'Sup, all my ninjas and ninjettes.
December 5th is International Ninja Day! Thus I contribute to you today's ninja item, the Kershaw Ion throwing knife.
The Ion is a very stout, full size throwing knife from our good friends at Kershaw. Knives plural, actually. They come in a set of three, but you'll only see two of mine today because I was spreading ninja cheer earlier and I gave my third one away to a friend.
These are not quite like the little toy throwers you'd find in the BudK catalog or at your local flea market; Each is solidly 8-15/16" long, and weighs in at 116.8 grams (4.12 ounces). They're quite decently thick as well, at 0.150" on the spines. Each is finished in a mottled stonewashed finish with a mildly textured surface.
If you like to ninja-fidget, these also make good playthings because the ring on the end is actually large enough to get a finger through, and everyone but the beefiest of boys can even get a thumb through as well. Here it is with Mr. Jefferson helping us out for a sense of scale; the ring is nearly precisely 7/8" across.
The blade length is sort of debatable because there's no fixed transition between the blade and the tang. These are all one piece, but the handle is wrapped with black and red paracord (current incarnations appear to be black and white now instead), and the wrapping has a slightly inconsistent length. Measuring from the base of the flare on the blade end to the point, though, is 4-1/2". About 4-1/8" of that is usable edge, although "edge" is a bit of a stretch because as usual for factory throwers, these things are not actually sharp and just have a butter knife profile. They are quite pointy, though, and their heft means that they'll sink quite authoritatively into any wooden object you throw them at -- provided you're skilled enough to land point first.
The point of balance is pretty much exactly at the base of the blade, very near to the geometric middle of the knife. These are not self-correcting in any way during flight, though. There's no type of aerodynamics built in, no tassels, no streamers, no fins. So you definitely do have you get your throw and your spin right if you want them to work.
The set comes in this triple pocketed nylon belt sheath, which holds them all in a stack. The Velcro retainer strap is kind of chintzy and the sheath holds the knives with the handle wrappings all pressed together, so it's more for storage than actual carrying usability.
Instead I made this single holder Kydex sheath for one of mine, and added a Nite Ize Eclipse clip to it so I can attach it to stuff. That's because...
...I probably brought some kind of dishonor to my clan by actually going through the trouble to put an edge on one of my Ions.
These are made from 3Cr13 steel, which is not exactly top shelf but is incredibly tough and springy, which is exactly what you want for a thrower. It will take and hold an edge to a reasonable degree provided you are not asking it to tolerate any significant amount of abrasion.
I thusly use this as a camp knife sometimes because it's very silly, and we can always engage in much merriment and giggling by chucking knives and axes and stuff at stumps around the camp site. (Don't throw cutlery at live trees, though. That's not cool. A true ninja protects the forest he hides in.)
Here's an Ion compared to another piece of ninja paraphernalia we looked at earlier, plus the obligatory EDC benchmark: the Kershaw/Emerson CQC-6K. Hey, at least today we've got a Kershaw sibling in the mix!
The Inevitable Conclusion
The Kershaw Ions are actually quite competent throwing knives with good balance and construction quality, and would be perfectly adequate for any hobbyist who's sufficiently skilled at knife throwing. But outdoor knife throwing, mind you. These are beefy enough that I really can't throw them at my dartboard because they pass clean through and poke into the wall behind it. For indoor use you'd probably want something a bit lighter.
The kunai ninja styling is just the icing on the cake that made these silly enough that I couldn't pass them up. I have other equally hefty throwing knives for actual mumblypeg practice, and about which I care about the appearance and finish a lot less. None of those look as cool, though. Hence why I converted one of these into a plain old dagger just for yuks, which not gives it some utility but also allows for showing it off from time to time.
Now go forth, and ninja in the night.
