User blog comment:VedranTheII/Pretentious Diaries 3: Half-Grimm...do they even work?/@comment-27966940-20160423043820/@comment-25396609-20160423044227

Yes. feathers are, by their nature, extremely delicate and fragile. They are easily damaged and cannot withstand direct pressure being applied to the stem.

There is also the issue of delivering enough force to launch them, which swinging your forearm cannot generate. Thrown weapons work because you can transfer the entire force of movement in your arm through your wrist (much like the force travels down a whip) which cannot be done with the forearm alone.