.

Awards

The awards came out like this:

There was only one amateur (too bad I didn’t have the clothes) so he got the award: Jerry

Women’s Hawk:
1st : Erica Morlock
2nd: Patsy Weems
3rd: Katie Goldsmith

Women’s Knife:
1st: Mary Neal
2nd: Erica Morlock
3rd: Katie Goldsmith

Men’s Hawk:
1st: Bob “Old Dog” Pyle
2nd: John Goldsmith
3rd: Dan Overpeck

Men’s Knife
1st: Bob “Old Dog” Pyle
2nd: Roy “Moses” Neal
3rd: Jody

Top Women’s: Erica Moloff

Top Men’s: Bob “Old Dog” Pyle

Top Aggregate Scores:
180 – Bob “Old Dog” Pyle
157 – John Goldsmith
156 – Roy “Moses” Neal
155 – Chuck “Walking Eagle” Weems
154 – “Red Bear”
145 – Jody
130 – Dan Overpeck
119 – Mike “IronPost” Kolisch
104 – Erica Molock
94 – Patsy Weems
89 – Katie Goldsmith
84 – Ken Boboy
82 – Mary Neal
80 – Earl Wilson

If you’re like me and you’ve never watched a mountain main or rendezvous style knife and tomahawk throwing competition before there was a lot to learn. I bothered everyone there with tons of questions and they were all very nice and patiently answered everything I asked.

The Target

In the mountain man style of throwing they use a large log round mounted on a tripod as you can see in the pictures. At Creede, in the Basham city park there were large piles of dirt with huge boulders on them. It is a mining town in the Rockies and it’s nothing for them to toss boulders around where they want them. So behind the targets they leaned some 4′x8′ sheets of plywood so when you miss you don’t have to walk very far to pick up your knife or hawk from off of the ground.

The log rounds were mounted to the tripod frame with lag bolts from behind. I’ve seen other pictures where they put a piece of wood across the front two legs and rested the log round on top of that. The log round is mounted about chest high. I don’t think there is any particular regulation height or size of round.

For a couple of the games they also have a half-log-round on the ground that you throw at. I guess it’s like going after a rabbit.

Competitors throw from the distance they are comfortable with as long as it is more than 10 feet from the target. Most of the time they throw their knife or hawk one spin. A few of the games require a spin-and-a-half. In the video you can see them walking off their distance from the target and drawing a line in the dirt with their toe or dropping their knife or hawk on the ground to mark their place for their throws.

Targets and Scoring

The target you typically throw at on a mountain man competition is a playing card. At this competition they were held on to the log round with a wooden golf tee. Many a tee was split in half! Other items they used for targets were index cards, rubber bands (to be avoided) and uncooked spaghetti (try to chop it in half). You can read more about these below when I describe the games.

In most of the games you get 1 point if you stick your knife or hawk anywhere on the log round. You get 2 points if your knife or hawk cuts the card. You get 3 points if the blade of your knife or hawk penetrates the card in the center without cutting the edge.

If you miss the target or your knife sticks but then falls out and lands on the ground you get 0 points. Interestingly, if it starts to fall out and you can run up and catch it before it hits the ground you get the score for where it hit on the target. I guess that’s kind of up to the judge!

Games

The competition was made up of ten separate rounds or games plus they had a bonus round for a total of eleven events in this particular competition. The games at any given competition are going to depend on who sets up the competition and what they want to do.

Typically you make ten throws during each round or game. Five with your knife and five with your hawk.

I don’t remember all eleven of the games they played but here are the details as I understand them of some of them.

One Card – You mount one playing card in the center of the log round and you try to hit it. 1 point for sticking in the log, 2 points for cutting the card and three points for center-cutting the card.

Clock – Five playing cards are placed on the log round. One at 12, 3, 6, 9 and one in the center. You have to hit the cards in order: 12, 3, 6, 9, center and if you hit a card out of order it does not count.

Rubber Bands – This probably has a name but I didn’t catch it. You place four golf tees in a large diamond shape on the log round. You connect four rubber-bands to the tees, stretching them out to make a diamond shape. In the middle you place a playing card. If you hit the log round outside of the diamond you get 1 point. If you hit the log round inside the diamond you get 2 points. If you cut the card you get 3 points. If you center-cut the card you get 4 points. If you cut a rubber band you get 0 points.

Climb The Mountain – You place five cards on the log round in an ascending line from the lower left of the target to the upper right. The log rounds were a little small in this competition so they could only put up four cards and then had to put the fifth card on the right, below the others. You have to start at the left and hit each card in order. If you get them out of order you only get 1 point just as if you only hit the log.

Cut the Spaghetti – You put two golf tees spaced one card-width apart in the center of the target. Across these tees you place one uncooked piece of spaghetti. If you just stick the log you get 1 point. If you cut the spaghetti on the left or right of the golf tees you get 2 points. If you cut the spaghetti between the two golf tees you get 3 points.

Across the Rockies – There is nothing on the target when you start. You make your first throw as far to the left on the target as you can. The judge will place a golf tee in the very center of the hole your knife or hawk just left. Then you throw again and try to get as close to your last throw, but just to the right of it as you can. You keep repeating this until you throw to the left of your last throw, you miss, or you run out of target. You get one point for each knife or hawk you stick.

They repeated this game on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, Bob “Old Dog” Pyle got 10, 11 or 12 points on this event (I can’t remember for sure) and on Sunday, “Red Dog” got 10 points. It’s harder than it sounds.

Lots of Paper – That’s not the official name but I didn’t catch what it was. You place a large note card in the center of the target. Then just out from that you place a couple of regular note cards. Then some playing cards and then out at the very outer edge of the log round you place half-cards. When you hit one of the targets it is removed from the log round before your next throw. (This may be wrong…) You get 0 points for hitting nothing. You get 1 point for hitting the large note card, 2 points for the regular note card, 3 points for a whole playing card and 4 points for a half-note card.

I definitely haven’t included some of the other games. But the bonus round was…

Wipe The Smile Off Of That Face – You place two paper plates on the top half of the log round like eyes. Then you place five cards along the bottom edge of the target like a smile. You throw at the cards and have to hit them from left-to-right in order. If you hit the paper plates you get 0 points. 1 point for just hitting the wood of the target, two points for cutting the right card and 3 points for center cutting the right card. The paper plates are psychological and a lot of folks tend to hit them. They can be hard to miss.

Quite a few throwing knives do not come with sheaths. Even if they do, it is not good for the blade to store it in the leather sheath for any period of time.

So what do you do to protect it when you’re not throwing it?

The fleece-lined Maxpedition E-14 Envelope throwing knife case is the one I use when I acquire a throwing knife that does not come with a sheath and I don’t need the room of the slightly bigger Maxpedition R-14 Razorshell.

Maxpedition E-14 Envelope Throwing Knife Case Fits a Brokenfeather Bowie Knife

>> You can purchase these knife cases here on this site now.

The E-14 Envelope case is designed for medium-sized knives and any other precious items. It is lined with soft protective synthetic “shearling” yet is overall thin enough to not take up unnecessary room in the safe.

Maxpedition E-14 Envelope Throwing Knife Case

This case does not fit the big Mountain Bowie but it will fit most of the Tru-Bal line. It is an economical way to store each and every one of the knives in your collection.

Maxpedition E-14 Envelope Throwing Knife Case Fits Most Throwing Knives

Sorry for not showing it with a Tru-Bal throwing knife, but I couldn’t resist showing off the beautiful Brokenfeather “Bullseye Seeker” Mountain Bowie Throwing Knife that Joe Darrah made and personalized for me. Now I have something to throw at Mountain Man events!

You should know, if you happen to have one of Joe’s Gryphon throwing knives, by the way, that they just barely fit into one of these E-14 Envelope cases. Sometimes when that happens you need to go with the R-14 Razorshell, especially if you have a set.

Internal dimensions: 14 in x 3 in
Fleece Lined

>> You can purchase these knife cases here on this site now.

If you’ve got a good suggestion for storing throwing knives please leave a comment below. You can upload a picture of your favorite throwing knife case.

An old Tru-Bal catalog identifies this model as the original design for the RIFLEMAN. It was only made from 1975-1976 before it was revised in 1977 in the form of a model #6-B. Here is the description of the Model No. 6-A RIFLEMAN from that old catalog:

Tru-Bal Model No. 6-A Rifleman

The new Tru-Bal Frontier model RIFLEMAN’S THROWING KNIFE is custom quality and hand-crafted by Harry K. McEvoy especially for America’s muzzle-loading enthusiasts. It’s design is based on existing specimens remaing from the late 1700′s and early 1800′s, with built in “balance” for throwing by either blade OR handle.

I traded a brand new Model No. 6 plus a generous amount of cash to a member of the Tru-Bal Throwing Knife Society for this early Model No. 6-A RIFLEMAN made by Harry K. McEvoy.

Tru-Bal Model No. 6-A Rifleman

He saw one of the posts here with the catalog descriptions of Tru-Bal knives and that helped him identify what he had. He commented about it and we started emailing back-and-forth about it and were finally able to come to a mutually satisfactory trade.

He’s happy to have a new knife to throw that he doesn’t have to worry about ruining since it can be replaced plus he’s also happy knowing his vintage Tru-Bal knife has a good home with a collector who will really cherish it (me!).

Tru-Bal Model No. 6-A Rifleman

Tru-Bal Model No. 6-A Rifleman

Tru-Bal Model No. 6-A Rifleman

Well, here are some excerpts from our conversation so you can read it in his own (paraphrased) words:

Looks like I have a Rifleman #6A. I was wondering what model I had here. I wish I knew when it was made.

I actually bought this knife on a whim. I was talking to a knife collector at a major gun show, and he asked me if I liked throwing knives. I told him I used to throw, and still had a couple of Gil Hibben throwers around. He told me he had a really unique thrower, but then he could not find it. I left his table and went on a ways, when he came up and tugged on my elbow. He had found the knife (on top of his table) and had me go back to his table. I had never seen a knife like this. It was longer than expected, and had a weird shape. You can tell it is hand made and not machine made. It has a large sheath, both marked with the same symbols and TRU-BAL. I see by the catalog pages that it is the first version of the Rifleman, made in 1975-76. He said he had carried the knife a long time, and he shot me a price. I usually wheel and deal, but this time I just said OK. I don’t think I stole it, but I thought the price was fair.

Thanks to your web sight, I have learned more about these knives and their maker.

Here are some pics. They came out very dark. You should be able to click on them to enlarge them. The blade is so shiny, up close I could see the reflection of the camera. The sheath has one cut up high in the back. It does not really show on the front, but you can see it on the back. It is about 1/2 to 3/4″. Looks like the point punctured it at one time. It does not threaten the structural integrity of the sheath, so I see no problem in using it. It is not going to tear through to the side.

I like the fact I will still have one of these Tru-Bal knives. I don’t mind at all that a collector would like an older model. I always feel better throwing a knife that can be easily replaced. If I managed to ruin a collector’s item, I would be mad at myself.

I got your check and the knife today. I liked comparing the knives side-by-side. You can see the handwork in the early knife. The Sheath is a much softer material also. I will miss my knife, but I like the style of the new one better. I also like that a collector will put this knife with others from the same maker.

DarryH
Nebraska

Tru-Bal Model No. 6-A Rifleman

Tru-Bal Model No. 6-A Rifleman

If you have a story about a Model No. 6-A or any pictures of one please fill out the comment form below and share with everyone.

This is a Tru-Bal Model No. 4-A I won on eBay in February of 2009 from the same gentleman I purchased a Model No.70 from. I bid on it because I did not already have a Model No. 4 that was made by Harry. This model wasn’t being made in 1983 and 1984 when I was purchasing Tru-Bal throwing knives. The one that was being made then was the Model No. 4-B BATTLE BLADE COMBAT THROWER. So I had to have this one.

Tru-Bal Model No.4 with Black Leather Riveted Sheath

Here is his auction description:

Tru Bal Model 4 Battle Blade Throwing Knife

Last chance for Tru Bal collectors. I am liquidating my over thirty-five year collection of Harry McEvoy Tru Bal knifes and other collectible throwing knives. The knife offered here is the last one of the early ones that I obtained in the mid 1970′s. It has an overall length of just over 11 1/2 inches. It comes with an early Tru Bal black leather sheath with multiple rivits. The knife blade has the Tru Bal emblem. Tru Bal written out and three stars on one side and the Tru Bal emblem on the obverse side of the blade which is typical of the early knives. It is very close to mint other than a few small scraches and the very few normal slight pits in the metal (not caused by corrosion, but typical of the tool steel used in the early knives). The knife appears to have been never thrown. I am told this model Tru Bal was popular in Viet Nam as it is smaller and weighs somewhat less than some of the other models.

Overall this knife is highly desirable, very early, Tru Bal that any collector would be happy to won. I have set a reasonable reserve price of what I actually paid for the knife over thirty years ago.

True to his description, Bruce did not offer any more Tru-Bal throwing knifes for sale on eBay after that. I’m glad to have gotten this one. It is a very nice piece. I do really like the black leather sheath with the studs, which proves again how little I know because I thought that black sheaths were only a recent thing with Tru-Bal!

The Model No. 4-A BATTLE BLADE throwing knives were made by Harry K. McEvoy between 1966-1981. I am going to have to find out when Stephen started making it again as the current Model No. 4.

If you have a story about a Model No. 4 or any pictures of one please fill out the comment form below and share with everyone.

This is a Tru-Bal Model No. 70 I won on eBay in February of 2009. I bid on it because I did not already have a Model No. 70 that was made by Harry. This model wasn’t being made in 1983 and 1984 when I was purchasing Tru-Bal throwing knives. It was in excellent condition for a knife that the seller claimed was from the mid 1970′s.

Tru-Bal Model No. 70 with Plain Sheath

Here is his auction description:

I am liquidating my over thirty year collection of Harry McEvoy Tru Bal knifes and other collectible throwing knives. The knife offered here is another one of the early ones that I obtained in the mid 1970′s. It has an overall length of just over 13 inches. It comes with an early Tru Bal leather sheath which is very unusual in that it does not have the normal Tru Bal emblem. Tru Bal written out and three stars on one side and the Tru Bal emblem on the obverse side of the blade. It is very close to mint and appears to have been never thrown.

After I won the auction I asked the seller to tell me anything more about the knife he could recall and he emailed me back with this:

Well, that knife was bought in the early 70′s at either the West Palm Beach Gunshow or the Lakeland gunshow as those were the main shows I was attending at the time. Best I can remember I bought it off of a table, but do not remember the seller. Info on knife was probably from some of the catalogs I have. Some of which I picked up along the way and some I got from Harry’s son about ten years ago when I bought some knives from him. Sorry, but that is the best I can do.

Bruce
Ocala, FL

I guess I missed his collection that he sold before this one. After this he offered a Model No. 4 which I also won. I’ve documented that on another post.

If you have a story about a Model No. 70 or any pictures of one please fill out the comment form below and share with everyone.

Please don’t try this at home! I’m not going to comment on this except: One thing I find interesting in this newsreel story is that the audience is all female.

I’ve been looking for some time now at a lot of knife cases that would work for Tru-Bal throwing knives. I think I finally found the best one for holding anywhere from 1-6 throwing knives depending on the model. It’s the Maxpedition R-14 Razorshell knife case.

Maxpedition R-14 Throwing Knife Case With 6 Tru-Bal Model #79s.

As you can see from the photo this case is just perfect for holding six Tru-Bal Model #79 SPORT-PROs. This keeps them protected and all in one place in between practices at home. It’s also perfect for taking your knives on the road with you to a tournament.

Maxpedition R-14 Throwing Knife Case Closed – Front View

The Maxpedition RazorShells™ are protective cases that store anything else that will fit inside and require the highest level of protection. These bivalves are lined with two opposing layers of supple, non-absorbent, non-scratching faux shearling separated by 1/8” closed cell foam for shock resistance. Internal elastic bands provide additional security while external elastic bands retain a knife sheath or paperwork. The RazorShell cases open and close by a full length YKK-10 zipper with paracord pull. Transport using the integral heavy duty carry handle.

Maxpedition R-14 Knife Case Even Holds The Massive Mountain Bowie Throwing Knife

They come in a few sizes but the R-14 is perfect for Tru-Bal throwing knives. As you can see even though it barely fits, the Tru-Bal Model No. 94 MOUNTAIN BOWIE throwing knife, the largest knife in the line, does indeed fit.

If this case is overkill for your throwing knife, especially if you have one without a sheath, there is a more affordable E-14 Envelope case available.

The Back Of The Maxpedition R-14 Holds The Tru-Bal Sheath Out Of The Way

One thing that you really need to see in the photos here is that on the outside of the case in the back there are two very strong black elastic straps. This allows you to zip up the throwing knife on the inside but put the leather case on the outside in those straps. For long term storage that will prevent the leather from tarnishing and pitting the blade. My old Tru-Bals would not have any rust or pits on them if I had these years ago! Just don’t do what I did and store them in their sheaths.

Internal dimensions: 14 in x 4.5 in
External empty dimensions: 14.5 in x 5 in x 1 in

Let me know what you think of these.

>> You can purchase these knife cases here on this site now.

If you would like to show-off a picture of your throwing knife case or carrying system, please leave a comment below. You can upload pictures in comments so show us what you’ve got!