Slinging.org Forum - Throwing stars from nails

dork

Funditor

Offline

I feel Smurfy when I'm
smurfing!!!! You too?

Posts: 996
In Beautiful Wisconsin
Gender: male

Throwing stars from nails
May 7^th, 2009 at 1:43am

I was just thinking of stupid stuff I did as a kid and this popped up. We used 3 inch long nails to make homemade throwing stars. We started by duct tape two nails togethor at the heads. Then added a third and fourth making a cross shape. We would load it with a lot of tape to give it good weight. The inside of our barn cieling was just riddeled with these stars after one summer. A few barn swallows fell victim to our wrath. Definately could take out small game, if needed. We would easily get half an inch penitration into the barn beams. The ones in the ceiling never fell out.

Anyone else ever try this.

Back to top

IP Logged

Kjev

Senior Member

Offline

Limits exist only in your
mind

Posts: 299

Re: Throwing stars from nails
Reply #1 - May 7^th, 2009 at 7:03am

Nifty idea. Wonder what would happen if a body were to weld the nails together, and weld a washer or two in the center. You probably had better quality steel than those found in most commercial stars.

We used to use sickle sections from a mower bar. They are three-inch triangular blades with two holes along the base to rivet them to the bar. By riveting three or four together, you got some very heavy stars that were about 6 inches across. I actually still have some floating around somewhere.

K'Jev
Cool

Back to top

K'Jev

"Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter"--Yoda

https://www.facebook.com/StormsForge

IP Logged

Ben-Aussie

Junior Member

Offline

...preparing for the Zombie
plague....

Posts: 82
tamworth, NSW, Australia
Gender: male

Re: Throwing stars from nails
Reply #2 - May 10^th, 2009 at 2:08am

I've always wanted to make a shuriken and this is one of the ideas i had a while back, but wielding the nails to a solid metal center. Just out of curiosity with throwing stars would one of the spikes or blades have to be a bit longer than the others to help it spin and penetrate more i wonder? Kinda like a throwing knife i mean.

-Ben

Back to top

Aim Small, Miss Small

IP Logged

David Morningstar Slinging.org Moderator Offline Slinging Rocks! Posts: 3520 UK	Re: Throwing stars from nails Reply #3 - May 10^th, 2009 at 6:22am You make them symmetrical. We made them out of sheet steel in school when the metalwork teacher wasnt looking. I can vouch for the fact that getting a shuriken stuck in you is very painful and messy
Back to top	IP Logged

dork Funditor Offline I feel Smurfy when I'm smurfing!!!! You too? Posts: 996 In Beautiful Wisconsin Gender:	Re: Throwing stars from nails Reply #4 - May 10^th, 2009 at 12:07pm Sounds like someone has done some equally dumb stuff.
Back to top	IP Logged

David Morningstar Slinging.org Moderator Offline Slinging Rocks! Posts: 3520 UK	Re: Throwing stars from nails Reply #5 - May 10^th, 2009 at 1:08pm And I never got any smarter
Back to top	IP Logged

Kjev Senior Member Offline Limits exist only in your mind Posts: 299	Re: Throwing stars from nails Reply #6 - May 10^th, 2009 at 11:14pm We were always safe with the edged toys. It was the flash powder and later on, the cannon that were our monuments to childhood adventurism. K'Jev Although 3 sticks of dynamite will do wonders to a wasp nest.
Back to top	K'Jev "Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter"--Yoda https://www.facebook.com/StormsForge IP Logged

Galvanicfish Senior Member Offline Just not right. Posts: 291 Central Ohio Gender:	Re: Throwing stars from nails Reply #7 - May 11^th, 2009 at 3:20pm Mmm, flashpowder... I've done some dumb stuff with that myself. We also found out a cheap way to make hydrogen gas and had great fun dropping matches on a trash bag inflated with it. I too have done the nail shuriken thing, but fortunately there were no impalements.
Back to top	Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana&&&& IP Logged

BrianGrubbs

Funditor

Offline

Joined May 6th, 2008

Posts: 566
Washington
Gender: male

Re: Throwing stars from nails
Reply #8 - May 12^th, 2009 at 1:56pm

Yeah, I tried the nail stars when I was a kid, I guess I didn't use enough tape though. The nail caltrops on the other hand worked just fine. My brother and I started making throwing stars out of old circular saw blades. They worked pretty well, though they could've uesd more weight. My favorite was a plain triangle about 6" to a side, and I had the points and the edges sharpened. That thing made some nasty cuts in the local trees... fortunately not in any of the local people (like my brother who had a close call with a ricochet).

Back to top

Helping rocks get to where they are going since 2008...

IP Logged

Crazy_Viking Tiro Offline Slinging Rocks! Posts: 14 Southern Alberta Gender:	Re: Throwing stars from nails Reply #9 - May 12^th, 2009 at 11:04pm I made out of one of those round electrical box covers. It's a four pointed one. Here are the instructions http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap%2c-good-quality-Shuriken-throwing-star/
Back to top	"Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscripti catapultas habebunt."&&("When catapults are outlawed, only outlaws will have catapults.")&& IP Logged

korisuya

Novicius

Offline

Posts: 7

Re: Throwing stars from nails
Reply #10 - May 21^st, 2009 at 9:57pm

Ben-Aussie wrote on May 10^th, 2009 at 2:08am:

I've always wanted to make a shuriken and this is one of the ideas i had a while back, but wielding the nails to a solid metal center. Just out of curiosity with throwing stars would one of the spikes or blades have to be a bit longer than the others to help it spin and penetrate more i wonder? Kinda like a throwing knife i mean.

-Ben

hira shuriken are almost always radially symmetrical with the exception of the yagyu shinkage ryu sanko shuriken which is bilaterally symmetrical

Dean Eichler
Owner
www.korisuya.com

Back to top

sanko.JPG (17 KB | )

Dean Eichler&&Owner&&www.korisuya.com&&Authentic Shuriken and Ninjutsu Tools

IP Logged

Knaight

Interfector Viris Spurii

Offline

Slinging Tennis Balls!

Posts: 1237
Colorado
Gender: male

Re: Throwing stars from nails
Reply #11 - May 30^th, 2009 at 8:15pm

The nails and tape version actually sounds like it could be really nasty if done properly. However another thing that also would be doable would be to take four nails, glue them to something in the center of the nails, then use wire to make a gods eye. Its even easier if you sharpen both ends of a nail.

For reference, here is a site that deals briefly with gods eyes.
http://www.caron-net.com/kidfiles/kidsapr.html

If you didn't go very far with the wire it would hold together really well, and be pretty effective.

Back to top

IP Logged

Bikewer Interfector Viris Spurii Offline I love Slinging.org! Posts: 1627 St. Louis, Mo Gender:	Re: Throwing stars from nails Reply #12 - May 31^st, 2009 at 5:49pm I do a lot of bicycle mechanicing, and I found that the small front sprocket from a "triple" (mountain bike) crankset makes a pretty good shuriken. The little teeth don't allow much penetration, but they do throw nicely.
Back to top	IP Logged

kbear

Novicius

Offline

Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 9

Re: Throwing stars from nails
Reply #13 - May 31^st, 2009 at 9:08pm

Bikewer wrote on May 31^st, 2009 at 5:49pm:

I do a lot of bicycle mechanicing, and I found that the small front sprocket from a "triple" (mountain bike) crankset makes a pretty good shuriken.

The little teeth don't allow much penetration, but they do throw nicely.

Good idea!

I've done my fair share of making shurien out of nails and stuff aswell. Here's one out of three nails and some 'kneed it' instant concrete i made a while ago. Unfortunately it didn't hold up very well:S

Also a few of these, usually glued between two bits of 5mm custom wood/mdf. held up fine unless thrown hard, same as above one:)

Back to top

IP Logged

dork Funditor Offline I feel Smurfy when I'm smurfing!!!! You too? Posts: 996 In Beautiful Wisconsin Gender:	Re: Throwing stars from nails Reply #14 - May 31^st, 2009 at 11:36pm The ones I used made with duct tape held really good for at least 20 really hard throws. Only takes ten minutes to make one. By the time they started to ware out they were either stuck into the barn cieling or lost in the woods. So it didn't make much sence to spend a lot of time on the construction of it.
Back to top	IP Logged