Sociotard Posted December 17, 2004 Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 Okay, my friend was watching poker on TV. I normally don't think of that as a spectator sport, but whatever. They start talking about one of the players, named Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, and cut to a video short to demonstrate a talent of his. He throws cards, and he throws them about 70 MPH. He throws them so fast and so well, he can use them like throwing knives. I'm not kidding. As we watched, he threw them straight threw a banana, choping it in half with one hit. Then he did a carrot. With bona fide normal playing cards. Granted, fruits and vegetables aren't the toughest items in the kitchen, but I was still impressed. Even if they couldn't cut through meat and bone, I bet they could give someone a noticeable owwie. Chris Ferguson On a side note, the foodstuffs weren't, as I would have expected, held in place with a vise, or similar mechanical apparatus. They were being held by a 'lovely assitent'. William Tell would be proud. Can you imagine getting an ace of spades wedged in your knuckles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sociotard Posted December 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! I just did a quick search. I turned up a few sites on the subject, including this one on technique: http://www.davidslife.com/funstuff/cards/ I even heard a rumor about a Karate instructor who can embed them in planks of wood! See, now I gotta make a gambler for our fantasy game, with this talent included. I'll call it 1/2 d6 RKA, IAF, reduced penetration, real weapon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! Cool. I'll have to go back to that site the next time I try to teach myself card-throwing. Unfortunately, most of my attempts to teach myself neat card-handling tricks haven't worked so well; it's hard to learn from pictures. I can do a pretty nice one-handed cut with either hand, but that's all I got. The riffle shuffle and the card throw as yet elude me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent 13 Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! There's always Ricky Jay's masterwork on the subject, Cards As Weapons. (Sadly out-of-print, I believe.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiawarr Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! Mythbusters did a show on card throwing recently - even created a machine that could throw cards. Adam Savage, one of the hosts, has a pretty good arm. I think this is either on Discovery Channel or History Channel if you want to try to catch the rerun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trencher Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! Finally we know who cardshark V is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted December 19, 2004 Report Share Posted December 19, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! Mythbusters did a show on card throwing recently - even created a machine that could throw cards. Adam Savage' date=' one of the hosts, has a pretty good arm. I think this is either on Discovery Channel or History Channel if you want to try to catch the rerun.[/quote'] It was on the Discovery Channel. Jamie Hyneman, the other host, allowed himself to be used as a target and received only two very small cuts. One, thrown by Ricky Jay, did cut through a cigarette that was in Adam's mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewing Posted December 19, 2004 Report Share Posted December 19, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! It was on the Discovery Channel. Jamie Hyneman' date=' the other host, allowed himself to be used as a target and received only two very small cuts. One, thrown by Ricky Jay, did cut through a cigarette that was in Adam's mouth.[/quote'] Just a reminder of the resiliency of living skin. Hunters talk about some animals, for example a weird African antelope introduced to Texas. as "tough skinned." This isn't going to stop a bullet (unless a spent one hitting like a thrown rock) but it tends to squeeze the entry hole shut and it is very possible for a bullet to be caught by the skin on the far side. If the bullet is expanded and NEarly stopped, the skin stretches enough to absorb the energy without being penetrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shem_whistler Posted December 19, 2004 Report Share Posted December 19, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! For a good cinematic example of this skill in practice check out Jackie Chan's "Cityhunter". One of the main characters has this ability. Cheers Shem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Serpent Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! Bullseye's been doing that for years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! When I was in school (either elementary or junior high) we watched a video on storms that showed the effects of a tornado, of which part of the impressiveness was a playing card embedded halfway into a tree. I've given, and received, paper cuts with playing cards to/from my buds. Not by throwing, but slashing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edsel Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! Below is a synopsis of the Mythbuster episode that dealt with the "Deadly Poker Cards." Mythbuster Playing cards as weapons (Killer Deck) Myth: an ordinary playing card can kill you with a powerful throw. Adam is really good at throwing cards (been doing it since he was 10), so this was a personal mission for him. Ricky Jay: card throwing "expert," author of Cards as Weapons, a book describing the use of the playing card as a weapon. He can throw cards up to 90mph (Adam can only throw 25mph). Adam wants to build a machine that can throw a card. He and Jamie face off in their competing designs, and as always, Jamie's simple design (modelled on a baseball pitching machine) wins out. Adam tried to replicate arm mechanics with a spring loaded mechanism and fake fingertips, that he admits was "over elegant." In Jamie's words, "Adam actually had a pretty clever idea. It doesn't work, but it was pretty clever." Jamie's design was pretty awesome. It flung cards through two spinning wheels at 70mph. I want one. One of the spinning wheels did break apart due to the 30,000 rpm speed. I still want one. The rebuilt throwing machine (with metal wheel) flung cards at 150mph. They tested on ballistics gel to measure how it might actually penetrate human flesh. Ballistics gel experiment: 1/4" with Adam throwing. 1/2" with 150mph card throwing machine 7" with pellet gun 20" with heavy crossbow bolt After it was pretty clear that even the card throwing machine wouldn't do much damage, Jamie offered to be the target for once. It drew a little bit of blood, but not much more. Mythbusted Still I suppose that if you could somehow sharpen the edge of your cards or perhaps use cards made from some non-standard material you might be able to get some more deadly results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! Still I suppose that if you could somehow sharpen the edge of your cards or perhaps use cards made from some non-standard material you might be able to get some more deadly results. Well, the Mythbusters, while good-intentioned, don't always go through all their options. I remember seeing the episode on the "urinating on the third rail" where one of them wasn't convinced of it, despite the fact that people were hospitalized (relatively) recently for doing so. That, and their "urinating dummy" dribbled the urine, as opposed to having a strong flow to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewing Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! THin steel cards would be a whole different world... Below is a synopsis of the M ythbuster episode that dealt with the "Deadly Poker Cards." Still I suppose that if you could somehow sharpen the edge of your cards or perhaps use cards made from some non-standard material you might be able to get some more deadly results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! Well' date=' the Mythbusters, while good-intentioned, don't always go through all their options. I remember seeing the episode on the "urinating on the third rail" where one of them wasn't convinced of it, despite the fact that people were hospitalized (relatively) recently for doing so. That, and their "urinating dummy" dribbled the urine, as opposed to having a strong flow to it.[/quote'] They should revisit that third rail thing, just so we can see the phrase "pressurized urine container" on TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbdaury Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! Once you have the techniques down pat, modifying the card to suit would not be that hard- sharpened aluminum edges would likely work well enough, or just coat the cards with one of those super-durable plastics they use for collector sports and sharpened to a nice razor-sharp edge... (okay, maybe I put too much thought into this) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! I think high-quality steel wafers with the cards printed on them would be the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithcurtis Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! Bullseye's been doing that for years! Yeah, but him, he's magic. Keith "I'd want the deck to be 52 Aces of Spades" Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sociotard Posted December 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 Re: Holy Poker Card Shuriken! I actually found a few sites offering sharpened metal cards, usually in a sets of a given hand (a royal flush, a full house, etc). I was surprised that none of them came in the famouse "Aces and Eights.", better known as the "Dead Man's Hand" Link for the steel cards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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