The actual production run of 175's will be 2 7/8" long and 1 1/8" cut. The same as the 200's are.Those weights are without inserts.
I sharpen my heads just like James suggested. If the needle point worries you its easily removed the same way he suggested. One added note though. Do not make your pyramid tip very large. Just remove enough to get rid of the fine needle point. One thing I have noticed over the years. When I would put a large pyramid on the tip of any 3 blade. I would see a lot more bruising around the entrance hole. The only explanation I could come up with was the added force it took to start that pyramid tip over the finer tips.
I don't even remove the needle tip on these heads. We use a different steel up front so that it holds up better.
Bill
Kirk, I have you on the list for some 175's.