2 blade design broadhead question

[J. Holden]

I'm on the hunt for some 2 blade broadheads.  I've noticed some edges have a gently curve in them from tip to stern while others are a straight line.  I'm looking at Ace Express vs. Ace Standard.  Just wondering if there's some sort of advantage of one design over another.  Or is purely a looks sort of thing?

-Jeremy

[arrow30]

i would think the area behind the outermost curved section does not cut much,  so on the straight edge, the whole edge is working...does it really matter.?  probobly not.

[Wudstix]

Don’t know the physics behind it but the longer the cutting surface the better.   Also the stronger the blade the better.  Extra convex may add a few grains of weight as well.
 

[Alexander Traditional]

I have some of the straight edge Ace,and they are very easy to sharpen. I like them a lot. I think the others you speak of are convex,they are not any harder to sharpen. There's probably no difference you could tell on penetration.

[J. Holden]

Thanks for the replies!  Think I may try the straighter edge Ace heads for a change.

-Jeremy

[Holm-Made]

I have used the Ace Standard a bunch.  I like the triple laminated tip of the Standard, over the Express.  A convex edge makes for more steel in the tip.  I see that as the only advantage but it is a good one.  Narrow tips Tend to curl at times.

[Zwickey-Fever]

Convex style broadheads are stronger than straight or concave style broadheads. The straight and concave style broadheads, (IMO), have better penetration. "But", the concave broadheads such as Simmons broadheads and the convex broadheads such as Ace Standards have a better cutting efficiency and leave better blood trails in my experience. You can never go wrong with a Ace broadhead, especially the Ace Standard. They are easy to sharpen, they hold a edge, easy to tune and they fly true. Best of luck!
      JMG

[Fletcher]

The Ace Express has been one of my favorites for many years and has performed very well for me.  I like the width, profile and ease of sharpening.  They can take a very sharp edge and hold it well.  I put a small tanto type point on them and have never had one even try to curl or bend.  Great broadhead.  Good Luck!

[Wheels2]

I found the straight edge easier to sharpen.  I have one of the stone and strop kits.

[Alexander Traditional]

I think the straight edge are easier to sharpen. Here's a little tech tip in the 3Rivers catalog.

[GCook]

I'm running a convex head on one of my set ups.  It's easily passed through a few deer and several pigs.  Easy to sharpen on either a stone or even a Rada.  On sharpeners like the Rada you have to watch and maintain your angle at blade contact point as well as light your strokes as the blade gets close to sharp.  Assuming I started with a fairly sharp head, which both the Piledrivers and Swampsharks were when I got them,  I can take them to shaving sharp in less than 20 strokes per side even after being shot.  Sometimes less than 10 strokes straight out of the package.
Straight edges are easy to sharpen given quality steel to begin with.  But don't shy away from other blade styles because you aren't sure you can sharpen them easily.

[Gdpolk]

What your really looking at is this:

• the more acute the tip angle and bevel angles are, the less resistance it will have at cutting but likewise the less durable the head will be because physics dictates that less material displaces less material but likewise less material makes for less support at the tip
• Curving the tip can create a bit of a "tanto-ish" effect that strengthens the tip while keeping the main body of the broadhead more slender and acute while also smoothing out the high spot or sharp corner where the tanto grind would meet the primary grinds on the head.  In theory this should reduce cutting resistance if all other angles are identical and your just looking at a rounded off tanto vs a hard tanto but in the real world you aren't going to see much difference

Real life take home message is both are good ways of tackling the same goal and what is going to make the most difference is durability (a curled tip STOPS penetration), the overall length to width ratio, and how sharp the heads are.

[Shinken]

One of my "fav" tanto-tip concave 2-blade broad heads:

[SuperK]

I think I read somewhere that one of the reasons a Katana (sp?) was/is such an efficient cutter was because of the convex shape to the blade.  I don't know if that is true or not but I have had great results with Ace Standard broadheads.  They too are convex shaped.

[Wudstix]

ACE is great head.  Ribtek are tough as nails. The old Magnus heads are good.

[JohnV]

Probably makes little difference all things equal. Some heads are more difficult to sharpen than others. Something to consider.

[Tucker]

I’ve used Eclipse (Journey Man design) convex heads and have found them to be terrific penetrators.
I also use Zwickey Eskimos quite a bit. It may be somewhat subjective, but it seems that the Eclipse penetrate a little better. But not enough to justify the added cost.

[Terry Green]

The corrugated furrels on ribbies can retard penetration severly if they are not filled level with glue.

Lots of quality heads out there that have stood the test of time that's for sure.  Pick one that's been around from 2.5 to 1 and 3 to 1 ratio and get your set up tuned.... then you can just worry about sharpening your shooting and getting on game skills. 

[Tajue17]

many great 2-blade heads I use a few different brands on different arrows but Ace heads are serious heads and among my favorites,,  but with BIG 2-blade heads if you are using wood be sure your arrows are perfectly matched to the bow otherwise you have a wing on the tip of an arrow that wants to go its own way and you will NEVER get them to all hit in the same spot

[blacktailbob]

Zwickey No Mercy gives you a nice ratio of length to width.