kme sharpener

[nhbuck1]

i got the sharpener with the 2 stones it comes with tring to sharpen the zwickey deltas and cant them razor sharp, i am going lightly with the stone i tried harder what am i doing wrong? how long should each side take

[Tom]

Give Ron a call, he takes the time to walk people through the process. Great customer service.

[Dave Earley]

I second that - KME sharpeners are awesome once you get the technique right.  xtra coarse stones or better yet, the diamonds, are a necessity tho in my opinion.

[Yolla Bolly]

Make sure you stroking the stone toward the edge.

[Mike Vines]

Give this method a try...

 http://www.probowsociety.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=2856

[Dry Creek]

Give Ron a call, he walk me through sharpening a single bevel Cutthroat on the knife sharpener last night.
Awesome customer service.

[Caleb Monroe]

Delta's are tough they are shaped ever so slightly like a Simmons if you have the broad head sharpener and are using a flat stone your probably only sharpening the very back and tip. I had this same problem last year. The broad head sharpener works best with straight edges the knife sharpener works great for those heads with the 3 sided jewel stick attachment. I thought me delta's were a bad batch but called zwickey and talked to Jack and he informed me that's just how they were.

You can use it but you will have to remove quite a bit of metal to get the edge straight.

[nhbuck1]

how can i remove it or remove it with?

[Terry Green]

File or belt sander ....I agree, the bevels need to be beveled.  They always come ruff....been that way for the 30 years I've used them....but worth it to get them sharp as I still use them after 30 years.

I have one of the early 80s 'Blue Paint Deal' Zs....killed 14 deer and one hog with it.  Retired it after the hog.

[Caleb Monroe]

What Terry said. Or use the KME and make 25 passes each side until the entire edge makes contact with the stone. It will take awhile color the edge with a black marker and keep going until all the black is gone. Keep track of your passes so you don't make the bevel lopsided you will need to do the same thing on the other side to keep the point centered.

I personally don't have the patience to do this. This is not a great option but is an option using the broadhead sharpener. I use the knife sharpener with the Jewel stick on my own Deltas.

[nhbuck1]

25 passes with coarse grit?

[nhbuck1]

this is rediculus, deer season around the corner and cant even get these sharp with a hundred dollar sharpner

[JimB]

I agree with all,calling Ron is the best way.
nhbuck1,since the Delta has a very slight concave edge,you will have to use some means to straighten that edge to conform to a flat stone.Terry's mention of the file or sander are probably the quickest.If you don't have those,you could get a piece of emory cloth or wet or dry sandpaper more coarse than your stones.Put that on a hard,flat surface,like ceramic tile or steel plate and use your kme over it.

You always want to black the edge with a Sharpie and and don't stop till the entire edge conforms to the flat surface.Then you can go on to the next finer grit.I can't tell you how many strokes it takes.Just till it's finished.

Don't let it frustrate you.If you can't get hold of Ron,there are plenty of people here that will help you.It will get done.

[nhbuck1]

how are the VPA 2 blades to sharpen with this? any heads in the 175 grain range already sharpened?

[Fattony77]

Sounds like your frustration is with the broadheads, not the sharpener. The KME (with either the knife or broadhead jaws) is the only system that has worked for me. I am truly "sharpening challenged" and am able to get anything I put in there "scary" sharp (with especially good results with some Tuffhead 225's I got off of the classifieds). As long as I take the time to do it right. Good luck, sir.

[crazynate]

Sounds crazy but I start with a 12" file with my kme when using zwickeys. I key on that tip where it's so thick and unevenly ground. Then onto a coarse stone then a fine then leather. That will work but it does take time. So don't be in a hurry

[bamboo]

call Ronnie

[KodaChuck]

My KME process with 200 grain VPAs which are very hard tool steel was to set the stones aside. Get a flat piece of glass. Start with 350 grit sandpaper ...maybe 8 passes to get the profile, then 600 grit, paper on glass,10,9,8,7 etc passes, flipping the head after each run... moving on to 800 ...same deal By now, we are polishing a defined edge...then on to 1000 grit, same deal..light strokes, 10 on 1 side, flip, 10 on side 2, 9 on side 1, 9 on side 2 etc all the way down to 1 and 1....takes about 20 minutes per head but when finished, they will shave your arm hair (dry) if that is the objective. Sandpaper on glass works for me better than stones.

[KodaChuck]

Also...strop on cardboard ...plain cardboard box....20 licks per side. Ron at KME advocated cardboard over leather when I talked with him about a year or so ago.

[Longtoke]

Get some real course sandpaper for meta, like 80 or 100 grit, lay it down on a flat piece of glass.  Mark the edge of your delta with a sharpie. Put it in the KME and go to town! About 25-35 strokes on each side should break down the tip and give your edge and even plane to work with.

From there repeat with finer and finer metal sandpaper.

I find this a lot easier than using stones or a file. I think mostly because you have a larger flatter area to grind on.

I can't get them as sharp as some, but this method has made my heads 10000 easier.