Dalmo Mariano from Brazil did try out quite some designs in his workshop before he arrived at creating his perfect professional throwing knife: the Faka. It is laser cut from 4mm thick 5160 steel, then the bevels are added by hand. The hardening (in the low 40's Rockwell) is applied in a specialised factory. The material has been chosen so that the knife does not break on impact, but bends and can be repaired easily. But apart from a few scratches at the tip, two test throws against a concrete wall did not damage the Faka at all!
The tip is pointed and sticks well, the edge is just hinted, not sharp, a bar of 1-2mm has been left. Thus, a hammer grip can be used on the blade as well on the handle, there is no limitation to a special throwing style. Slightly changing the grip lets you influence the rotation. The bump on the spine of the knife allows for natural thumb placement. Because the Faka (after Portuguese "Faca" = knife) is not polished to mirror shine, it provides a very secure grip.
The throwing knife is available in two versions: The normal Faka is 26cm long and has a weight of 200g. It turns very fast, during 1.4m of flight* it will make a full turn. I stick it consistently from 3.8m with two turns.
The big Faka throwing knife is 36cm long and has a weight of 360g! This means it is in the league of professional throwing knives which can be thrown for rather long distances. It takes 2.4m for a full turn. Sticking from 3.8m with one turn, it is suitable for contests.
The center of gravity is in the middle with both versions. Due to the fact that the knives are produced in little numbers and improved constantly, all features (like dimensions and weight, or even coating) can vary slightly from series to series. Newer models penetrate better and look more like the prototypical knife (see picture).

The Faka has been used as the basis for a fire throwing knife.

The Faka is not produced any more, but you can buy its successor, the Circus Faka throwing knife.


* Distances given are for a certain style of throwing and can vary with different throwers. But they are a good guiding value.