Zwickey "No Mercy" Heads

[D. Key]

Has anyone tried the new "No Mercy" heads from Zwickey?  I'm going on a bear hunt in a few weeks and thought these might be the ticket. Looks like a modified "Delta" head, which I love to shoot.

Thanks

[troutms]

I have the first version which has a double bevel. There is a single bevel version available now. I have not shot them into an animal yet. Shooting them into a target, they fly very well. They also sharpen easily like the Eskimos, which is what I normally shoot. I have been very pleased with them and plan to shoot them this fall during deer season.

[Jason Jelinek]

I saw the single bevel version first hand and was very dissapointed with the bevel.  I know that Zwickey's require a fair amount of work to get a straight bevel (even with double bevels), but this was poor and the guy who bought them said the other 5 were the same way.

The one side will sharpen decently, but I don't know how anyone could get the other side to get sharp without a lot of file work.

Jason

[jrchambers]

i am shure that they have them ground at a steeper angle than optimal so and ugly edges that come from the factory could easly be fixed with some quick file work,  Jason im not sure what you mean by getting the other side sharp, i may misunderstand you but a single bevel is only ground on one side,  so the other side should not be touched exept to remove some fine burrs

[Orion]

The tip of the no mercy is double bevel.  That's because the tip is three laminations of steel.  On either side, the ferrule part that melds into the main blade can be sharpened along with the single bevel on the main blade.  But that still leaves the ferrule on the flip side of the blade.  Thus, the front nearly 1/3 of the head is a double bevel.  It's not a true single bevel head.

[Jason Jelinek]

I mean one of the blades is ground somewhat decently, the other blade is not.  But I've never been impressed with the factory grind on the Zwickey broadheads.

They use good steel and with work they do the job.

Jason

[SlowBowinMO]

I've been working with the single bevel Zwickeys since they first came out.  Not all of the information in this thread is accurate in my opinion.

I agree the grind is nothing to write home about, but I find they sharpen well with a file.  I use the same procedure as I would for file sharpening a Grizzly, but the Zwickey takes me about a third of the time to sharpen.

While the grind is going to require a little work, the single beveled versions are true single beveled heads, available in both right or left bevel, and they will give you all the advantages of a single beveled head.  The front third of a Zwickey is triple laminated, unlike the Grizzly which is two laminations.  This causes the Zwickey to look a little different at first, but it is not double beveled on the front third of the head, only the double beveled head is.  The single beveled heads are ground on one side only all the way to the tip.

Here's a picture of a left single beveled head.  You can see the grind all the way on the left, and you'll notice nothing but green paint on the right side.  It's a single beveled head.

So far I like them, they sharpen well and fly wonderfully.  With Zwickeys lengendary strength and perfomance history, I'm looking forward to putting some to good use this season.  I already have some in my quiver ready to go.    


   

[bm22]

i shot a pig with one about 3 weeks ago. good blood trail, passthrew but i would expect nothing less from the shoot i put on the pig. perfect double lung, and with a low exit hole i expected to see alot of blood.

i have an easier time getting grizzly's razor sharp than the zwickeys, the tip has me a bit puzzeled. i don't like the way the tip is ground. just like was stated earlier the tip has three layers so the very front of the point is wider. the only way to make a smooth blade is to double bevel the front which takes away from every good addtribute of the single bevel.

all in all it is an ok head with alittle work it is a good head, i would rather grizzly hurry up and start making more broadheds.

[deadpool]

I have the double bevel verisions, very easy to sharp, but they do seem to lose thier razor edge after bout 6 or 7 shots into a block target, but a few strokes on the accusharp will give it back that edge, they fly great to!!
I like mine alot!

[Orion]

Slomo:  I haven't seen one up close, and can't quite tell from looking at your picture.  Is there an actual step in the grind?  If not, then where the ferrule steel meets the outside of the main blade of the head (on the right side in your picture), that layer of steel is not sharpened from the oppoosite side and would work against the single bevel cut in the two layers on the other/opposite side.

[SlowBowinMO]

I think I understand what you're asking...yes the first and third laminations that comprise the ferrule step down to the middle lamination further down the head like all Zwickeys, or any triple laminated head for that matter.  I don't think it would create a negative effect though, it's the same on both sides of the head and the pressure would primarily be applied on the cutting edges, which are single beveled.

I know they spin in my targets like Grizzlies do.    

[Rick McGowan]

Back to the original question, if you are hunting black bear with a reasonable weight bow and arrows, I'd stick with the Delta's, I killed quite a few bears with the four blade Delta and everyone was a pass through. Black bears aren't hard to shoot through, but they often don't bleed well, so I'd use the wider head myself. After all, if you sharpen a Delta enough times it will be down to the size of the No Mercy!

[T Folts]

I looked at mine under a microscope to see what was going on during the sharpening process ( I have been having a tough time) Where the tip lamination is it gets in the way of getting a good edge to the tip unless I am missing something, there is a polished edge that runs along side of the laminated part at the back of the unbeveled side. I just dont know if I am doing this correct or not.

[Orion]

T folts.  The only way you can get the tip sharp is to double bevel it.  Otherwise, the offside thickness of metal makes for a very dull point.

Or, you can file until you have single beveled all three laminations, but that will leave a ridge, serration where the triple lamination meets the double/single main blade.  The ridge would be substantial and probably retard penetration.

Back to the original question, I agree with Rick. I, too, use 4-blade deltas for bear.  Pokes a big hole in them and leaves a good blood trail.

[Tree man]

I went hunting last week with No Mercy single beveled heads. Regarding the tip laminations.... the tip winds up being a biased double bevel- It still rotates into the cut. I shot one Javelina with a No Mercy and 1 feral hog. I also took a javelina with a single beveled Ace head. They work but they aren't magic-the Hog I hit too far back-low in the gut. I got no blood, no gastric contents and never found it. The Javies didn't go far,bled, received additional arrows and were finished with pistol shots to the head. I saw no difference from past double beveled head performance on Peccaries. I'll continue to experiment with SB designs but don't expect miracles.

[BradLantz]

Orion - so Grizzly's don't tip sharpen either then ? Ashby really shoots a tonto tip thats double bevel or a single that isn't sharp or ?

My No Mercy's took a lot of sharpening and I think I can get one pretty dang sharp at this point. The tips I hope I can get razor sharp ...

[Tree man]

Brad, Dr. Ashby sharpens the "Tanto tip"  portion of the Grizzlies.He has written about putting double bevels on the tips. They can also be sharpened with opposed single bevels. What Magnus terms a "Diamond Point" is a simple and excellent way to create a sharp point that is not likely to curl-'ve been doing that on all heads for several years.

[Orion]

Brad:  Grizzlies are made out of two steel laminations and are sharpened single bevel all the way to the point.  The tip of the point itself is then tanto shaped.  It's not really double beveled either.  Rather half of it is single beveled one direction, the other half is single beveled from the opposite side, each to match the bevels on the length of the blade.  (If the tanto point were double beveled, each half would be sharpened from both sides.  Though it can be done, as treeman points out, that's not what is usually done on a Grizzly.)

You could tanto the tip of a Zwickey and single bevel it, but the main blade itself would still not be sharp for the first 3/8 to 1-2 inch of it's length due to the third piece of steel on the off/back side of the blade which forms part of the ferrule and runs all the way to the point.

[Dr. Ed Ashby]

Justin and Jerry,

You are both right! I'm still experimenting with which type of bevel on the Tanto works best. The one that doesn't work as well is to have a single-bevel on the Tanto that is on the same side as the edge's single-bevel.

I have a series of test set up to look at this very factor, in this year's testing, and also at the angle of the Tanto itself. Hope I can give a more definative answer to what Tanto design works best sometime soon.

The No Mercy will be tested this year too. There are several design features on it that I think could have been done much better, and I'm not sure the bevel-area is going to be enough to make best use of the rotational-force. A thicker blade would have helped; giving more bevel surface-area at a given bevel-angle. However, one never knows until it can be tested.

Ed
TGMM Family of the Bow

[Rick McGowan]

I sharpon my Grizzly's like Orion says, single bevel all the way until it meets the single bevel from the opposite side, which is actually just past the center. If you look at it point on, it makes a diagonal cutting edge across the tip. There is nothing magic about the single bevel or the "No Mercy", the Grizzy has to be single bevel due to its construction and while its a great head for the biggest of animals, for animals that are easy to shoot through, there are better choices. The "No Mercy" is just a narrowed Delta, that they charge more for and are promoting for the BIG animals, but since it still only weighs 130 grains and isn't very close to being a 3-1 head, I don't see the point to it and I am a Zwickey fan.