True story, no BS:
Back in college a guy from Lousiana (Hi, HeroHog) showed me how to throw a knife and I had the opportunity to practice a lot into an abandoned shooting backstop. I got to be fairly good at it, and no, you do not need "balanced" knives.
No sh t, all true:
Anyhow, I was working on a roomate's car in the driveway and one of our friends came by and no, I did not initiate the question, but he said the roomate told him I knew how to throw a knife and I said yeah, I knew. So the BS about "balanced knives" came up and I told him it was easier, but not necessary, and it just made each throw the same, since they usually come in packs of three.
Honest to gawd and no exaggeration:
So I picked up a large screwdriver from my toolbox, hefted it a little to find the right place to hold it, and threw it at one of the picket fenceposts. Maybe 25 feet away, and that's the only guesswork involved in this true story.
Whunk! Dead center and it stuck there.
His eyes widened and he expletived loudly and of course he wanted to see me do it again, but I told him I didn't want to 'cause it was getting dark and I had to get my roomate's car running, but I did explain some of the principles involved, including estimating the distance to make the blade turn over just once, how to keep your hand rigid in the throw, and the estimation of the right point on the blade to make turn it over just that once in that distance, and how it ain't a perfect science anyhow.
I swearta gawd, I don't think I could do that again without a significant amount of help from a guy named Chance H. Appenstance, but there it was, that one time when it counted.
And I was just as surprised as my friend.
All true, no BS, no crap.
Terry