Ever since Dr. Ashby's extensive work on the terminal lethality of the Grizzly Grande broadhead there has been a fair resurgence of interest in this old broadhead design. Postings on the Leather Wall and Trad Gang are quite common place with plenty of pro and con opinions on the subject. Many folks are passionate, both for and against Dr. Ashby's findings and more importantly his rendering of personal opinion. I personally am a big fan of his work but I can also respect other opinions (primarily whitetail hunters) who have killed many animals with other broadheads and have not found the need for such extreme performance in a broadhead and arrow combination. They make a good arguement, Dead is Dead and maybe there is no need to use all of Dr. Ashby's findings. But I personally wanted to explore the topic a bit more on my own.
Based upon the topics presented in the various threads on the Grizzly Grande one resounding issue that has challenged many bowmen is how to sharpen that danged single bevel broadhead. Of course this challenge exists on any two blade broadhead that one seeks to sharpen as a single bevel design. Previously I had developed a fairly good hand/eye toward hand sharpening those Grizzly Grandes with a file and a stone hone. I had found an articulating hobby vice from Harbor Freight that clamped to my kitchen table to hold the broadhead still while I hacked away at the metal. Admittedly I thought I'd developed a means of sharpening technique and incorprated a good Tanto point design which split bone great. But, accomplishing all this by hand was highly time consuming. I'd sit down at the kitchen table, turn on the TV and make my broadheads sharp until the wee hours of the morning....there would be no hair left on my left forearm from testing the sharpness of my efforts.
I have found a machine which not only makes the sharpening process easier but also results in a far superior sharpness...the hairs on my left forearm just pop off now...The results achieved through this machine are awesome!
The machine I speak of is a Jet Wet Grinder. This is a slow speed wide grinding wheel that is water quenched to preserve the hardness and temper of the Broadhead metal. There is also a brand called the Tormek Wet Grinder, however the Tormek is about $100 more expensive. Web addresses for both machines are as follows:
http://www.tormek.com/ and
http://www.redmondmachinery.com/browse.cfm/4,159.htm I can't speak for the Tormek Brand but I'm sure it's a fine machine also. Santa Claus brought me the Jet unit this year so I'll speak toward that machine.
The edge that the grinder produces is a hollow ground design, which appears to be a little better in the sharpness department than that produced by a flat file. The unit is entirely water cooled, thus preserving the integrity of the metal material. The accompanying jig firmly holds the broadhead in a repeatable and consistent manner to acheive a smooth even grind consistent across the entire cutting edge of the Broadhead. The angle of the grind is entirely adjustable. The machine runs at a slow speed, (about 150 rpm) so the process is very controlable using the jig handle.
After the grinding function is accomplished the machine also has a leather strope mounted to a wheel that turns at a similarly slow speed. The leather strope removes that burl acquired through the grinding process. I know there are a lot of guys that like to keep the burr in place to create the serrated cut but I personally like the razor sharp nature of the burr removed.
I've sharpened many Grizzly Grande Broadheads by hand using the old file and Medium India stone, followed by a hard Arkansas stone. I achieved acceptable results in the past, but not even close to the outstanding hollow-ground, consistent and even edge produced by this machine. For those bowhunters trying to find the secret in learning to sharpen the single bevel Grizzly Grande Broadhead, (or any other broadhead with a Single Bevel design) this machine id definately the hot ticket toward achieving professional results.
I know that the Grizzly company intentionally keeps their Rockwell Hardness scale a little softer than the Grizzly's from years past. This was done to accomodate bowmen who hand sharpen using a file system. The hardened broadheads were just too danged hard to comfortably sharpen with traditional hand tools. This machine certainly would gobble-up the sharpening needs of those older, very hard Grizzly Grandes. I wish I could find some of those old very hard broadheads toady. The below photo really does not do justice to the fine nature of the grind nor the consistency of the edge. It's really quite nice. Keep in mind this broadhead was only the second Broadhead attempt at sharpening the Grizzly on the machine. For those bowmen who prefer to shoot left wing feathers this machine would easily put a left handed single bevel grind upon the broadhead.
I also have experimented some with converting the Grizzly Grande 190 to a four blade bleeder design. What I've tried to achieve is a bleeder blade extremely thin, that will either break off upon contact with heavy bone or bend around that bone. What I've come up with is pictured below.
The bleeders are surplus from the Old Pearson Switchblade broadheads. These bleeders are only .012 of an inch thickness, they are slotted and only weigh in at 9 grains each. I have slotted the Grizzly Grande using Dremel high speed grinder tool equipt with a Carborundum cut-off wheel. Admittedly the slot or curf is far too wide so anyone with a better idea to create a thinner curf please forward to me. I use JB Weld epoxy to secure the bleeder in place. I have developed what appears to me to be the ideal Traditional archery broadhead for hunting North American game animals. The use of this Jet Wet Grinder machine has solved the challenge of achieving razor sharpness on this very strong and durable head. When you think about the cost involved, these broadheads are only about $4.00 each. There are not too many broadheads that can compare with the strength of this design.
I'd still like to see the Grizzly Company manufacture the Grizzly Grande Super Max, a broadhead of 3 to 1 ratio design that is 1 3/4 inch wide, (after sharpening). I've asked Shawn to build that sized broadhead and harden that monster to at least a Rockwell 60 but I'm not holding my breath....
Topic: Yet another Grizzly Grande Posting (Read 1239 times)
