A through feed thread rolling die for rolling external threads on a cylindrical work piece has an external thread thereon with relieved starting and finishing sections, the starting relief providing flat crests which form a predetermined angle with the roll axis and taper to a diameter at the starting end less than the mean height of the fully formed threads. A modified version tapers the starting section at a larger angle than the predetermined angle of the crests thereby reducing the length of the starting section. The invention includes the method of metal movement caused by the die in the formation of the thread.