Nanosized carbon nanowires were synthesized using "arc discharge" of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films in a parallel plate setup, under 10(-5) Torr environment. Thus obtained carbon nanowires can be turned-on at a significantly lower field and emit markedly a larger current than the DLC films. Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy micrographs reveal that the DLC structure has been converted,into nanodiamonds and graphite, presumably carbon nanowires. The mechanism for the formation of carbon nanowires is probably the vaporization of DLC clusters and condensation of carbon species on the acting DLC sites.