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Dick Haines outl~nes his assistant employing what the late Harry McEvoy called the half-spin throw. (Hughes Studio photo)
The knife thrower fans out ninegleaming blades in his hand. Hepeels them off one by one and fires
them toward a woman strapped to aspinning wheel, each knife piercing thewheel within inches of her body. Afterthe thrower lets fly the last blade, herushes to the wheel, brings it to a stopand unstraps the assistant, who stepsaway unscathed.
This once-familiar sight, seen mostlyat county fairs and sportsman shows, isbecoming increasingly rare. Withadvanced technology and state-of-the-artspecial effects overshadowing them,
professional knife throwers are slowlybut surely disappearing. Fewer than adozen professional knife acts exist today,and the majority of them have addedspecialty routines-fast-draw, gun-spin-ning, rope-twirling and whip-crackingacts-to their repertoires. Nonetheless, afew performers remain who specialize inknife throwing alone.
One of today's longest-running knife-throwing acts is that of Ken Pierce, alsoknown as Prince Che Che, chief of theSeneca Nation in New York. His speedand accuracy are phenomenal. However,he must limit the number of stunts in his
act due to his addedresponsibilities ofrunning a circus andto a shoulder injuryhe suffered earlier thisyear in a car wreck.
Another topperformer is LarryCisewski ("ThrowingReal Knives At RealPeople," June 1987Blade@), billed as"the world's greatestknife thrower." Oneof Larry's favoritestunts is The Devil'sDoorway, in whichCisewski straps hisassistant to one side ofa revolving door. As
The late Harry McEvoy made throwing knives, wrote knife throwingbooks and is a member of The Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame.His company, Tru-Balance, still sells throwing knives. (Dick photo)
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the door spins, Larry throws knife afterknife into the side opposite his assistant.Timing is crucial.
Other active knife-throwing profes-sionals are Sylvester and Barbara Braun(The Wizards of the West) who, alongwith their knife impalement act, do a
Billed as "the world's greatest knifethrower," Larry Cisewski is one of the fewfull-time professional knife throwers.
rope-spinning and whip routine. AlLamarre, whose stage name is FlashLamarre, t4rows knives while standingon a rola-bola board. He also performs afast-draw routine.
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Another active knife-throwingprofessional, Dick Haines, runs theHaines Family Circus and performs ahigh-wire act. Actor, stunt man and knifethrower Alex Green has been working as
No story on knife throwingwould be complete withoutmention of such knife-throw-
ing greats as Harry McEvoy;SkeeterVaughan; Frank Dean; Ben Pitti;Adolfo Rossi; Paul Des Muke; JackCavanaugh; Joe Gibson; LawrencePierce (father of Ken "Prince CheChe" Pierce); Augie Gomez; AI Codyand the Shooting Mansfields; StanBrion; Ivan Thurlow; RM. Fearnley;Joe Eddy and Bob Fairchild; JayEvans; Stewart Lipke; Paul Lacross;John Lepiarz; Arnold R Sandubrase;and those who both throw knives andsell them, such as the author (whoalso makes them), Dan Dennehy andBob Karp.-by Steve Shackleford
a gun-and-whip coach in Hollywood formany years. Learning his skills fromstunt man-knife thrower Rod Reddwing,Green has worked as a double for actorCharles Bronson and threw a tomahawkin the made-for- TV movie, People
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Across the Lake,starring GeraldMcRaney, ValerieHarper and BarryCorbin.
Other full-time throwers areFritz Brunbach,Bobby Fairchild,Lew Brotherton,Jay Evans andDan Dennehy.Along with hisson, John,Dennehy hasperformed atshows nationwide,including theBlade Show &InternationalCutlery Fair. A sample of today's throwing knives, clockwise from top left: Bobby
Branton, Cold Steel, Tru-Balance, Western, Bob Karp and C.A.S. Iberia.
American Knife Throwers AllianceKnife throwing will survive into the 21stcentury but to thrive it needs the involve-ment of young and old aficionados alike.The American Knife Throwers Alliance(AKTA) is dedicated to help those whowish to get involved in knife throwing.
In the 1970s, the AKT A grew to1,200 members under the direction ofCarmen Corrado but disbanded due toorganizational problems. Today, theAKT A is making a comeback.
"An association of American sports-men dedicated to the practice andpromotion of knife throwing as a sport,recreation and hobby," the AKT Aprovides assistance and guidelines forthose who wish to organize knife throw-ing on a local level. Membership in theAKT A entitles you to a quarterly
newsletter, The Bullseye Buster, ashoulder patch and a member-ship card. For more informationcontact the AKT A, Dept. BL,attn: B. Branton, 4976 Seewee,
Awendaw, SC 29429 (803) 928-3624. BLADE .
Husband-and-wife knife-throwingteams such as Sylvester (notpictured) and Barbara Braun (left) areamong the sport's most popular acts.
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