Harry K. McEvoy was a knife craftsman and thrower through the early 1900’s and often credited as a pioneer of modern knife throwing, established the first known knife throwing target in 1938. He played a significant role in formalizing many standards of knife throwing in his published works.
Harry McEvoy, a talented painter, salesman, and the mastermind behind the Tru-Balance line of handcrafted cutlery, specialized in creating exceptional throwing knives.
In 1949 Harry founded the Tru-Balance Knife Company which is still in production today supplying knives for professional and sportsman throwers around the world.
In the spring of 1964, Harry joined forces with Charles Gruzanski (a skilled martial artist and knife thrower) and to create the first-ever book on the modern sport of knife throwing, titled “Knife Throwing as a Modern Sport,” published by Charles C. Thomas in 1965.
To complement this initiative, they launched a bi-monthly publication, “The Knife Thrower,”. Unfortunately, this venture saw only seven issues before meeting its demise, concluding with a Special Issue in 1966.
That didn’t stop Harry from continuing his passion for knife throwing. Just three years later he self-published a booklet on Knife Throwing in the Professional Style. He continued in 1970 to create Harry K. McEvoy, founder of Tru-Balance Knife Co of Grand Rapids, Michigan started the American Knife Throwers Alliance.
McEvoy also authored numerous articles for Knife World Magazine, Blade Magazine, Muzzleloading Magazine, Fighting Knives Magazine, and many more too numerous to name.
After 40 years of knife throwing history, Harry passed away after a brief illness in 1993. But his legacy lives on today through the American Knife Throwers Alliance which is still in operation today by knife thrower and knife maker Bobby Branton of Awendaw, South Carolina.
