Very old debate .

[kevsuperg]

Originally posted by JimB:
 

Originally posted by kevsuperg:
I like a burr. Clean slices clot easier, jagged one's don't. But they both kill.

Actually,the opposite is true.Jagged induces clotting.
  http://www.tuffhead.com/education/clotting%20cascade.html  [/b]

correct, my brain is scrambled and I should have said file edge not a burr also.

[huronhunter]

Both ways work . Do what you prefer .

[Roy from Pa]

Heck a well placed field point will kill a deer.

[kevsuperg]

well after thinking about this I decided to strop a few zwickey deltas I had considered sharp from the file. as I said before I have always thought the file edge was sharp enough.  
 wow what a difference, it took a little effort but man does that produce a sharp edge.
 I agree that just about any projectile placed in the right spot will kill, a sharp blade should cut and penetrate easier.
 I am excited to get out tomorrow and hopefully put them to the test.
Strop On!!

[SuperK]

Yeah, I remember debating that back in the '70's. (we still are! Look on 8-27-16 for a post titled "honed edge?")   I also remember the discussion about was it better for the arrow to pass thru or stay in the animal?  Heck, I also remember that on the back of the blister pack that Bear Razorheads came in, it said to never shoot a big game animal with just a 2 blade head!

[Flt Rck Shtr]

Where can a feller pick up a good file for broadhead sharpening and what are the best ones to use ? I think i really like the serrated idea the more i read about it....

[kevsuperg]

a 6" or 8" mill bastard file from any hardware store will do the trick.
 I use two blade deltas and sharpen them on true angle files I bought from three rivers. they work great

[kevsuperg]

[Captain*Kirk]

If you think about it, when you cut yourself with a razor blade it bleeds like a mother but heals quickly, cut yourself with a saw blade and it gets infected, heals horribly slow and leaves a nasty scar.
What does that have to do with bowhunting? Nothing, and neither does the theory.
Hole in, hole out and blood loss is all that matters, the faster the blood loss,the faster the deer's brain is deprived of oxygen, lights out.

[Gdpolk]

I prefer shaving sharp personally.  Ashby studies examined this very issue and came to the conclusion across ALL heads tested that shaving sharp delivered better penetration than filed sharp AND reduced the production of thromboplastin which is the clotting protein in blood.  Essentially, a shaving sharp head will cut more tissue and produce more prolific bleeding...why wouldn't a bow-hunter strive to achieve these two things?

That being said, a filed sharp head to the boiler room has also been proven to be deadly.  So, while I don't consider a filed sharp head ideal, in the real world it's good enough.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Originally posted by yeager:
Hey Pearl Drums,  maybe in a few thousands years us modern Bowhunters will eventually catch up to the stone age people, unless the antis win their agenda!

At least a few thousand years       Its crazy to think game was dying from bows and stone 10,000 years ago! And they all did it every day just survive. UnGodly amounts of meat were made that way. Just crazy to think. I don't think our 6-8 week casual hunting butts will ever catch up!

[Jon Stewart]

As mentioned this debate will be done in a circle  and I would suspect that it is just a matter of a personal preference.  Me I like a  jagged cut ripping thru meat causing all kinds of mayhem inside the deer.

[Doc Nock]

From my LIMITED medical experience, our own Tarz nailed it...

KNapped edges are grosely serrated, true, but each serration is smooth as ...well, GLASS!

IF the medical community prefers a honed edge for surgery, I go with that...

A Ragged tear in an artery, as some noted, picks up the platelets and clots faster. I don't want archery shot deer wounds to clot fast, I want them to bleed hard!!!

One of the reasons I heard was that a 2 blade  smooth cut seals up too quickly... sure, until the critter moves a bit...

We, as hunters, will always rely on our own logic to make choices... and as such, "to each his own".

[dragonheart]

I used a file sharpened, micro serrated edge for years.  It did work, but I never got great penetration or BT.  Part of that was the energy of my bows.  I read Ashby's information, and decided to test for myself.  The results have been pass thru, and shorter recovery.  The BT really surprised me how improved it was.  I was also shooting thru.  Just from my comparison experience I have changed to a honed razorsharp BH now.  I saw a difference.

Best BT I have ever had on an animal, bar none!  Razor sharp honed BH that was scary.  It just was impressive to me and changed my viewpoint.  This is exit side...watched him go down, 45 yrds at most.  

   

[LBR]

The most important thing is putting that broadhead, no matter which way it is sharpened, in the right place!

I don't trust burrs, sometimes with some heads they may stay and be effective and with other heads they may break off and leave nothing.  I have seen people think that they had this scary sharp thing, when all it was, a shorter smooth burr.  Then when they  hit a deer , were surprised to find how dull the head came out.  If you get a head shaving sharp and then serrate it is a different deal.  I am guessing that with softer metal and perhaps long and narrow heads like Hunter's Head or Hills that they may be more effective with the serration.  Sharpening a Hill like Tom Mussato did versus just making them rough will get a different result.  On one deer last year, a single bevel well worn Hill went through a rib cross ways on entry across the back of the heart and cut through a rib on exit, with the arrow shattering on a small oak, the serrated edge will still easily cut a trough in my finger nail, it did not jam up with tallow or hair.  The buck went down in 62 yards with plenty of blood spray at the initial hit and buckets of blood the last 20 yards.   I can make most broad heads easily shave hair with a file, a diamond hone and my leather belt, but Like the serration that I get from the original Grizzly file, it is keen artery grabbing nasty, and it can easily cut me if I handle it stupid.

[Boneyard Bowhunter]

A file sharpened broadhead will open a hole and leave a blood trail that would put out a fire. Sharp is sharp don't sweat the small stuff.

[charles m]

Aways cracks me up when someone ask a question and someone answers a different  one. A guy asked a question about different types of egdes and he gets answers about shop placement.  We all know shot placement is a very big factor, that's a given, however that's not the topic he was asking about.

 

[Charlie Lamb]

Been debating this subject since the sixties at least. Finally a conclusion I can accept. Thanks guys.

[reddogge]

Try this. Take a big roast and two knives. File sharpen one and hone to razor sharp the other. Which one cuts the best?