Line #144 Main/TheBladeAlwaysLandsPointyEndIn


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sword_1834.png]]
2
3	->'''Merrill:''' How did you learn to do that thing with the knives, Tallis?\
4	'''Tallis:''' Throwing them?\
5	'''Merrill:''' Yes. Isabela does that sometimes, too. How do you keep it from hitting someone hilt-first and just bonking them on the nose?\
6	'''Tallis:''' Oh, that happens all the time, actually. You just act like you meant to do that. Which is really hard sometimes and ruins the moment.
7	-->-- ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII''
8
9	Have you ever noticed that when you drop a piece of toast, it will always land buttered side down? (Wait, [[JustForFun/TropesExaminedByTheMythBusters you haven't?]] But never mind.) Well, if media is to be believed, something similar happens if you drop or throw a weapon -- it will ''always'' land pointy side down. And not only that, but it will always penetrate the ground at a neat angle between 90 and 45 degrees and stay upright. Why? [[RuleOfCool Because it looks cool, of course!]]
10
11	This also applies to vertical surfaces, with the blade almost always at a perfect 90-degree angle to the wall or cliff. Also when a dagger ([[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks or sword]]) is thrown into a person it will stick out at a perfect 90-degree angle.
12
13	In more ridiculous instances, this will even apply to blunt weapons like staves.
14
15	Depending on the type and quality of the special effects, this can be justified a bit; the padding that the faux blade rests in once it's hit an actor needs to keep the blade there for a bit, and a 90-degree angle does this easiest since it gives the blade more support.
16
17	Can be TruthInTelevision sometimes, but only if the pointy end is heavier, which is common on cleaving weapons like axes but not with certain swords, since the center of balance of a thin sword like the one in the page picture is close to the hilt. However, even in balanced swords, the pointy end is so much longer that with enough spin, it is still likely to strike blade-first, if perhaps not point-first; so long as the blade travels less distance in the course of one revolution than the difference in length between the blunt and sharp ends, the sharp bits will always hit first.
18
19	Knife-throwing is another example commonly seen in fiction, but in reality, it takes a bunch of practice to do correctly, as judging rotation and distance is extremely difficult. Balanced throwing knives are preferred by professional throwers, as both handle and blade heavy knives have slightly different rotation patterns that require the thrower to adjust for. A balanced knife can be thrown either with a handle or blade grip. For unbalanced knives, the technique is to grip opposite of the heavy end, so the weighted end gets thrown first. This is because it's more difficult to generate consistent rotation when you throw with the lighter part leading.
20
21	When the sword is used to climb, stand, or swing off of after penetration, it's also SteppingStoneSword. When thrown intentionally, may overlap with ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks. When physically driven into the earth by hand, it's a SwordPlant.
22
23	----
24	!!Examples
25
26	[[foldercontrol]]
27
28	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
29	* It happened sometimes in ''Anime/MazingerZ'', but it was more frequent in ''Anime/GreatMazinger'' since Great Mazinger was the first HumongousMecha sword-wielder. ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'', SinisterScythe also followed this trope every so often.
30	* Done in the most epic way, in ''Anime/{{Mazinkaiser}}'', where the title character [[CurbStompBattle curstomps]] the Evil Guy, Ankoku Daishogun, and his sword, that flew off his hands almost a minute ago, lands in the pointy end in the middle of the very face of said evil guy. Bonus point that said Big Bad Evil Guy had two heads, one over the shoulders and another in the torso. Mazinkaiser ripped his first head with Dual Rocket Punches, before said end.
31	* It happened every so often in ''Anime/{{Daimos}}''. If a sword-wielder was defeated, often his sword landed tip-first. It happened even to [[TheLancer Kyoshiro]].
32	* Taken to a ridiculous extreme in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', episode 31: in a fencing match against Dorothy Catalonia, her sword ends up like this. The ridiculous part? They were practice fencing swords, with a round point! How did he manage that? We will never know.
33	* ''Anime/PanzerWorldGalient'': Swords ''always'' act like this in this series. In one episode, two characters are dueling when the vehicle where they are standing on blows up. The sword of one of them flew away and landed right on its tip.
34	* Happens ''constantly'' in ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}''; even a staff and a boomerang are capable of pulling off this feat. This is especially ridiculous when you remember Tessaiga will shrink from a {{BFS}} to a normal katana when it leaves the titular character's hand, which should leave it sitting in a crater, which should in turn destabilize it enough for it to fall over.
35	* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', Zoro tests a super-sharp cursed sword against his luck by throwing it in the air and holding his arm out. The sword spins around his arm perfectly and lands point down, sinking through the wood floor almost to the hilt. {{Justified\|Trope}} as the sword is semi-sentient; it's implied that Zoro's courage earned its respect and loyalty.
36	* In ''Literature/RecordOfLodossWar'', all weapons land on the pointy end. Always! It happens about two or three times each episode.
37	* In ''Manga/SoulEater'', Mifune uses a StormOfBlades to create a FieldOfBlades, using this principle. Every single sword he threw [read: launched 20 of them simultaneously into the air without seeming to even aim] landed PointyEndIn, and stuck with enough firmness that he could [[SteppingStoneSword run across their hilts at one point]]. A bunch landed this way even one time he launched them directly out of his big case, where they started with their ''handles'' facing the target, by '''kicking the opposite end of the box a bunch of times.'''
38	* Inverted in ''Anime/YuGiOhTheMoviePyramidOfLight''. When Yugi tosses the Dagger of Fate, the weapon turns end over end in flight, and the ''hilt'' ends up hitting the target, though that was enough to do its job.
39	* During the final battle of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', Deed's sword lands in this manner when she's taken out [[spoiler:[[FriendlySniper by a head shot from Vice]]]].
40	* Used in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', mostly so that [[{{Determinator}} Sayaka]] can pull it back out of the ground like a boss. It doesn't ''always'' happen, but it manages to do this in some pretty ridiculous scenarios, like when Homura knocks her out and she drops her sword; it magically flips over and jams itself in the ground.
41	* During the Sasuke-v-Deidara fight in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', Deidara uses a clay dragon to strafe Sasuke with missiles while his intangible partner turns the ground into a minefield. A blast knocks Sasuke's sword out of his hands and it lands blade-first. Then, just when Deidara thinks it's all over, it turns out that was deliberate - it [[SteppingStoneSword gives Sasuke somewhere safe to stand]] ''and'' boosts the range of his attacks enough to knock his dragon out of the air.
42	* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'':
43	** [[{{Tsundere}} Casca]] throws a knife at Guts when she awakens after a fall into a river to find that [[IntimateHealing he had stripped her of her soaking wet clothes in order to warm her]]; it sticks blade-first in the tree by his head. Somewhat plausible in the manga and television series, where it could conceivably have been a weighted throwing knife. Less so in the theatrical film, where it is a ''rapier''.
44	** During the Hawks' DarkestHour, Corkus strikes his sword against a boulder in frustration and despair and snaps it in half. The broken-off shard of blade spins into the air and plants itself tip-first in the ground as Corkus falls to his knees. HilariousInHindsight verging on HarsherInHindsight when [[spoiler: a "broken" Corkus also attempts to plant himself tip-first right before dying.]]
45	* In ''Anime/TheMysteriousCitiesOfGold'', Esteban removes and throws away a sword jammed into the Golden Condor's wing. The weapon lands on the pointy end.
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Comic Books]]
49	* The French comic ''Le Chant d'Excalibur'' ("''Excalibur's Song''") [[RunningGag has this happen regularly]] (it ''is'' the Sword in the Stone, after all) whether it be in stone, wood or other material.
50	* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': During Diana's first fight with Medusa, she throws the sword ComicBook/{{Artemis}} lent her at the gorgon's head. Medusa dodges it by a hair and the blade gets planted in the wall being her head.
51	* In the ''ComicBook/{{Thorgal}}'' story "The Black Galley", a galley master is killed with a thrown dagger that buries itself in his throat point first. It's slightly justified in that the thrower is shown to have thrown it as a dart with the blade first.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
55	* Defied in ''ComicStrip/ModestyBlaise'': Willie Garvin's weapons are throwing knives, but he can hit his targets with the blade or pommel at will. He usually uses the pommel, since he is just that good and prefers not to kill people.
56	[[/folder]]
57
58	[[folder:Fan Works]]
59	* ''Fanfic/AChildShallLeadThemTransformers'': Averted. When Swoop throws his sword in anger, it hits the wall and bounces off, leaving a gash.
60	* Mahanon throws one of his knives into the throat of a Venatori menacing his {{love interest}} Cassandra, in ''Fanfic/TwiceUponAnAge: All This Sh*t is Twice as Weird''.
61	* Inverted in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''/''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' crossover ''Fanfic/TheVampireOfSteel'' when a stake lands pointing upwards.
62	-->With that, Buffy used her borrowed hand to pull Supergirl’s last Kryptonian stake from the back of her belt. But she was a little late. Zol-Am was upon her, slamming a powerful hand into her arm, knocking the weapon out of her hand. It fell, end over end, three hundred feet to the ground. It landed on the lawn of the Sunnydale High School. It was, incredibly, pointing up.
63	* In ''Fanfic/LiveAHeroMHA'', Izuku was raised as a {{Tykebomb}} by the League of Villains to be able to do this with any kind of knife. Even when he's actively trying not to hurt others, he can still easily sink a knife into a concrete wall blade-first with a flick of his wrist in the middle of a fight against Iida, who has SuperSpeed.
64	* Averted in one episode of ''Fanfic/PowerRangersTakeFlight'' when one of the Rangers' Talon Swords gets knocked out of their hand and lands on the ground nearby; lampshaded in the creator's commentary when the author points out "the rules of cinematography dictate the blade lands in the ground pointy end first".
65	[[/folder]]
66
67	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
68	* Happens constantly in ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'', where bladed weapons stick in literally ''everything'' point first -- the ground, buildings, trees...
69	* Happens in ''WesternAnimation/{{Bionicle}}: Mask of Light'' when Tahu and Kopaka get knocked out.
70	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks'': Not a weapon in this case, but the neck of Applejack's bass guitar lands straight into one of Pinkie's drums during the DisasterDominoes sequence interrupting "Awesome as I Want to Be". It can be seen still here even as the principals announce the winner of the demi-finals for the musical showcase.
71	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH'' has a dagger thrown by [[spoiler:Sullivan to kill Jenner in a [[DeathEqualsRedemption dying act of redemption]]]] land this way.
72	[[/folder]]
73
74	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
75	* The Mad Hatter does this with a pair of ''scissors'' in ''Film/AliceInWonderland2010'', to disarm the Knave of Hearts.
76	* ''Film/AssassinsCreed2016'': Maria uses throwing knives, most notably during the escape from the pyre.
77	* In the climax of ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', Thanos throws his ''broken'' sword like a spear to [[spoiler: destroy Scott's van and the quantum tunnel in it]], and scores a perfect hit.
78	* Averted at the end of ''Film/BigTroubleInLittleChina'' when Jack Burton throws his dagger at [[BigBad Lo Pan]] [[spoiler:''and misses'' -- the dagger bounces off the wall and clatters harmlessly to the floor. Lo Pan picks it up, amused, and flicks it back at Jack, who snatches it out of the air and throws it back again, this time nailing the sucker right between the eyes!]] "It's all in the reflexes."
79	* The end of ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'' had one of these with Wallace's claymore.
80	* {{Inverted}} by the second ''Film/CrocodileDundee'' film. Mick Dundee wants to knock out a guard with his knife. Because the pointy end always lands first when he throws it holding the blade, he flips it around and throws it by the handle, causing the ''handle'' to hit the guard in the head and render him unconscious instead of drawing blood.
81	* In ''{{Film/Damsel}}'', When Lord Bayford drops his sword while [[spoiler: fighting the dragon]], it lands with the point sticking into the ground.
82	* Defied/Inverted in ''{{Film/Deadpool2}}'': When they first meet, Deadpool uses his ImprobableAimingSkills to [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks throw his Katana]] at Russell in such a way that it hits him squarely with the pommel, knocking him unconscious without otherwise injuring him.
83	* Happens in ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'' at the end. Giselle apparently has enough strength to make a thrown sword pierce a metal decoration, with enough strength to support a grown man's weight.
84	* In ''Film/Firestorm1998'', Jesse throws his pulaski at Shaye and it buries itself blade first in his chest.
85	* ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'': When Kong's axe is sent revolving through the air amidst the Hong Kong battle, it comes to a stop upon getting embedded blade-first in the side of a skyscraper mid-revolution. In the penultimate scene, when the axe falls [[spoiler:as Kong literally buries the hatchet]], it lands blade-first and the blade seems to lodge in the ground, keeping the handle somewhat upright. The [[ZigZaggedTrope only exception]] where the trope ''doesn't'' come into effect with the axe seems to be when it's seen lying on its side amid the rubble of Hong Kong, [[spoiler:after it and its wielder were sent flying amid a previous battle]].
86	* In ''Film/HangmenAlsoDie'', Dr. Pillar throws a knife at Inspector Gruber, but he misses and the knife lands blade-first in the table Gruber is standing behind instead.
87	* Happens multiple times in ''Film/TheKunoichiNinjaGirl''. First, Shimotsuki blocks Higetsu's sword to stop him from killing Kisaragi, then throws the sword away where it lands point first in the temple porch. Then Shinmu grabs that sword and throws blade first into the ground in front of Kisaragi, where she uses it to cut her bonds and escapes. During the final fight between Kirasagi and Shimotsuki, Kirasagi snatches Shimotsuki's sword and flings it to the far side of the cave where it buries itself in the ground, forcing Shimotsuki to scramble backwards to retrieve it.
88	* ''Film/TheMatrix'': Trinity throws a knife with enough force to stick it in a man's ''skull.'' Justified in that she's inside the Matrix at the time and can bend its rules to perform superhuman feats.
89	* In ''Film/TheMummyReturns'', this is the end result of a [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks sword throw working]]. After Ardeth Bey throws his sword at an Anubis Warrior, it lands pointy-end-down in the sand so that he can pick it up while riding past.
90	* It does when Nazi agents fling knives in ''Film/MyFavoriteBlonde'', although luckily the knife misses Creator/BobHope and sticks in the door he's opening.
91	* ''Film/MysteryMen'': Subverted somewhat in that the Blue Raja won't use knives. And all his forks invariably bounce off what they're aimed at -- until the Sphinx shows him how to throw. Then they always stick tines first and are strong enough that Mr. Furious can [[SteppingStoneSword use them to climb a wall]].
92	* In ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'' Will throws the swords that he made himself with enough strength that Captain Jack Sparrow can't get it out of the wall. And again at the end of the movie where Sparrow can use it to stand on.
93	* ''Film/ThePrincessBride''. During his duel with Inigo Montoya, the Man in Black throws his sword. It spins end over end and impales itself in the ground point first.
94	* ''Film/TheScavengers'': During his [[LeaveBehindAPistol Leave Behind a Sword]] moment, Sgt. Ward makes his point by dropping Harris' sabre so it sticks into the ground a few feet away from Harris' head.
95	* Averted in ''Film/{{Scream 3}}'', which has a failed knife throwing end with the intended victim hit with the handle.
96	* In ''Film/StarshipTroopers'': All of the blades thrown stick point first -- except Ace's, which bounces off the target.
97	* ''Film/{{Swashbuckler}}'': When Jane goes storming off the beach into the jungle, Lynch throws a sword at her, saying that she might need it. It lands--sticking up in the sand--at her heels and causes her to stop short.
98	* Film/TheThreeStooges get in on this a few times. A proto-3D short even has the dart-technique justification (the easiest way for the special effects of the time to simulate it).
99	* In ''Film/VForVendetta'', one thrown knife can be seen to [[ArtisticLicensePhysics stop spinning in mid-air]] so that it hits a {{Mook}} at a right angle.
100	* ''Franchise/{{Zorro}}'':
101	** In ''Film/{{The Mark of Zorro\|1920}}'' (1920), Don Diego flings his sword at his enemy, and it sticks into the ground at his feet.
102	** In ''Film/{{The Mark of Zorro\|1940}}'' (1940), Don Diego flings his sword at the ceiling, and it sticks in a beam.
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Literature]]
106	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
107	** In ''Literature/TheColourOfMagic'', the first book, Rincewind kills a troll in this manner -- through a bizarre coincidence resulting from the gods using them both as pawns in a board game.
108	** In ''Literature/{{Night Watch\|Discworld}}'', during a duel Sam Vimes throws his sword away and the blade sticks into a wall. He hadn't intended to do that but notes to himself that it looked damned impressive.
109	** And in ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'', it happens by sheer accident when Vimes throws a screwdriver onto the floor in frustration.
110	** In ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'', a crowbar which falls several dozen stories, end over end, amazingly manages to land point-first on a flagstone where [[RealityIsOutToLunch it stays standing up]].
111	** In ''Literature/ReaperMan'', a very large iron screw falls from the chandelier in the University dining hall and gets stuck point-down in the dining table near Mustrum Ridcully's hand. Pterry really likes this trope.
112	** A variant in ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'' where it's not a true blade, but the point of a pin. A Dolly Sisters badge that has been given to Trev by Juliet has been taken off him as evidence in the Watch House, and when Angua throws it into the table to question him about it, it lands with the point in and the logo pointing up, visible to everyone in the room.
113	** Subverted in ''Literature/FeetOfClay'': Vimes throws a meat cleaver, and not only misses his intended target, but he notes with disappointment that it just fell to the ground and didn't even stick in the wall with a satisfying "thunk" noise.
114	* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'', Fred and George send a knife flying, which lands point down, quivering, where Sirius's hand had been seconds before.
115	* Subverted in ''Literature/HeraldsOfRhimn'', Book Two. When Gildhe throws a dagger at Fea, the hilt bounces off of her forehead instead of doing her any real harm.
116	* Played straight and then subverted in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. At one point, Arya and Sandor Clegane get into a fight, where one of their opponents throws a knife, which, while misses the intended target, lands in the wall perfectly pointy end first. Arya tries the same on said opponent, failing.
117	* The James Bond novel ''Literature/ForSpecialServices'' discusses and then averts this. In one scene Bond wants to use his two throwing-knives to disable two mooks without killing them, so he deliberately mistimes his throws so that the hilt reaches the target first, knocking both mooks out without doing any permanent damage.
118	* Happens in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' when [[spoiler: Kaladin kills a Shardbearer]] and the Blade ends up sticking up out of the ground, the fact that it embeds itself in the ground and stays there is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in that it's an AbsurdlySharpBlade.
119	* Averted in Steven Brust's ''Literature/{{Dragaera}}'' books. Vlad Taltos spends weeks practicing and states that he has a 2 in 3 chance of getting a thrown dagger in point first if his target will stand perfectly still, exactly 15 feet away. He then asserts that the real point of throwing a knife is for the target to flinch, giving him a few seconds to do something useful.
120	* In ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader'', Reepicheep throws his sword into the lily sea before going to Aslan's country, and it sticks straight up with its hilt above the surface.
121	* Played slightly straight and slightly subverted in ''Literature/TheHungerGames''. While demonstrating her knife-throwing ability, Katniss impressively lodges a knife in a wall, but by accident. She even notes that it got stuck in a seam in the paneling, making it appear to have penetrated deeper than it actually did, and that she'd be unable to make such a throw again. Later on, a girl in the Games with knife-throwing as her primary skill chucks several at Katniss. One of them actually hits her blade first in the head, but does not have [[BuffySpeak super-skull-piercing velocity]], only giving her a nasty cut.
122	* Averted in ''Literature/{{Redwall}}''. Main character Matthias practices using throwing knives, but they always strike the target handle first no matter what he does. During the final battle, he uses this skill to nonlethaly disarm several enemy combatants.
123	** Averted still more in ''The Long Patrol''. The Rapscallions' leader has a sword with one straight and one wavy edge, and the Firstblade of the Rapscallions spins the sword in air, if the wavy side hits the ground first they go raiding by sea, if the straight edge, by land. The sword is a hallowed tradition passed down from one Firstblade to the next, along with the [[TwoHeadedCoin subtle brass clip used to weigh one side or another.]]
124	* Similarly averted in ''[[Literature/ArtemisFowl Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony]]'' when Billy Kong knocks another man unconscious by hitting him on the forehead with the hilt of a throwing knife. Minerva notes that the knife was only a half revolution away from Kong facing murder charges.
125	* This trope applies to the three instances we see throwing knives used in A.L. Phillips's ''Literature/TheQuestOfTheUnaligned''. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that two were thrown by Crown Prince Alaric, who is explicitly stated to be the best knife-thrower in the country, and in the third case, the thrower cheated and basically grabbed in and stuck it in with telekinesis.
126	* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has Harry mentions how in the movies throwing knives will always hit blade first and sink to the hilt, killing the target. He goes on to say that it's much less likely to happen in real life since most people don't have the training or throwing power to make a thrown knife consistently deadly. Unfortunately, at the time Harry happens to be fighting a White Court Vampire at the time who has both the supernatural strength to make sure they hit hard enough and centuries to practice with them, so he can throw with movie-like accuracy, penetration, and lethality.
127	** That being said, Marcone is at least remarkably skilled with throwing knives, bordering on unbelievably accurate on a few occasions, although his incredible shots are always treated as such.
128	** Having [[SeenItAll now seen it once or twice]], Harry is much more [[DeadpanSnarker like himself]] when Nicodemus throws his sword during ''Literature/SkinGame''. He specifically notes that, while swords aren't really made for that, Nic has had a few centuries to practice.
129	* Averted and discussed in the Literature/{{Bordertown}} novel, ''Elsewhere''. After getting jumped outside a bar, Ron throws a knife at the door, hoping to attract attention. The knife hits the door hilt first. Ron notes that, while this accomplished his goal just fine, it would have been much cooler if it had stuck in the door.
130	* In the ''Literature/ThievesWorld'' shared-world series, [[DeviousDaggers the master thief Shadowspawn]] carries three (or more?) throwing-knives and a couple of more conventional daggers. He ''never'' uses the daggers for throwing, precisely because he can't throw them as precisely as the ones made for throwing.
131	* In Lioness Rampant, Alanna throws her sword at the bad guy, skewering him, and when he falls and triggers a fire spell that incinerates him, the sword ends up embedded in the floor point down.
132	* ''Literature/FireAndBlood:'' Played straight in the most horrific way with the death of Prince Joffrey, where the sword lands on ''him'', after he's thrown off a dragon. And he survives for several minutes after that.
133	[[/folder]]
134
135	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
136	* In ''Series/BreakingBad'', one of the Salamanca twins drops a wickedly sharp axe (which had been raised above his head), and it lands corner-first, burying itself an inch deep in tarmac.
137	* Anything thrown by Buffy of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' invariably ends up pointy-end first in the heart of her target, but Oz tried it with a stake once and it just bounced off harmlessly.
138	* ''Series/{{Merlin 1998}}'' has a scene with an army raiding a castle. At one point, a soldier throws an axe that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVgAaG6n_dw doesn't even spin,]] it just flies blade-first into an opponent's back.
139	* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
140	** ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'':
141	*** The original Megazord's sword is summoned from the skies, and is either caught in the Megazord's hand or lands point-first in the ground. They actually take advantage of this once, to cut the Megazord free of Octoplant's [[CombatTentacles vines]].
142	*** Additionally, Goldar's sword lands point-first after Tommy kicks it out of his hand in "Green No More".
143	** In the episode, "Heir Apparent part 2", from ''Series/PowerRangersMysticForce'', during a battle between Nick and Korragg, Nick's sword lands this way with Korragg telling him to pick up his sword and continue.
144	* In ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', Teyla throws a knife into the ground and manages to get it to stick. She was arguably doing it on purpose, but she manages to do this to a ''metal floor''.
145	* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'':
146	** In "Remembrance", one of the assassins kills Dahj's boyfriend with a throwing knife to the chest, which embeds itself perfectly dead-center on his body.
147	** In "Nepenthe", Narissa murders [[spoiler:Hugh]] by throwing her knife at his neck, and its sharp tip lands exactly where his jugular vein is. Elnor would've struck her down with her own blade in retaliation, but she beams away before the pointy end of the knife hits her.
148	* In the TV show ''Series/TopShot'', which revolves around various tests of marksmanship with various weapons, a knife-throwing challenge came up. The entire challenge showed just how unrealistic the trope is, with most thrown knives simply bouncing off the wooden targets.
149	* In the first episode of ''Series/YoungBlades'', Jacqueline throws a sword which lands not only point-first in the ground, but safely between the legs of a male character.
150	[[/folder]]
151
152	[[folder:Pinballs]]
153	* The SkillShot for ''Pinball/ScaredStiff'' shows [[Creator/ElviraMistressOfTheDark Elvira]] throwing a spinning knife at her television set, landing point-first and destroying it.
154	-->'''Elvira:''' Ugh, I ''hate'' commercials!
155	[[/folder]]
156
157	[[folder:Toys]]
158	* Used in a non-canon ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' promo animation featuring Kopaka Nuva. As he somersaults, he lets go of his sword, hand still attached, which then sinks into the mountain snow with its tip. Re-attaching his arm to it with a loud click, it causes the whole mountainside to collapse, taking the three Bohrok standing on it with it.
159	[[/folder]]
160
161	[[folder:Urban Legends]]
162	* The legend of the mercury-filled throwing knife has been in circulation ever since UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Supposedly, the inertia of mercury inside the blade (13.6 times heavier than water) would make the knife land point-first and stab deep into the target. While it is first described as a WWII commando knife, it later became an assassination weapon [[TheMafiya for Russian gangsters]] and so on. While nobody has yet to see one actually get built and used, it won't work. The inertia of the heavy liquid and the way a knife spins through the air makes it more likely for the knife to hit pommel-first every time.
163	[[/folder]]
164
165	[[folder:Video Games]]
166	* Played completely straight in gameplay in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins'', but averted in one cutscene. After [[spoiler:Cleopatra joins forces with Caesar, undoing all Bayek and Aya's hard work]], Aya is trying to work off her frustration by throwing a knife at a wall. It lands handle-first and bounces off harmlessly.
167	* Played straight and inverted in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight''. In the battle with Professor Pyg, Pyg throws butcher's knives at you, and you have the ability to counter them and throw one back at him. When Pyg tosses knives, the blades strike Batman. When Batman flings them back, the handle will bonk Pyg in the face instead. As he has a ThouShaltNotKill policy, this is intentional.
168	* ''VideoGame/BendyInNightmareRun'':
169	** Canoodle throws [[ImprobableWeaponUser silverware]] like javelins, which makes the eating ends hit the earth first and stick in the ground. Even the spoons end like this, although they're nowhere near as pointy as knives and forks.
170	** In the death animation for Dewey, he's impaled by his own fountain pen nib-first.
171	* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series is fond of this:
172	** In the opening cutscene of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', Squall's gunblade comes spinning out of the air and lands point down in the ground.
173	** Lightning's gunblade in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' is capable of this feat, as shown when she battles Caius.
174	** In one of the last cutscenes of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'', [[spoiler:Sephiroth strikes Cloud's sword away, causing it to plant into the ground in a manner evocative of [[CoverDrop the title screen.]]]]
175	* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'', Torneko Taloon occasionally trips when going up to attack the enemy with his sword. However, it somehow always lands in his target, pointy end first (always scoring a CriticalHit in the process, no less). Due to the vague description of the act, it's hard to tell how much of this is an accidental case of ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks, but the fact still stands. You know, even if Taloon happens to be wielding ''an [[ImprobableWeaponUser abacus]].''
176	* The intro to ''VideoGame/SoulCalibur''.
177	* The ''VideoGame/WorldOfMana'' games do this with the Sword of Mana sometimes.
178	** Done in the DS title ''VideoGame/ChildrenOfMana'''s opening sequence.
179	** And again in Chapter 25 of ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMana''.
180	* In the first ''VideoGame/BrokenSword'' game, Guido can kill George by tossing a knife at him, and sure enough it will hit him fatally. This can be justified in that he hit a stationary target.
181	* Inverted in ''VideoGame/IcewindDale'': the heroes can find a throwing axe that was badly botched by the craftsman and then enchanted. Though the spell turned it into a PrecisionGuidedBoomerang, it remained badly unbalanced. As the result, it deals bludgeoning damage, as it always hits the target hilt-first.
182	* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate II: Throne of Bhaal'' has it in the intro movie.
183	* In the ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' series, swords always land by stabbing the ground, no matter how big or unbalanced they seem. The camera would often focus on them if this happens in a cutscene.
184	** ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'':
185	*** When the Alastor flies and stabs Dante, it also falls on its pointy end, pinning him down to the floor.
186	*** The Sin Scissors demons have a death animation wherein their weapons land on their bladed ends after falling.
187	** ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry2'':
188	*** If Dante dies on the ground, his sword flies above for a bit and lands point-first near his body.
189	*** Done dramatically in Dante's fight against [[spoiler:The Despair Embodied. As he strikes back against an attack of the demon, his Rebellion gets flung up in the air, Dante seemingly disappears, shoots The Despair Embodied without looking at it, then the camera focuses on the Rebellion after it just stabbed the ground on its way down]].
190	** ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'':
191	*** In the climatic fight against Vergil, the Rebellion stabs the ground after it flies off from Dante's hand.
192	*** Agni and Rudra fall on their pointy ends when their respective demons are damaged enough and after they are defeated by Dante.
193	*** In the final battle, the Force Edge falls on its pointy end twice; first when it lands from the portal, and second when it's knocked off from Vergil's hand in the aftermath.
194	** ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'':
195	*** In the first mission, the Rebellion lands this way in the foreground as Nero pummels Dante on the floor.
196	*** If you knock a Gladius demon out while it's flying, it transforms into a sword and stabs the ground on its way down.
197	*** Defeating a Mega Scarecrow causes the huge blade in its body to fly up then fall to the ground point-first before shattering.
198	*** In the finale, the Sparda lands on its sharp end as it falls after Nero defeats [[spoiler:Sanctus Diabolica]].
199	** ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'': One of V's finishing animations against the Death Scissors demons makes him flip the scissors up and allow it to land point-end on the demon's head, killing it.
200	* In ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'', [[spoiler:General Warfield]] pulls a hydralisk spike out of his arm and drops it. It sticks point-first into the ground and sinks in about halfway through. ''[[AbsurdlySharpClaws Into solid rock]]''.
201	* Whenever Travis Touchdown suplexes someone in ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'', he throws his sword in the air. It then lands point-first in their chests.
202	* Averted to humorous effect in ''VideoGame/GoldenEye1997''. Throwing knives never stick in any enemies, but rather comically bounce off of their body and leave a little red spot where they landed.
203	* The ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' series has a throwing knife which is usually a guaranteed OneHitKill if it hits, regardless of which part of the model strikes the target. ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'' takes it further by replacing the throwing knife with a throwing ''tomahawk'', which has even less blade area and can either play this straight or {{invert\|edtrope}} it based on what's more beneficial: if it hits an enemy, it's always the bladed part, while hitting a wall or the ground will always be with the handle end, letting the tomahawk [[PinballProjectile bounce off solid surfaces]].
204	* Happened in ''VideoGame/{{Tenchu}} 2'' after Ayame knocked away Tatsumaru's sword.
205	* ''VideoGame/WayOfTheSamurai 3'' has this happening with every single weapon that leaves anybody's hand, whether it's a spear or a stick or a sword (or a giant tuna, or a six-foot-long green onion, you get the idea). Especially noticeable when you do one of the hundred-foe 'My bad for accidentally killing allies' missions -- every single weapon lands pointy-end first. Slightly subverted in that it doesn't stick in the person if you throw them at people - it just hits, point-first, and bounces off, spins in the air a couple times, and THEN lands pointy-end first, as usual.
206	* ''VideoGame/{{Realmz}}'': In ''Castle in the Clouds'', your party notices a blue dragon far overhead losing a fight to some reds attempting to find something it had. Later, you can discover a powerful quarterstaff planted in the ground, having split a large bush's trunk in two top to bottom.
207	* Parodied in ''VideoGame/StrongBadsCoolGameforAttractivePeople'': Dangeresque 3, in which Professor Experimento (aka, Pom Pom) throws a pair of what appears to be child's scissors at the wall. They bounce off the wall uselessly. Cut to the same scissors taped to the wall to make it appear like it was stuck there.
208	* Common in ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series.
209	** In particular, both ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'''s final boss fights open with the Master Sword spiking beside Zelda like a thrown shuriken after Ganon backhands Link, inches from an unconscious Zelda's head in the latter case.
210	** Intentionally averted in a cutscene in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', where Zelda's dropped blade falls hilt-first and clangs unceremoniously onto the ground. Since she's surrendering, the was probably done because landing point-first wouldn't present the same theme of helplessness.
211	* Whenever a weapon flies out of someone's hand in ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'' games, it ends up this way. Exceptions are rare and generally weapons where they're physically incapable of sticking out of the ground upright. Sometimes.
212	* Killing the humanoid Dragonkin enemies in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' may result in their giant polearms flying out of their hands and sticking into the ground, blade first. Partially justified in that they wield ''dual-bladed'' polearms.
213	* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'':
214	** The "Knife" sub-weapon in the games is one of the "thrown as a dart" types, though the "axe" weapon never deals less damage from hitting on the handle or top.
215	** Whenever Eric is defeated in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaBloodlines'', his spear falls down in the right place to impale his body. Death suffers from similar self-scything shenanigans in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood'' and ''Castlevania: The Arcade''.
216	* The old ''Kung Fu Master'' game had knife throwers who did these as dart-style.
217	* ''Narc'' from 1988 had syringes thrown this way at your cop.
218	* Xiahou Dun manages to pull this off in a cutscene of ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors 5'' [[spoiler:with Guan Yu's glaive.]] For a while, Guan Ping also had a charge move where he throws his {{BFS}} and it lands in the ground sharp end first, causing an explosion.
219	* Zig-Zagged in ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'', where tossing bladed weapons has a higher chance of knocking enemies out rather than killing them. Of course, if you have the Jake mask equipped, tossing stuff at enemies always results in a kill no matter what.
220	* Averted in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition''. If you let Sera [[spoiler:kill Pel Harmond]] during her personal quest, she will draw a knife and throw it, only for the hilt to bonk the noble. After chastising Sera, she simply beats him to death.
221	** Played straight, however, at the Winter Palace ball. During a cutscene with Ambassador Briala, she throws a knife into a bad guy's ''forehead''.
222	* ''VideoGame/MountAndBlade'' is generally very realistic LowFantasy. No magic, no supernatural powers. Still, you'll always see the pointy end of a throwing axe or dagger in someone (or yourself) rather than simply being hit by the handle. Definitely for the sake of the player and overall balance, because throwing weapons already have pitifully small ammunition stacks as it stands and seeing a perfect ax headshot bounce off just because it hit the target handle first would probably be demoralizing.
223	* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' has phantom blades filling boss arenas, with all of them sticking out of the ground.
224	* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', whenever Chrom is defeated, his sword is sent flying away and eventually lands in the ground embedding itself tip first. This happens regardless of what sword Chrom is using.
225	[[/folder]]
226
227	[[folder:Web Animation]]
228	* In the White Trailer of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', when Weiss disarms the knight, the blade does a classic point down plant, though it does tip over about 20 seconds later.
229	* Happens abundantly in ''WebAnimation/MadnessCombat''. Hank will frequently throw weapons at firearm-equipped foes to prevent them from shooting him while he's in the middle of a melee. This eventually scales up with the characters' increasing superhuman abilities to the point that blunt objects like nightsticks and pistols are thrown hard enough to impale mooks. One mook ends up with an ''assault rifle'' buried in his torso.
230	[[/folder]]
231
232	[[folder:Web Comics]]
233	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': Roy's sword in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0443.html one spoiler-laden strip]]. Luckily, it didn't land on anyone. As this was simple falling with no starting spin, it makes sense the drag of the crossguard could aim the blade point-down.
234	* ''Webcomic/{{Spacetrawler}}'' plays with this one. Martina throws her knife at an enemy, and it strikes hilt-first. However, getting hit in the face with a knife hilt still hurts the guy, distracting him long enough for Martina to crawl up to him, grab the knife, and stab him to death up close.
235	[[/folder]]
236
237	[[folder:Western Animation]]
238	* Happens in the opening of ''WesternAnimation/ACloseShave'': the vibration of a passing lorry causes a cheese knife to fall off a table, landing point down, between Wallace's slippers.
239	* Happens with the [[{{Hammerspace}} sleevespace]] blades that Six uses in ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex''.
240	* Happens frequently to Ulrich's Katana in ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'', whether he throws it or drops it.
241	* ''WesternAnimation/{{ThunderCats\|2011}}''
242	** In "Omens Part 2" The Sword of Omens falls this way after its wielder King Claudus is stabbed, embedding itself in a branch of a giant tree.
243	** In "The Duelist and the Drifter", The Sword of Hattanzo very neatly falls vertically into the turf after the Duelist sends it sailing skyward out of his opponent's grip.
244	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': Happens whenever Mr. Cat throws a knife, no matter how far the target is. If it hits a vertical surface (or a character), it hits at exactly 90 degrees. If it hits a horizontal one like the ground, it sticks either at 90 or 45 degrees.
245	[[/folder]]
246
247	[[folder:Real Life]]
248	* As anyone who has dropped, or accidentally brushed or knocked a knife off a counter can attest, this can become a very real worry very quick. There's a reason professional cooks are required to wear steel-toed shoes in certain countries. It's also why you should never try to catch a falling knife.
249	* There are also so-called "no-spin" throwing techniques, where the knife only makes a small quarter rotation and is thrown more like a dart, meaning that it always lands point first. However, this type of throw generally has slightly less range/power as well as being more difficult to learn than the more common rotational styles, so it is much less common.
250	* Justified with the kpinga (throwing knife of the Azande people). [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMUD_cm6fbY It has three blades at various angles, so it always lands point-in.]]
251	* The sport of axe-throwing plays this straight, at least at competitive levels. Skilled throwers figure out exactly how far away from the target to stand and how to throw so that the axe rotates exactly once before hitting the target, and they can do this consistently, with "drops" being rare-to-nonexistent.
252	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TheBladeAlwaysLandsPointyEndIn