rusted broadheads

[bowmaster12]

i was recently at my cousins place and saw some old wood arrows laying along the side of the shed they had some bear razorheads and some other broadhead i dont know what kind they had been left out all winter and are rusted.  Is there a way of savng these heads or are they useless?

[Mudd]

If there's enough left to them to take an edge I'd give it a try.

Some of my old trade points rusted up but sharpen fairly easily and man! do the get sharp!

Good luck!

About all you have to lose is a little time and sweat.

God bless,Mudd (MHO)

[RM81]

Electrolysis will remove rust but leave good metal.  Grinding/sanding will remove both rust and good metal.

[hvyhitter]

A wire wheel will usually remove the rust without taking muck metal but it may be hard to get a nice edge if they are heavily pitted. Only costs a little time to give it a try.

[Soilarch]

I sharpen "stuff" as a side job.  Included in that list of "stuff" is old straight razors. (Restore, hone, and use 'em)   Yes, grinding/sanding will remove good metal along with the rust but you have to remove enough material (even if it's good) to get "PAST" the deepest rust.  Sometimes on edges the blade will look good to the naked eye but under a cheap $10 microscope from Radio Shack it looks like swiss cheese. If the swiss cheese is there you've got to go past it.

They may come back nicely, or they may be "eatin through".  Just depends.  My *guess* without seeing them is that they'll be good to go if it was just one winter.

[BWD]

Glass bead them, or put them in a cartridge case tumbler.

If you decide to use a wire wheel, you might want to put on a pair of leather gloves. Wire wheels have a way of snatching stuff out of your hands. Or, use a hand held drill with the broadheads in a vise.

Getting poked or cut with something rusted is a tetanus shot in the making.