Broadhead weight change when sharpening

[yankeevol]

Seems like we go to great lengths to tune our shafts to a particular point weight, but I have noticed that changing the bevel angle on a broadhead, and then sharpening over time, can turn a 150 grain head into a 135 gr, or lower, pretty quickly.

Do you buy your broadheads anticipating this weight change? Or do you think this is noise in the grand scheme of things?

[Zradix]

That seems like a lot of weight loss to happen " fairly quickly"

A lot of heads come a little heavy to begin with.
So after initial sharpening they'll be pretty close to advertised.

If you're really loosing 15+ grains in a season I'd dare say you might be taking off more metal than needed when you resharpen...
..or maybe going pretty extreme with making a tanto type point..?

[JamesKerr]

I agree with Zradix I have sharpened some heads for a pretty long time and they have only lost about 5 grains of weight.

[yankeevol]

It was not uncommon to lose 10 gr truing up the bevels on an orriginal WW. Maybe I am too agressive on that part.

[Zradix]

Yeah, some of the older style heads that come "ready to sharpen" need some metal removal to get right.

Most of them started heavy though so that after sharpening they were about the right weight.

I guess the real trick is to learn how to get a sharp head by removing a minimal amount of steel.

[straitera]

Great question & you are correct! Sharpening removes metal. How much depends upon user experience vs agressive grit which altogether makes the simple jig & smooth sharpening stone much more important. I've sharpened surgical instruments since 1993 & use 500 grit belts as my most agressive abrasive. But, I've done many thousands of edged instruments & know my technique well. A jig & smooth stone is all you;ll need once your edge is set.. IMHO, Ron at KME can explain this in his sleep! Give him a call. Jig & smooth stone will remove metal in microns thereby not changing bh weight with much if any noticeable significance. Other jigs & machines work also. Alaska Bowhunting Supply sells one similar (?) as does Lansky & Tru-Angle. The many selections are exactly what make customer service so critical. Ron will tell you.

[Bullfrog]

If you can notice 10 grains difference you are a way better shot than me.   BILL

[magnus]

I had some OLD style 190 grain grizzly's brand new and sharpened the first time by Ron at KME and they were 175 grains afterwards. Not complaining at all. Excellent job just stating the weight loss.

[yankeevol]

... once your edge is set...

That's the key, right there, isn't it? I need to pick your brain if you are sharpening surgical instruments.

Thanks, Buddy.

[cacciatore]

If you loose weight in the sharpening you can balance the loss adding those brass washers that weight 5 grains each!

[pitt98]

X2 on the brass washers.  And they weigh in at exactly 5 grains each.