Slit throat

Jugular vein has dark blood ... it's venous and fairly low pressure.
To get a forceful spray of bright red - cut a carotid artery
The gasping sound is a severed trachea (windpipe).

Victim will stop thrashing in a couple of minutes, when the brain runs out of oxygen. Death in a few more minutes.

You need ot look at some anatomy books: it's harder than it sounds to get a clean kill.

if you cut a femoral or carotid artery the victim will likely lose consciousness within a minute and be dead in within three or five.

This person survived, don't ask me how.

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20061202084313915C937901

The effect depends on where the blade cuts.

If the blade is drawn across the front of the throat (as is tradition) it depends how deep and even the cut.

If it's deep enough all the way across, you'll get the dark flowing jugular blood, then the gurgling of the trachea releasing it's air through the blood, then the arterial spray of the Carotid.

If, of course the throat's owner struggles before the blade makes it all the way across, you may get a combination of the three.

If you want authenticity, google 'Fairbairn' to get THE guide on cutting people's throats. He was the one who designed the knife used by the Special Forces guys .. and trained them.

A sample of his training manual:

Hold the knife as in Fig. 12, with the FLAT SIDE UP. It should be noted that when the "COBRA" Fighting Knife is held in this manner that it is a prolongation of the arm and the point is in alignment with the thumb. (This permits the thrust to be made with accuracy, without having to worry if the back of the hand is UP or DOWN.)

Bring the left foot forward directly back of the right and make an instantaneous forward lunge - by stepping off with he right foot, accompanied by a gliding thrust forward with your forearm. (Fig. 13.) Danger of one's knife becoming entangled in the clothing or equipment of an adversary renders the thrust into the throat advisable.
Note - The position of the feet (STANCE) has an important bearing upon the successful application of the Thrust.

CAUTION - When you have more than one opponent to deal with, it is inadvisable to attempt a thrust at one of them. The reason for this is obvious. When making a "Thrust" you are in a lunging position, with your arm extended forward to its full length, leaving you "wide open" to attach by one or more of your other opponents.

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His manual is full of great advice on killing people.

But here is the best bit:

An opponent, armed with a knife, should never be allowed to approach within five feet. At that distance, or less, he is a very dangerous man. (This is not so difficult to understand when you realize that the length of a man's arm, plus the knife, is approximately three feet, thus leaving only two feet to be covered to make contact with the knife on your person.)

There are two ways of dealing with such a situation -
1st. IF YOU ARE ARMED - shoot him before he is within five feet distance.
2nd. IF YOU ARE UN-ARMED - turn and run.
Note - Fear will most likely give you that additional speed to out-distance your opponent.

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I choose option 2 - if it is good enough for the Special Forces, it is good enough for me.

Mac

efreysson said:

And is the arterial spray is the brightly colored one? Sorry, I didn't get good biology grades.

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Brighter than the Jugular blood for sure.

Also, and this seems mundane, ubt make sure the character cuts in the direction of the hand they are using. i.e. if cutting with the right hand, they cut from left to right. It seems like a no-brainer but you'd be surprised how many people I've seen miss-quote this and have them cut using their left hand "from left to right" That would be VERY uncomfortable.

As a general rule, the lower pressure veins are much closer to the surface than the high-pressure arteries, so the artieries run deep, near the bone in limbs, and near the trachea in the neck. The arteries do come a bit closer to the surface where they cross limb joints, however.

your carotid artery lies parallel to your jugular viens on the side of your neck- if you cut the very front of your neck you will have to cut through your esophogas and trachea- that will kill you but its hard to do- if you continue to the side you will get either the carotid or jugular- arteries supply the body with oxygenated blood so it is very bright red- the viens are returning blood back and are O2 depleted and therefore are a dark Maroon in color- artieries also have a higher pressure than viens- thats why you get the characteristic arterial spray when one is cut- you will bleed out quicker if an artery is cut, but you will also die if your jugular is severed- its a very large vessel with a large volume of blood flowing through it- - anything on the neck is vital for life-
hope that helpa a little

Dammit. I read this thread title as a direct order. Carry on and someone please call a medic.

One more thing. If you pull the head back (i.e. lift the chin, etc.) prior to the actual cutting, the carotid artery will sort of slide behind some neck muscles and it's much harder to actually cut.

Many people who try to commit suicide by cutting their own throats actually end up just cutting their trachea. Cutting the trachea is not fatal unless the trachea is actually blocked.

Actually, the SF (Special Forces) manual that is quoted has been changed... The distance that is considered dangerous if you are facing someone with a knife is 21 feet - armed or not. Unless, of course, you are already pointing a weapon at them. If you have a side-arm in your holster or your rifle slung on your shoulder, anything closer than 21 feet is considered deadly.

Anyway about your question, instead of having your character try to cut strait across the throat, have him/her start at the hinge of the jaw and cut to the same point on the other side. This is where the expression ear-to-ear comes from. you avoid the trach and can just about cut clean to the bone if enough force is used. Just a thought.

Now, a slit throat is an effective way of killing to be sure, but if you are looking for a quieter (and less messy) way of killing, have your char use a stilleto type dagger (very long and narrow blade) and drive the point into the base of the skull - right where the head and neck come together. The blade will cut the brain stem and they will just drop. No noise, very limited bleeding, no way to fight back.

The only down side is that sometimes the blade will stick in the bone, so it might take a bit to get your blade back. Best wishes!