Review: Gil Hibben Large GenX Pro Throwers (GH5029)

So, here we go, my first knife review! As a novice, am I qualified to review a knife competently? Good question. Is anyone on the Internet really qualified to do anything?…Other than him. Okay, other than her. Look, just shut up and read…

Hibbens have always fascinated me; they seem to be the Nikes and Rolexes of throwing knives, so I really wanted to see what their knives are about after owning a Hibben axe. The first Hibbens I bought were these 8.5 inch, 5 ounce throwers.

To be honest, I don’t like them. They have decent weight, but the length makes it hard to distance them for reliable sticking, neither at the short nor long distance-marks for the throwers I already owned. I needed a knife that was about the same length as my faves, which led me to the more expensive but comparably-lengthed GenX series. There are three designs in this line: tanto, dagger, and…well, these.

Bowie? Kukri? Whatever it is, it’s cool.

These knives are big. No, you don’t understand–they are big. At 11 inches and 11.8 ounces, you will feel it after an hour of tossing them.

This is one seriously massive piece of metal.

One nice thing about these knives is that, unlike every other thrower I’ve bought, these shipped to me quite dull, which makes them a very nice candidate for blade throwing right out of the box, with no need to neuter the knife with a file.

You can see that the design and weight give it plenty of power. Notice how wide the mark is, almost like an axe blade.

Take a look at the tip. It’s more of a wedge than a point, which means I pretty much have to hit the target straight-on to get a stick. I also have to throw these beasts with a good deal more muscle than I have to use with any of my other blades. But when they hit, it sounds like the Hibben axe, and the target shakes like I walked up and punched it.

I suppose that the knives are designed to be thrown using the Hibben technique, which may be why they sometimes tumble en route to the target. I really should read his book…at some point.

I do like the scalloping on the handle, both because it lightens this quite massive blade and also for the comfort the scoops provide.

For being so heavy, it’s really a comfortable knife to throw.

All in all, I would buy these again. The weight takes some getting used to, but it’s very satisfying to sink these big boys three in a row, and I’m pleased to have found a Hibben knife that I like. Take a look at the GenX series; I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.