Nightraven Hand Forged 1095 Throwing Knives | Set of Three 11 Inch Blades | Black Coated Steel and Paracord Grips | Leather Roll Included | Target Gift | RK-1598

The Nightraven is a matched set of three throwing knives forged from 1095 high carbon steel and finished in a black protective coating. Each one is a symmetrical spear point with two long cut outs through the blade, a paracord wrapped grip, and an open ring at the pommel. A raven is etched into the flat just above the wrap. They ship rolled in a brown leather case with three sewn pockets.

The first thing worth knowing about throwing knives is that they are not sharp knives that happen to be thrown. A throwing knife is a completely different tool with a completely different set of requirements, and the biggest of those is consistency. Three knives that weigh the same, balance in the same place and have the same profile will rotate identically in flight, which means once you have found your distance for one you have found it for all three. That is why throwers are sold in matched sets rather than singly. These are forged, ground, coated, wrapped and rolled in a Czech Republic workshop and carry our lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings, with no end date and no receipt needed. It sits in the throwing knives. The Viking knives cover the same ground from a different angle.

Specifications

Balance, rotation and finding your distance

A thrown knife rotates. That is not a flaw to be engineered out, it is the thing you learn to work with. From a standing throw a knife of this size turns roughly one full rotation in about twelve to fifteen feet, so the classic learning method is to start close, throw by the handle, and walk backward until the point lands first. Mark that spot. Then find your half rotation distance by throwing from the blade at roughly half that range. Between the two you can cover most of a garden.

Where the balance point sits is what sets that number. A handle heavy knife rotates slowly and suits blade holds. A blade heavy knife spins faster. The Nightraven is deliberately close to neutral, sitting within about half an inch of centre, which is why the twin cut outs are there. They remove weight from the middle of the blade and let us tune the balance without making the knife narrower or shorter. The ring pommel does the same job at the other end, adding a little mass behind the hand while giving you a positive index point so every grip feels the same.

One more thing that matters more than most people expect. A thrower should not be razor sharp. The edges on these are ground to a blunt taper that will bite into a soft wood target without slicing your fingers on a handle catch, and a fine edge would chip the moment it hit a knot or another blade.

1095 and why the coating is there

These are 1095 high carbon steel, tempered back to 54 to 58 HRC. That is intentionally on the softer side. A throwing knife is going to hit hard things, including the occasional stone or another knife already in the board, and the failure you want is a bent tip you can straighten rather than a snapped point you cannot. Full length flat tangs mean there is no joint anywhere in the knife to fail on impact.

The black finish is a bonded protective coating, not paint and not bluing. It matters more on a throwing knife than on a belt knife because throwers spend their lives in wet grass, in soil, and in wooden targets that hold water. Even so it is a coating, and it will get scratched and scuffed by repeated hits, which is normal and does not affect the steel underneath. The bright ground edges are bare metal and want the same oil as any carbon steel. The paracord wrap is a genuine functional choice as well as a period neutral look, because it grips wet, dries fast, and can be cut off and rewrapped when it wears through.

Engraving, runes and your own design

Use the rune converter on this page to turn a name, a date or a short phrase into Elder Futhark and we will cut it into the steel, the leather or the wood. If you would rather have a Viking pattern than a rune line, choose your own design in the engraving option above the add to cart button and tell us where it goes. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it. On this set the raven is the existing mark, so a custom design takes its place on all three blades. The leather roll is also a good place for a name. See the engraving page.

Handling and target advice

Throw into end grain if you can. A round of softwood log stood on end, or a target built from stacked end grain blocks, will swallow a point and let you pull it out easily. Plywood and pallet boards will chew tips and split. Keep a safe run off area well behind the target, because a knife that hits flat will bounce back a long way.

These are functional throwing knives, not display copies, and they are also not sold for battle ready or full contact sparring. They should never be thrown toward a person or an animal. Check your local law before carrying them, because throwing knives are treated differently from ordinary knives in a number of states and cities.

Care

Pull them out of the target, wipe them dry and put them back in the roll. That covers ninety percent of it. 1095 rusts if it is left in damp grass overnight, and the bright ground edges are the part that goes first, so keep a rag with a little mineral oil in your throwing bag. If a tip curls over, a few careful passes on a file or a coarse stone will bring it back to a point. Our steel care page has more. The leather roll wants a little balm once or twice a year, and the paracord can be washed in warm soapy water and dried before it goes away.

Made in the Czech Republic

Every piece we sell is made by hand in the Czech Republic. The smiths there work the way the trade has been worked for a long time, heating and hammering the steel, taking the bevels down by eye, and fitting the handle and the leather one at a time. There is no automated line anywhere in it, so small differences from one piece to the next are normal and expected.

Ransack Viking is a United States company based in Memphis, Tennessee. We bring the pieces in ourselves, inspect them on arrival and ship them from our own warehouse. If you add engraving, that is carried out here in the United States before your order goes out.

A note on handmade variation

This is hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The three knives in your set are matched to each other in weight and balance, which is what actually matters, but the grind lines, the exact wrap tension and the tone of the leather will be their own. Leather takes dye differently on every hide, and hand wrapped paracord never lands identically twice. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not. We go further into it in Odin’s ravens, and pick it up again in the blade shapes guide.

Frequently asked questions

Are these sharp

No, and deliberately so. The edges are ground to a blunt taper. A sharp throwing knife cuts the thrower far more often than it improves the stick.

Can I throw all three from the same distance

Yes. They are weight matched and balance matched to each other, which is the entire reason to buy a set rather than three separate knives.

What target should I use

End grain softwood. A stood up log round is the cheapest and best option. Avoid plywood, pallet boards and anything with nails in it.

Will the black coating come off

It will scuff and scratch where the blades hit, which is normal wear on any coated thrower. The steel underneath is unaffected and can be oiled as usual.

What is the ring at the end for

It adds a little mass behind the hand and gives you a repeatable index point, so every grip is the same. It is not intended to be worn on a finger.

How long until they arrive

One to two weeks of processing, then free shipping inside the United States. Engraved sets take a few days longer.

What is in the box

• Three Nightraven 1095 throwing knives, weight and balance matched
• One stitched leather knife roll with three pockets
• Care card and lifetime warranty note
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

See the rest of the throwing knives, the Viking knives, the Viking axes for throwing, or read the guides.