Indiana bill could legalize throwing stars

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - Senate Bill 341 would make recreational use of throwing stars legal for people over the age of 12.

For Scott Railey who owns one of the biggest knife stores in Tri-State, Patriot Knifeworks, opening that floodgate would actually probably not make too much of a difference.

“They’re a curiosity more than anything, I think,” he said. “I think the fact that they’ve been illegal probably contributes to that.”

The bill would undo a law from the 1980s that banned the use, possession, sale and manufacturing of what they called “Chinese throwing stars.”

It’s worth noting that throwing stars, also known as shuriken, are a Japanese invention.

As a business owner that already sells throwing knives and recently legalized automatic knives, Railey said he finds the current restrictions strange.

“I mean if you want to hurt someone, you could throw a hammer at them or hit them with a ball bat or anything else,” he said. “I think they’ll be used primarily for sport, just like people throw axes.”

Few people know about that kind of sport quite like Kyle Rickenbaugh, who owns Plaid and Timber Axe Throwing Company in Evansville. He actually competes nationally in knife and axe-throwing competitions.

“[The bill] was exciting to see,” he said. “It’s something that we would be able to add.”

He said, oddly enough, his business’s insurance covers the use of throwing stars, but because they’re illegal, he just can’t do anything with them.

Still, he said because the stars have blades on every side, they may be safer than knives or axes because they’re guaranteed to stick in a target.

“We do leagues and stuff with the axes and knives,” Rickenbaugh said. “We would probably try to come up with some fun stuff to do with the stars.”

For now, that’s all still just a dream until Senate Bill 341 is passed. The bill was introduced on Jan. 11.

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