Faka throwing knife

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Dalmo Mariano from Brazil has been throwing knives all his life. Over countless iterations in his workshop, he finally came up with a perfect throwing knife design - the Faka (Portuguese for "knife").

In the throwing knife test of German MesserMagazin, the Faka made it into the Top-5!
"The big knife has a rustic look, but is well suited for knife throwing."
Test result 34 points, missing only two points compared to the overall winner.

Dalmo was training the knife thrower artists of Circo Hiran, leading to specific demands on a throwing knife: "In a show and while practising, it is very convenient to carry many knives in one hand, so you can “peel and throw” them in a sequence. Thus, the knife had to be sleek and not too heavy." Also, spectators expect a knife thrower's knife to definitely look the part. Hence the Faka's pleasing design as an elementary knife.

It is essential how a throwing knife can be handled: The Faka has a hefty thickness (5 mm), and its centre of gravity is middle-balanced, with a slight shift towards the handle. When gripping the knife, both characteristics tell your palm that you can feel confident in handling the Faka.

Personally, I get perfectly straight sticks from a distance of 3.3m. The weight (375 g / 13.3 oz) is well chosen to prevent in-flight flutter, but still allows throwing distances up to 10m with medium effort. The knife responds well to small changes of your grip, letting you control the in-flight rotation.

The Faka is a very versatile throwing knife. For example, knife thrower and tinkerer Markus Freitag converted it into a fire throwing knife for his show.

The Faka can be throw from the handle and from the blade. This means you can effortlessly try out full-spin and half-spin throwing styles in your training sessions. It also makes the Faka perfect knife for advanced throwers: The Walk Back event of the World Championship sets specific distances that require you to throw in different styles.

The throwing knife is made from Hardox. That tough steel - also used for giant dredger shovels - makes sure the knives can take quite some abuse. For optimum stability, the blade retains the full thickness until the onset of the tip. Dents from knife collisions can still be repaired on the spot using a file. After training, don't forget to rinse your knives clean and wipe them dry.

The blade is of course dull to protect your palms, flexibly permitting for example a confident hammer grip on both blade and handle.

The tip of the knife is rather pointy - but not honed to a pin point. Bevelling on the back of the blade means the knife will enter the wood especially well.

Pro Tip: Throw the Faka with the back of the blade facing forward - it is counter-intuitive, but that way the tip will bite into the wood at a steeper angle, and will even stick for under-rotated throws.

The throwing knife is manufactured by easy-throw in France. Ruddy Bronsart operates his machines manually, so the grinding varies.

A note on the evolution of the Faka: The first three generations of Fakas (see image) were produced by Dalmo himself in São Paulo. Working with Christian Thiel of ThrowingKnives.com, design and material of the knives were constantly improved over time - the knives got somewhat shorter and leaner, but thicker. Since Dalmos untimely death in 2018, the Fakas are manufactured in Europe, currently by knife maker Ruddy who employs a very sturdy steel.

The Faka is my personal "Standard Throwing Knife". Even in my sleep, I can do my Faka constant throwing motion and stick it. So the Faka is the throwing knife I come back to when I feel unsure with other knives or techniques.

With its stable flight and easy target penetration, the forgiving Faka is well suited for beginners. Professional throwers will like the sturdy Faka for its perfect weight and overall versatility - it's well suited for a rather wide variety of throwing styles.