Tomahawk/knife throwing target

Ben Meyer · Sep 18, 2019

I built a nice A frame target stand out of old 2x4s a while back, works good. The wood slabs are spent and a friend just gave me 2 nice new ones from a big tree he recently took down. They are SUPER HARD! Pretty sure its black locust. Is locust TOO hard for throwing target wood? If I drilled 100+ little holes 1/2" deep in it, would it make sticking hawks and knives easier? I hit it a few times with both and it didnt roll the blades, but ITS HARD!!!

Rifleman1776 · Sep 18, 2019

Soft wood is needed. Pine end cuts of 2x4 work very well. Best I have ever used is Poplar trunk slices. Practically speaking, with knives and hawks really being hard to stick with a throw it leads me to believe stories of them being thrown in battle are mostly improbable.

GunnyGene · Sep 18, 2019

Rifleman1776 said:
Soft wood is needed. Pine end cuts of 2x4 work very well. Best I have ever used is Poplar trunk slices. Practically speaking, with knives and hawks really being hard to stick with a throw it leads me to believe stories of them being thrown in battle are mostly improbable.

Standard warning in USMC etc. training since forever. "Never throw your knife away." Throwing knives, etc. is for Circus sideshows, friendly competitions, and similar things; not for combat/survival weapons which are not designed for throwing. Use your knife to make an atlatl and darts for throwing.

Ames · Sep 18, 2019

Best targets I ever had were the ends of pine logs. 30" in diameter, stacked whole logs in the log yard when I worked for a tree company. Stuck with ease and the target never moved from the impact.

Ben Meyer · Sep 20, 2019

I'll keep an ear out for some soft wood.

Meanwhile, I have these 2 awesome(perfect diameter and thickness) locust slabs that I cant use:-( Just as an experiment, i went out and drilled probably 500 3/16" holes @.5" deep and filled them with water. I'm gonna let it sit for a day or so then go out and smack it with a hawk to see if that helped. If not, I'm chucking them into the woods.

Ames · Sep 20, 2019

Don't expect locust to soften up much with water. Toss it in the woods and it will take forever to rot. That's why it was used for fence posts.

torpedo · Sep 27, 2019

I use cottonwood, sticks very well and last long time.

nhmoose · Sep 27, 2019

Burns super in a wood stove or furnace!

SDSmlf · Sep 27, 2019

I pick out a standing dead oak behind the house, knock off any bark that is hanging on, and I have a two foot or so wide target that’s 75 to 90 feet tall. A target that will absorb hits from 360°. Sometimes I mark an aiming spot with a piece of chock, other times I will just pick a spot.

Wichoun · Apr 15, 2020

With a lot more time at home, I built my first hawk target stand. used cheap 3" diameter pine fence posts. The current target is a slice of pine the about 28" diameter and 5" thick. once it warms a bit here I'll put some linseed oil on it. It extremely sturdy and breaks down easy using some standard lashing knots. Wichoun

Larry (Omaha) · Apr 15, 2020

Ben Meyer said:
I built a nice A frame target stand out of old 2x4s a while back, works good. The wood slabs are spent and a friend just gave me 2 nice new ones from a big tree he recently took down. They are SUPER HARD! Pretty sure its black locust. Is locust TOO hard for throwing target wood? If I drilled 100+ little holes 1/2" deep in it, would it make sticking hawks and knives easier? I hit it a few times with both and it didnt roll the blades, but ITS HARD!!!

Soft wood is better, but if your hawk sticks and that is all you have, use it. Mine was Maple till I moved. Sharp hawk and a firm throw works for me.
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