Knife Of The Week Model 9!!!!!!!!!

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The next model added to the line of standard styles was an all-steel thrower, promptly dubbed the "Pro-Thrower." It was 9 inches in overall length, weighed 7 ounces, and was designed to be held by the handle when thrown. They were offered singly or in matched sets of three, with many people ordering the sets. Bo had been interested in the sport of knife throwing from his earliest days as a knifemaker. Al Marchand, the original blade forger, recalled making some throwing knives back in late 1938 or early 1939 and watching Bo try them out, after grinding and polishing.

Like I said, I saw him stick that thing through a 7/8th-inch pine board and split that board. That was one of the early throwing knives. It took him two or three times to try, the third time he was right on down. He said, "I'll get it." We'd made some out of spring steel but they were too thin and the wind was shifting. The heavy stainless steel throwers worked fine.

An occasional thrower of unspecified style is noted in the records from then until about September 1945, at which time the orders became more numerous. Starting in March 1946, we find orders noted as "Special Thrower," "Thrower," "number 2 Thrower 5 1/2-inch blade," and a number of entries for knives termed "number 2 Special Thrower." This carried through 1947, with the last such entry being a "#2 - 7" Thrower for H.L. Price," an old friend and hunting companion.

The number 9 Pro-Thrower finally took the form shown in the 1948 catalog about the middle of December 1947. The first two that left the Randall family were presented to Fran Fawsett and Ed Granberry. Fran was the manager of the family citrus groves, while Ed was a professor at Rollins College in nearby Winter Park. Both men were longtime hunting and fishing buddies of Bo's. This simple, rugged throwing knife underwent three major changes from 1947 to the fiftieth anniversary in 1988: in late 1954, mid-1965, and mid-1975, after which the design remained essentially the same.

Orders for this thrower began coming in shortly after the catalog went out, with a fair showing of popularity in 1949. There were quite a few men around who were serious enough about knife throwing to spend $7.50, which was a goodly piece of change in those days. Later, during the Korean War, numerous servicemen ordered these throwers, many including it in an order for a combat-style knife.

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