Throwing stars, also known as shuriken, are cool and all, but one look at it and you give away the fact that you’re a dirty ninja assassin (or a nerd LARPing as one). Sure, it’s fun having bladed weapons you can throw at oncoming adversaries (heck, it’s fun having a toy you can throw at people), but there’s just no way to be subtle, given how familiar people are with shuriken designs. If you want a more low-key throwing weapon, maybe you can go with these SOG Throwing Death Cards instead.
Are they real playing cards? No, they’re not, since it comes only comes with four in the set and we don’t know a single card game that can played with that little number of cards. Instead, the likeness gives them a more innocuous appearance, making you look like little more than a military nerd who likes those US Special Forces “death cards” from the Vietnam days where the designs are based on.
The SOG Throwing Death Cards are made from 2.8mm-thick stainless steel that weigh 2.7 oz each, so these feel absolutely substantial enough for throwing, ensuring they can maintain proper trajectory, so you can hit any targets you aim at. From what we can tell, only the corners are really sharp, so you should be able to safely handle them using the edges, letting you aim and throw properly with any intent you want behind it. And yes, you can probably sharpen the edges if you want to using our favorite knife sharpeners.
The backside of each card features a skull with a beret, which hints at the Special Forces inspiration. The front, on the other hand, comes with designs for Ace of Spades, Ace of Hearts, Ace of Clubs, and Ace of Diamonds, all in that vintage art style that’s reminiscent of tattoos that were popular from the 60s through the 80s. It’s kind of kitsch and kind of retro, with just a hint of tactical vibe.
The SOG Throwing Death Cards comes with a four-fold nylon wallet that has four separate compartments for holding each of the individual cards. This should make them very safe to carry with you, all while fitting comfortably inside a pants pocket. That means, you can easily take them the next time one of your friends host a throwing competition in their backyard. Is it as cool as those ninja throwing stars? We don’t know. That will depend a lot on your particular tastes in small projectile blades. We do think they look pretty awesome, though, all while offering something different for those who aren’t really into the whole ninja aesthetic.
Should SOG release a full deck of these things? We think so. Of course, a full deck of 2.8mm-thick cards probably aren’t as manageable as a full deck traditional playing cards. Yeah, good luck bringing that deck anywhere, much less playing poker with it and seeing everyone in the table get some sort of cuts and bruises from all the blade edges. Actually, that does make it sound fun, so we won’t be surprised if someone actually customizes a full deck using these throwing cards as inspiration.
The SOG Throwing Death Cards are available now, priced at $29.95.
