broadhead sharpening

[Mark Colangelo]

As a new trad only hunter, I am new to fixed blade broadheads. I was an expandable compound guy for years. I have decided on a single bevel 2 blade head. What is the best file y'all have found for sharpening 2 blade heads? Or is there a better method than a file for single bevel? I know getting the BH razor sharp is absolutely critical. What say you?

A Windsor with two rounded safety edges, an 8" Grobet, a double round diamond hone and a 1/4" Grobet round.  The Grobet regular is for getting them nearly razor sharp, the diamond hone gets the shaving edge, the Windsor with the rounded safety sides has the file teeth just sticking out far enough to add a fine serration to the beveled side.  The round Grobet is for putting a drag edge on anything I want, Nate Sheen style, when I am using Hunter's Heads or standard Hills and am in a hurry.   No matter what is said with long narrow heads, the serration has worked very well for us, but there is a difference between keen and rough. I also find that people new to sharpening with a file have better luck when file sharpening Zwicky Eskimos.

[jabodnar]

For a single bevel I love the rms gear cutthroats.

For sharpening, I haven't found anything better than the kme  sharpener. Admittedly, I'm not very good at sharpening freehand, with a file or a stone. The kme really takes the guesswork out of it.

I find that for many using a broadhead arrow holder can help them get a more machine like file stroke.   http://www.3riversarchery.com/arrow-grabber.html

[Mark Colangelo]

I have heard mixed results from the KME sharpener. So you think that you get your BHs sufficiently sharp to hunt with using it? I am a novice at hand sharpening anything as well so I was interested in getting a sharpener but was kind of talked out of it by someone.

[Mike Vines]

Read this thread...  

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

Then go buy the two products I used (both of them are TradGang sponsors). 1st-KME knife sharpener, 2nd- Leather strop from Tuffhead.

You will be shaving arm hair and watching animals bleed-out right in front of you...Hopefully NOT at the same time.

Best thing I have found is a KME knife sharpener. But I am terrible at sharpening things, and can't get anything sharp without a device to hold the angle for me.

Bisch

[jabodnar]

Originally posted by Recurve Addict:
I have heard mixed results from the KME sharpener. So you think that you get your BHs sufficiently sharp to hunt with using it? I am a novice at hand sharpening anything as well so I was interested in getting a sharpener but was kind of talked out of it by someone.

I've had no issues. I strop them on some cardboard and they shave when I'm done. And not that hair catching shave that hurts. Just cuts through it like it wasn't even there.

I know some may argue the rougher edge from a file is better, but I can't even get a broad head to shave using the file.

I would look at it like this. If you're really good at sharpening by hand, the kme probably isn't worth it. If you're sharpening challenged like me, it's worth it's weight in gold.

[Biathlonman]

Get yourself some grizzly heads and a nicholson handy file from home Depot.  If you can't figure it out, grab some double bevels and a rada wheelie sharpener and your set.

[58WINTERS]

Get a Sharpro wheel style sharpener $10-$12 off of Amazon. They work well on Hill Zwickey Simmons and Henkel kitchen knives. Fast and easy and you can keep it in your pack for field use. I have a KME numerous files and 2 Radas. The Radas can't comome close to the Sharpro.
58

I get mine shaving sharp with a file and the hone, A couple gentle strokes on a leather belt makes them cut hair as easily as a razor.  Some people cannot control the flatness of the stroke and that is generally where things go wrong.  Too much pressure for the final strokes is another. On a long hunt I prefer to be able to get my edge back in the field.  The Sharp Pro is good for a double bevel and knifes, I used them for years, but you need to hold it down on something to steady it and drag the arrow.   When I went to Grizzly heads many years ago, I found it a challenge to hold the angle consistent.  I find that the single bevel sharpener from Alaska along with a small diamond hone can get a shaving edge back when wanting to touch a broadhead up in the field. Again with those, I get better result holding it against something solid and drawing the arrow through it.  I also find the original Grizzly instruction totally capable of getting a killing edge with a file.  We killed lots of deer with no losses using the original file instructions.
 http://www.grizzlystik.com/Broadhead-Probr-Single-Bevel-P141.aspx

[Zwickey-Fever]

I use a Rada Wheelie sharpener, ($5-$6 dollars on ****), & the Lil Shaver Sharpener, (3 Rivers), on double beveled broadheads, along with a small flat and half round files and jewel stick for finishing. The Lil Shaver Sharpener works good on single and double beveled broadheads.

[ISP 5353]

Grizzly heads on a KME sharpener using diamond stones.  You will be pleased.

Also, there are two kinds of KME sharpeners; a knife sharpener model, and a broadhead sharpener model. They are two very different things. I use the knife sharpener model because the owner of KME told me that it would work better on the curved blades of my GK broadheads.

Bisch

[larry f]

What mike said...the kme is the ticket for sharp broad heads and knives too

[-Zor]

I use the same waterstones that I use to sharpen plane irons, and every other sharp object in my house for that matter. In the past I've shot single bevel Grizzly Styk heads that have an aluminum ferrule right now and plan on switching over to cutthroats once I settle on an arrow for hunting with a recurve. The ferrule on the grizzly stick is more pronounced than the bevel angle if that makes sense. Because of that I just use the outside of the stone and hang the ferrule side off the edge of the stone. I rock the head back and forth to find the bevel, just like I woukd a plane iron. In the field I carry a Falkniven DC4, which is a pocket sized combo stone. I don't have a ton of experience sharpening broadheads, so there may be more efficient methods out there. This is just how I sharpen everything, so I figured why deviate just for broadheads.

[IndaTimber]

I use an old Nicholson file and a butcher steel.  If buying a new file I'd probably go with the one sold by Kustom King Archery.

Don't have a KME, but have heard nothing but great things about them.

Good Luck. Seems like you got the bug now, enjoy.

[crazynate]

KME gets my Razorheads and zwickeys scary sharp. I'm pretty good with a file but the kme is the ticket. And get a leather strop to. That really helps. I will say I used my KmE on single Bevels and I couldn't get an edge. I suck at sharpening single bevels I guess.

[dnovo]

After you do it a while (like 40+ years) you get the hang of holding the broadhead steady with a uniform stroke of a file. File sharpening is all I do with my broadheads with a lightening of the pressure toward the end. Takes the burr off and gives a good edge.

I posted this on another thread, but this was shot with one my single bevel file sharpened Hills. It didn't go very far.