International Knife Throwers Hall of Fame In The News

Surgeon's "cool hobby" is throwing knives. Read the article about Joe Darrah student Ted Eisenberg here.

Billy J. "Papa Joe" Blackwell

Memorial services for Billy J. "Papa Joe" Blackwell, 82, of Malakoff, are scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at the Hannigan Smith Funeral Home in Athens with Brother Jim Day officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at 4:00 p.m. Arrangements are under the direction of Hannigan Smith Funeral Home of Athens.

Billy passed away in Saturday, March 19, 2011 in Tyler, Texas.

He was born on October 27, 1928 to Luther Lloyd and Nolan Geneva Hammer Blackwell. He married Ruth Yoder on August 14, 1950. Billy moved from Ft. Worth to this area in 1971. In 2001 he became a member of Cedar Creek Knife & Hawk Club. In October of 2006, Billy was inducted into the "International Knife Throwers Hall of Fame" in Austin, Texas and was invited to participate in the 1st Annual Knife and Tomahawk Throwing Competition in the Alamo on October 6, 2007.

Billy was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth Blackwell in 2006.

He is survived by sons and daughter-in-law, Stan and D.G. Blackwell of Malakoff, Rick Blackwell of Tyler; daughter, Suzanne Anderson and husband, Tim of Charlotte, North Carolina; brother, Boyd Speer of Canada; and sister, Jeannie Cannon of Benbrook.

Daniel John Dennehy, 88

Jan 18, 2011

DEL NORTE - Prominent Custom Knifemaker Daniel John Dennehy, 88, died Sunday, Jan 16, 2011, in Del Norte

He was born Jan 15, 1923 in New York City, the youngest son of Irish immigrants Daniel Francis Dennehy and Nora K. Hally. He attended Catholic schools in New York City. In 1940 he joined the US Navy, serving in World War II in several Pacific campaigns, including Saipan the Philipines and others. He also served during the Korean War and during Vietnam. He retired from active duty in 1970 as a Chief Petty Officer. He made his first knife during WW II, selling them to Marines before their invasion landings. One of his achievements in the late 1960's was donating, to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the first Bowie Knife on display at the Alamo in San Antonio, where it still is located in the gift shop museum.

In 1970, he was one of the eleven founders of the Knifemaker's Guild, along with prominent knifemakers and friends, Bob Loveless and A.G. Russell. Dennehy championed the use of Micarta, a prefabricated material that most custom knifemakers use today for their handles. He helped spread the popularity of the material by telling his friend and foremost knifemaker of the time, Bo Randall, about it - and it caught on quickly throughout the industry. For that and other achievements, he was inducted into the Cutlery Hall of Fame in 2007,

Dennehy also was an expert knife and tomahawk thrower, gaining entry into the Knife Throwers Hall of Fame, and demonstrating his skills at knife shows nationwide. He taught hundreds of people how to throw knives, including his sons, John and Kevin, who joined him at many of the demonstrations.

His Dan-D knives were featured in many national publications such as Sports Illustrated, Field & Stream, Gun World, Sports Afield and many others.

Among the many owners of Dennehy knives were John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, Carlos Hathcock, Barry Goldwater, G. Gordon Liddy, musician Steve Miller and many other celebrities.

His knives, adorned with the Dan-D shamrock logo, have been used by US Military members in every war since World War II. Dennehy was proud that his knives were used by may elite forces including the Navy Seals, Marine Force Recon and the Army's Special Forces. Dennehy was an avid hunter and fisherman - and often could be found pitching a tee pee at local mountain man rendezvous. he was an author and editorial writer, who was published in many newspapers and magazines. He loved to argue politics through his editorials and was a voracious reader.

Dennehy had many friends in the San Luis Valley, who would spend hours at his home listening to his recitation of long poetry and stories. His friends knew he loved his dogs Sheila and Jody. he was also very fond of his 15 year employee, Deb Lindsay, who worked tirelessly as a caregiver. Lindsay's son, Neil, also worked for Dennehy for many years as an apprentice in his knife shop.

He was also a volunteer Deputy Sheriff for the Rio Grande County Sheriff's Office in the 1970's. Dennehy was a graduate of several shooting courses, ranging from shotgun to pistol, operated by friend Col. Jeff Cooper, who was an expert on pistol craft and an editor of Guns and Ammo magazine. He frequently was a guest on G. Gordon Liddy's national radio program.

His five older sisters, Eileen McGoldrick, Mary Frances Burger, Mona C. Mcann, Shirley Mack and Justine Meechan preceeded him in death.

Survivors include his sons, John D. Dennehy, Loveland Co.; Kevin B. Dennehy, Denver; Daniel F. Dennehy, of Phoenix; daughter Nonie J. Rauen of Corpus Christi Texas; eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Cremation was chosen and a memorial service will be scheduled for a later date. Contributions may be made to the Conour Animal Shelter in care of the Upper Rio Grande Animal Society Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 369, Monte Vista, Co, 81144.

Funeral arrangements are by Strohmayer's Funeral Home, Monte Vista. Updated information is available at the Daniel John Dennehy Facebook page.

Mike "Alamo" Bainton:

http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=103144

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/82994-09-10-08.html

http://www.texasmonthly.com/textalk/article?sid=4599

Todd Abrams aka Jack Dagger, The King of Fling:

http://225batonrouge.com/news/2009/jun/22/jack-knife-juggernaut/

Dr. Ted Eisenberg:

http://www.youtube.com/user/DrTedEisenberg#p/a/u/0/4YUaZRIbtd8

Mike and Rosa Gross:

http://www.salemnews.com/local/x1305239950/Long-weekend-is-last-chance-to-catch-this-years-fair

IKTHOF Member Kirk Bass Gives Throwing Lessons To Boy Scouts in Ohio

http://www.greattrailfestival.com

Dear Dr. Michael Bainton, I wanted to send you a quick e-mail to thank you for sending Kirk Bass to our event last Saturday We had 51 kids participate Saturday and Kirk did an outstanding job teaching the kids to safely throw knives and tomahawks. He even encouraged the parents to try when he had enough time. He was a real asset to our program. His help was greatly appreciated by all. We also maintained our perfect safety rating again.

I also wanted to inform you of a Tomahawk Throwing contest on Labor Day at noon at the Great Trails Festival in Malvern, Ohio (See link above). I thought that maybe some members of your organization in the area might like to attend this event. I heard about your drought problems and I am wishing the best for everyone in your area. I finished my time in the army at Ft. Hood and got to love Austin on my free weekends. If it wasn't for family and friends here in Ohio, I would have surely ended up living near Austin, Texas. Again thank you very much for your assistance.

Sincerely, Rick Unkefer (330-678-6396)

2011 IKTHOF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP KNIFE AND HAWK THROW

2011 IKTHOF World Championship Knife and Hawk Throw

THIRTY TWO World Championship Trophies will be available to the winning throwers they are as follows:

2011 World Champion Knife Thrower

Second place Expert Knife Thrower

Third Place Expert Knife Thrower

First Place Intermediate Knife Thrower

Second place Intermediate Knife Thrower

Third place Intermediate Knife Thrower

First place Novice Knife Thrower

Second Place Novice Knife Thrower

Third Place Novice Knife Thrower

2011 World Champion Tomahawk Thrower

Second Place Expert Tomahawk Thrower

Third place Expert Tomahawk Thrower

First Place Intermediate Tomahawk Thrower

Second place intermediate Tomahawk Thrower

Third Place Intermediate Tomahawk Thrower

First Place Novice Tomahawk Thrower

Second Place Novice Tomahawk Thrower

Third Place Novice Tomahawk Thrower

2011 Youth Knife Throwing World Champion

Second Place Youth Knife Throwing Champion

Third Place Youth Knife Throwing Champion

2011 Junior Knife Throwing World Champion

Second Place Junior Knife Throwing Champion

Third Place Junior Knife Thrower

First Place Frontiersman Throw

Second Place Frontiersman Throw

Third Place Frontiersman Throw

First Place Fast Draw

First Place Speed Throw

First Place Long Distance Knife

First Place Long Distance Hawk

Gold Cup Champion cup and $1000 cash

2011 IKTHOF World Championship Knife and Hawk Throw

IKTHOF World Championship Knife and Hawk Throwing Rules:

Knife Throwing:

All categories, Expert, Intermediate, and Novice throwers will throw 3 knives at 3 targets from each distance. Participants will throw a total of 60 knives in one session on four different lanes, 15 knives per lane. Distances are ½ spin 2 meters (6 ft. 6 inches), 1 spin 3 meters( 9 ft 8 inches.), 1 ½ spin 4 meters( 13 ft 2 inches.), 2 spins 5 meters( 16 ft.four inches), 2 ½ spins 6 meters( 19 ft 7 inches.). Knives must be at least 12 inches in length. The targets will be 5 concentric circles: 10 Centimeters, 20 Centimeters, 30 Centimeters, 40 Centimeters and 50 Centimeters with values of 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Target heights are Top Left 152 Centimeters, Center 127 Centimeters, and top right152 Centimeters respectively.

Tomahawk Throwing:

All categories, Expert, Intermediate, and Novice throwers will throw 3 Tomahawks at 3 targets from each distance. Participants will throw a total of 36 hawks in one session on four different lanes, 9 hawks per lane. Distances are 1 spin 4 meters( 13 ft 1 inch), 1 ½ spin 5 meters ( 16 ft. 4 inches ) and 2 spins 6 meters ( 19 ft. 7 inches ). Tomahawk handles must be at least 36 centimeters (14 inches) from the poll (the top of the hawk head) to the end of the handle. The blade must be no more than 12 centimeters (4 ½ in) or less tip to tip.

Silhouette:

Throwers will throw 15 knives at specific points each signified by a 10 centimeter (4 inch) circle. Five down the left side, five down the right side and five above the head of the cutout depicting a person. 5 points will be given for each circle hit for a maximum score of 75 points. All throws will be thrown the distance minimum of 3 meters (9ft 8 inches).

Speed Throw:

Throwers will stand behind the 2 meter mark (6 ft 6 inches) Throwers upon hearing the signal will throw as many knives and stick them into the face of the target as possible for a period of twenty seconds. The thrower with the most knives in the face of the target will win the contest.

Long Distance Knife:

Throwers will qualify from beyond the 6 meter line (19 ft 7 inches). One stick out of three knives is required to continue. All throwers will have numbers. The lowest qualifying number will throw first and will throw three knives at the target from beyond the highest distance of the longest qualifying throw. One knife of the three is all that is required to set a new distance. The next qualifier will throw beyond that distance until a winner is determined.

Long Distance Hawk:

Throwers will qualify from beyond the 6 meter line (19 ft 7 inches). One stick out of three Hawks is required to continue. All throwers will have numbers. The lowest qualifying number will throw first and will throw three Hawks at the target from beyond the highest distance of the longest qualifying throw. One Hawk of the three is all that is required to set a new distance. The next qualifier will throw beyond that distance until a winner is determined.

Fast Draw

Two throwers will stand in front of two targets with their arms extended. At the command of a third party both throwers will grab for their belt knife and throw the knife into their target. The knife must stick into the designated area on the target so speed as well as accuracy is the object of the contest. The knife can be placed anywhere on the body providing that the complete blade of the knife is enclosed in a sheath to the guard or handle. No part of the blade can show until pulled by the competitor.