The Ultimate Guide to Knife Throwing by Bobby Branton

Author:Bobby Branton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2014-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Quality throwing knives widely used by today’s no-spin throwers from Patrick Brewster of Flying Steel

CHAPTER 3

COMPETITIVE KNIFE THROWING

COMPETITION KNIFE THROWING HISTORY

In 1964 Chuck Gruzanski enlisted the help of long-time knife maker and knife- thrower Harry K. McEvoy of Grand Rapids, Michigan, to form a new knife-throwing organization, the Tru-Flyte Knife Throwers of America. This was to be the very first national organization founded to promote knife throwing as a modern sport. The board of consultants included Harry K. McEvoy, Robert Abels, William D. Randall Jr., Gary Randall, Robert Lee Wilson, Gil Hibben, Ralph H. Totsch, Paul LaCross, L. Garg, Norman C. Heilman Jr., Jim Ramsey, Kenneth Pierce, and Tumio Mawa. Each one of these men were true pioneers and craftsmen.

Chuck decided to publish a bimonthly publication entitled The Knife Thrower. Due to this publication being financed out of his pocket, it would only be published for a total of seven issues. Tru-Flyte Knife Throwers of America seemed to be a little ahead of its time and only lasted for a couple of years.

In 1971 when he felt the time was right again for another new organization, Harry K. McEvoy founded the American Knife Throwers Alliance (AKTA). With the help of Carmen Corrado of the world famous Corrado Cuterly Store in Chicago, the AKTA grew to have a national membership of more than twelve hundred enthusiastic sportsmen knife throwers. A quarterly newsletter, The Bullseye Buster, published twenty-two issues before publication had to be suspended. With very limited help and facilities, it became too large to produce and mail. Among the many things it accomplished, its primary goals were to provide a blueprint for organizing competitions at a local level, to offer guidelines for competition, and to serve as a clearing house for information concerning all aspects of the sport. The AKTA was, and is, dedicated to promoting the art of knife throwing as a sport, recreation, and a hobby.

Bobby Branton has a deep and rich history with Harry K. McEvoy and the Tru-Balance Knife Company. Back when Bobby had begun to make knives, he was searching for information on what made a quality throwing knife. He stumbled upon Harry McEvoy, owner of the Tru-Balance Knife Company of Grand Rapids Michigan. The two became friends and Harry mentored Bobby on his formula for what made a quality throwing knife. After a lot of snail mail correspondence, Bobby decided to make his own line of throwing knives and asked his knife-throwing mentor Harry, if he could pay him to design his first line of throwers. With McEvoy’s support and encouragement, Bobby went on to design and add to that line of knives. In the late eighties, McEvoy was looking at serious retirement and had plans to sell his world famous Tru-Balance Knife Company. After a few years, both franchises became defunct and Bobby purchased the assets and rights to one of these companies but went on to develop and market his line of throwers with hopes of one day being able to bring this company back to life.

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