Throwing Knife

The Throwing Knife is an equipment choice in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Players receive only one knife if they choose to use it as their equipment; however, the knife can be recovered after throwing it from wherever it was thrown by pressing F, Square or X for the PC version, PS3, or Xbox 360 respectively. The Throwing Knife is a one-hit kill weapon regardless of where it hits the body or how far away the target is. The only time this versatile weapon wouldn't be able to do so is when it is being used in a private match where the health has been set to double (as with melee knifing, the throwing knife only does 135 damage, therefore it cannot kill a target with 200 health).

When the player throws a knife and misses their target, the throwing knife will most likely hit the ground or a wall; if it hits the ground, it will sometimes ricochet and flip an extra several feet. The player will have to find and pick it up to use it again. If it hits the wall, the player can simply go up to it and pick it up. However, if a knife ricochets off a wall or the ground, it is still deadly and can kill as long as it hasn't stopped moving. Players are also able to pick up knives that have been thrown by someone else, but only if they selected throwing knife as their equipment.

The throwing knife is popular with stealth classes as it is silent, gives no warning (unlike grenades), and even if the player misses, there is a good chance the target will not notice (unless they see the knife go straight by or hear it ricochet off a wall).

However, it has a very short range, as it rapidly descends towards the ground the farther it is thrown. Only at very close range will it throw perfectly straight. Thus, similar to the Grenade Launcher, at longer ranges it is necessary to aim above the target for the throw to be accurate. The throwing knife is considered one of the hardest weapons to master because it requires practice to aim at targets and throw it, usually in a quick succession. Many user-made throwing knife montages exist on the Internet.

Though sometimes considered something of a novelty, the Throwing Knife is particularly useful in several scenarios:
 * As a ranged, silent, one-hit kill for any class, useful either during infiltrations (in which using a "loud" weapon would give the player away) or when a standard knife attack would be difficult or impossible.
 * As a ranged option that does not consume ammunition for classes that do not have the Scavenger perk (Bling or Marathon classes, typically). For such classes, using the Throwing Knife literally as an alternative to standard weapons allows the player to extend their useful lifespan well beyond what would be considered typical if they were using ammunition constantly.
 * As a counter for "witch" classes. (Marathon, Lightweight, and Commando) that can kill them in one hit outside their knife range (though this takes practice against such a maneuverable target). Conversely, the Throwing Knife can be used by such "witch" classes to eliminate a target that is outside of knifing range quickly and easily.
 * As an indirect form of attack over obstacles or down staircases. This tactic can be used to great effect in narrow staircases such as the small, cramped staircase in Skidrow, where one can throw a knife straight forward and it will automatically curve down and hit any opponent that is anywhere on or near the staircase.
 * As a ranged weapon for Riot Shield classes due to the speed at which the throwing knife can be directed at an enemy, allowing the riot shield user to expose him/herself for a minimal amount of time.
 * As a method of quickly evening the odds in pitched gunfights: if a player is confronted suddenly with multiple opponents, a well-placed Throwing Knife can significantly reduce the odds against the player. This is not as difficult as it might seem: when opponents are bunched up and when the player is firing from the hip (particularly when using a shotgun) at close range, it becomes much easier to hit at least one opponent with a Throwing Knife, thus taking one opponent out of the fight instantly and giving the player better odds of finishing off their opponents. Conversely, the throwing knife can be used instead of reloading to kill one last opponent, though this is a risky proposition: by delaying a reload, the player runs the risk of missing his throw and then being unable to reload in time to finish said opponent.
 * As a last-ditch weapon to use when all ammunition is exhausted.
 * As with all equipment, throwing knives may be used while climbing over obstacles or on ladders.
 * It is also used as a weapon for Riot Shield users when they are trying to run away, or when people run towards them and try to knife them from the back.
 * To kill unsuspecting or distracted enemies quickly.

Tactics

 * It is best to use the throwing knife in conjunction with the Scavenger perk, as it takes a few seconds (which can often mean the difference between life or death) to pick it up. When you walk over a dead enemy the knife will be automatically picked up.
 * Even if a knife throw is a little bit too short, it can still bounce off a wall or object and kill. This is helpful in taking out enemies hiding behind riot shields, since flanking a shield user is difficult but knives to the legs kill.
 * The throwing knife has the same arc and range as the frag grenade. Players who have become accurate with grenades may be able to use the throwing knife more extensively.
 * Throwing knives will become stuck into a riot shield if the player manages to hit an enemy carrying one. It is possible to pick up your throwing knife when it is stuck into a riot shield.
 * Provided that the person using it is skilled enough, it may be possible to kill a person using a riot shield with a throwing knife, doing this by ricocheting the knife off an object, so it will bounce back at an angle, killing the person holding the shield from behind.
 * Additionally, one can kill a riot shield user by throwing a knife somewhere under the shield where it usually bounces back up and kills the target.
 * Don't expect the knife to ricochet all the time; more often than not, throwing knives simply stick to whatever surface they're thrown at.
 * Instead of aiming through the cross hairs of the throwing knife, quickly tapping R2 or the right bumper while aimed to the center of mass will almost guarantee a hit.
 * The knife can be thrown through windows. This can give you an advantage. If you are in a building or area with multiple windows, you can throw it through a window that is away from your location, making players think that you are by that window. Some players might go to that broken window, giving you easy targets, points and kills.
 * Throwing knives replace any equipment, which generally are more useful for non-stealth classes.
 * After throwing the knife, whether you kill someone with it or not, try not to go for it immediately on small maps (such as Rust), as people will probably be around the location temporarily. It would be best either to wait for about 10 seconds or so (if you REALLY need it), or wait for your next spawn to get it back.
 * It is possible to kill someone that has a riot shield by throwing the knife straight into the shield. This is rare, however, but it makes a funny kill.
 * In contrast, throwing knives are common to see on players using Riot Shields, as it adds ranged capability while only exposing the player for a brief moment.

Call of Duty: Black Ops
The throwing knife is confirmed to appear in the single player level WMD, when one of the player's teammates kills an enemy with a throwing knife.

Trivia

 * The Infinity Ward logo can be seen on the side of the throwing knife. This is most easily seen with a sniper scope.
 * The throwing knife's image in the Create-A-Class menu is a cartoonized version of the Tactical Knife's image in the Create-A-Class menu.
 * Sometimes, if a knife is thrown at an enemy's hands or feet while they are near a wall, they will be pinned to the wall.
 * If you ask a teammate to throw a throwing knife at you while you have a throwing knife equipped, you will have 2 throwing knives. When you throw your knife, you can pick up your teammate's knife off of your own body.
 * It takes two throwing knifes to kill when playing on double health in split screen/private match.
 * If the player goes on to Terminal and throws a throwing knife through one of the metal detectors, it will light up as if the player had walked right through it.
 * On the throwing knife, there are the words Ryan Lastimosa.
 * When you are using the throwing knife with the Riot Shield, you throw the knife with the same hand that you hold the shield with (Your left hand). This would require the player to put the shield down, throw the knife, then pick the shield up again. This would be nearly impossible to do, especially if you are moving.
 * The throwing knife can only hit one person: it cannot go through one or more people.
 * A throwing knife can still kill a player after it bounces on the ground, however it cannot bounce more than once.
 * The Create-A-Class icon for the throwing knife shows the Call of Duty 4 knife rather than the Modern Warfare 2 knife.
 * Throwing Knives can eventually cause a car to explode if a player has the patience to keep throwing the knife off of a car and retrieving it.
 * If you hit yourself with a throwing knife, you will recive no damage from the knife directly. This can be done by standing right by a tall wall, looking up as far as you can, throw the throwing kinfe and then back up and hope the knife hits you. If it was in a position that if it could hit you that you would die, you see the knife go through your vision. This has yet to be tested on hardcore game modes and ricochet modes.

Video
thumb|left|300px|Throwing Knife montage thumb|300px|right|A video demonstrating how to effectively use the Throwing Knife at all ranges