Sharp broadheads

[GCook]

I know it has been discussed at length.  And I don't mean to rant but it's come up twice this fall already for me with friends.  I know all hunters believe they have sharp broadheads in their quiver. However some people have less understanding of it than you'd think.
Sharpening a broadhead takes practice.
It is a skill. Skills have to be worked at and developed. Practiced to try to attain perfection.

Now over the years some tools have been designed to assist in making it easier and more consistent.

But I think too many don't know the difference between sharp and scary sharp.

This weekend I was sitting in a blind wishing I could have gotten a shot at this nice buck. I had a very sharp single bevel Grizstix head with his name on it. 
I haven't shot these in years and before I stored them in pill bottles I had them scary sharp. The pill bottle lid has a small hole drilled in it and the ferrel screws into it so the blade never touches plastic and technically should never dull.

However when I took them out of the bottle and checked them, yes still scary sharp but I could not help myself but to give them a few loving strokes on the stone.

The difference in the sharpness of a broadhead can come down to did it nick that blood vessel and open it up as it barely touched it on the way through or did it just push it out of the way and now a would have been dead animal bleeding enough to track and find turns into a tough or impossible track and an animal just wounded badly.

We work hard to tune our arrow set ups, get our form and release consistent and down pat.

Yet some will shoot a broadhead into a foam target then pull the arrow and go shoot an animal with it. Or shoot one animal, retrieve the arrow and shoot another without touching up the blade.
This happened this weekend where a hunter killed an animal with a good shot but felt the head was sharp enough and didn't take the time to touch it up.  (He is newer to bow hunting with very few animals under his belt)  Now I can't say if the shot placement on the second animal was good or not.  However I know the blood trail wasn't.  I know discussing it with him he truly believes it was still "sharp enough".  And maybe it was.  But even his willingness to allow his arrows to rattle around in a back quiver, heads rattling against one another gives me pause.  I've seen heads dull just from the foam in quiver ends.  An open tube allowing that can't be good either.  But if that is what you like be sure to touch up your heads often.
 I liver shot a deer with a scary sharp head the other day and she was dead in 85 yards.  The blood was pouring from her as she ran off.  When the profuse blood trail waned after 75 yards I knew she was down close.  Barreling through the scrub oak not on a trail.  10 yards later she was dead under a thorn bush.

I have come to believe this so much over the years I'm often "touching up" heads for others.
So much so I have bought several sharpeners and leave them at our ranch. And if I'm there I'll even sharpen/resharpen heads for my two ranch partners. (Modern bow shooters)

Thankfully one of them at least has listened and is trying to get good at it. The other one I'm pretty sure I'll be sharpening his until I die.😄
At least now he wants me to.  But it took some lost animals and bad blood trails to convince him.

That said I've paid for and shelved many heads over the years that I found impossible for me to get that level of sharpness I need. Heads that some folks even here swear by but for me it didn't work out and that's okay.  I'd rather lose a few dollars on heads I won't shoot a deer with than loose the deer because I didn't control what I should have.
But some of the "marginal shots" I've "made" over the years have taught hard lessons. Especially liver shots. A scary sharp head is a dead deer. A not so sharp head there is a chance you won't find it and I've seen them survive it.  They are so tough and resilient.   They survive things we can't imagine.

I am convinced impressing this on our hunting friends is something that will help them as much as anything.  Especially newer and younger hunters.

Help them find the right tools for their needs, not just trying to force them to be good at it "my way". 
That might be a stone, ceramic sticks, sand paper or an electric table top tool.  But it will save them at least having the experience I've had and been with others having too many times over three plus decades of bow hunting.

So anyway, I'll get off the soapbox and get back to worrying about the other things I can control like what's for lunch.
 

[bowmaster12]

Its a skill that I'm unsuccessfully trying to figure out. Even with a kme I cant get the ole razor heads where i want them.  I end up giveing them to a budy who brings them to someone he knows. 

[woodchucker]

Very good point, Gary!!!

I've been sharpening knives since I was in grade school. It's a learned skill, and practice makes perfect!!
In this day and age, most youngsters don't even USE a knife, let alone carry one...

I've carried my GrandDad's old razor hone, in it's original box, in my pack for years.
If it sharpend his razor "shaving sharp" It'll make my Razorheads just as sharp!!! 

(as long as I do my part)

[GCook]

Its a skill that I'm unsuccessfully trying to figure out. Even with a kme I cant get the ole razor heads where i want them.  I end up giveing them to a budy who brings them to someone he knows. 

If that is what it takes and you stay committed to only hunting with those heads that sharp I applaud you for doing what it takes.
There is a knife store near me that will sharpen them for a small fee.  A buddy uses them.

[pdk25]

Everyone is different with how comfortable they are regarding sharpness.  I recognize that I could kill almost anything with a less than perfectly sharpened broadhead, but I strive to do my best.  If they get shot into foam, they are resharpened.  If they sit in the quiver long, the same.  I almost always touch up the broadhead on my primary arrow the same day or night before hunting, and apply chapstick to the edge before putting it back in the quiver.  I have found 3 blade vpa broadheads to be almost idiot proof for sharpening ( a good thing for me), and I use them more than any other broadhead.  Bastard file and crock still will get the most dull head back in the quiver in a few minutes.  I have more trouble with some of the other heads that I use, but I do a decent job with simmons heads as long as they aren't far off the factory grind.

[Butch Speer]

Been sharpening broadheads and knives for 50 years now. I'm also a wood carver. I'm trying to say that, not bragging, I know sharp. I would never recommend it for knives cause it removes a lot of metal but, for BHs, a RADA can't be beat. Will sharpen them very sharp,  done correctly, in a short time. It's small, light and can be had for about $10.

[Pine]

I blame this on the invention of the SAFTY RAZOR.
The average person at the turn of 1900 could sharpen and maintain a straight razor and there butcher and kitchen knives.
Then over the years sharpening tools has just faded off into the sunset.
It's a very simple thing but our society has made it out to be some kind of mystery.
I see some people post about there sharpening rituals, they almost seem like a secret formula used in a witches brew.
And no, you cant teach someone how to do it with words, because you cant FEEL words.
But the OP is correct, too many animals are shot with "GOOD ENOUGH" blades.
And it has been my observation that sharp is a relevant term.

[GCook]

 I have a half dozen Rada sharpeners.  Got a good deal on Amazon.  However they don't work on three blade heads and although they work great on my Simmons heads, even on the blades of my friend's Rage mechanical heads, they aren't as effective on my Carbon Express heads.
The file process doesn't get a head sharp for me.  There is a segment who think the jagged edge tears through vessels and works better.  I just have never seen the evidence in that. 
This thread isn't intended to start an argument.  Just to give us all some more consideration to focus on an important element.

[Sam McMichael]

As a kid I learned to sharpen knives very well, but arrow points are a whole different story. I just never seem to get them where I want them, even though are generally shaving sharp. They just don't seem to shave as smoothly as my knives.

[GCook]

Sam one of the more relaxing things I do in the evening is to sharpen knives and broadheads as my wife quietly works on grading papers and her lesson plans.   Sitting across the table from her and spending time with light conversations as we both work at something we are committed to.  Her educating our youth, me being as lethal as I can.
Even after an evening of shooting three pigs or missing 3 in the dark I spend the time after dark eating a microwave meal and resharpening heads.  Even though I have brand new and back up heads ready to go.
I guess I'm a tad dense that way.
But a friend struggles with it and uses an electric sharpener to do his two blades.  He disassembles and reassembles each head because just the blade fits in the electric sharpener he uses.  His commitment to doing whatever it takes has paid off because he is a consistent and constant taker of big game all year long.

[pdk25]

Worst mistake ever was recently buying some knives.  I now have no more hair on my arms, legs, and chest for testing broadhead sharpness, lol.

[Horsehide]

Well Gary, with everything going on this weekend, you showed me yours, but I forgot to show you mine:



Those Abowyer had a horrible uneven and concave hollow ground edge when I got them... much better now.

[GCook]

Well Gary, with everything going on this weekend, you showed me yours, but I forgot to show you mine:



Those Abowyer had a horrible uneven and concave hollow ground edge when I got them... much better now.

You showed me how to get it done as well!  BTW I wasn't referencing you my new friend.

[Horsehide]

No problem Gary, I didn't think you were. I would not have been offended by your comments though; they are pretty on point.
I was blessed with a nice doe indeed. Just finished processing the her for the freezer. Ended up with exactly 20 lbs of beautiful real organic meat. I hope to keep learning from others who cross my path on this journey. Considering the price of those heads, our use of a medicine bottle to keep them sharp is pure genius.

[GCook]

Well I gained that knowledge on the internet from an experienced archer.  I thought it was a pretty "sharp idea" myself.

[Yellah nocks]

I butchered more broadheads than deer in my years of hunting. And so....i tried everything. And yet more butchery. Eventually, I went to replaceable blade heads(was shooting compound at the time). Then came back to traditional...where I started out fifty years ago. This time I was truly motivated and bought a sharpening jig with rollers. To be honest, I tried the KME and failed because I just didn't spend the time really learning it. And having sold that unit, plus being on social security, I bought a cheaper similar jig. And I spent time...an entire evening. Five hours it took me to really learn how to get the heads SHARP. I am now confident I can ethically and humanely dispatch game as long as I put the arrow in the boiler room. KME...you deserve a big hat's off for what you do...even tho I finally got it right on a competitor's system. If you are looking for a GOOD system, I cannot say enough good things about the KME(or the Staysharp jig). Whatever tool you do decide to use, at least stay with it long enough to do a fair trial.

[Ron LaClair]

I had to learn how to put a  sharp edge on a blade years ago when I was a fur trapper. Cutting around the eyes and lips of a fox, mink or muskrat requires a very sharp knife.

With a broadhead you get a burr on one side and then work it back and forth until it flakes off. At that point the edge should be shaving sharp.

The boy in this picture is my youngest Son who just turned 60 years old.

[GCook]

I used a an X-Acto knife for those fine cuts when I use to trap.

[Overspined]

I’ve never been able to get 3 blade heads sharp enough for me, and most store bought pre-sharpened heads aren’t very sharp either. The thin razor blade replaceable ones are but the others usually carry a very steep angle and aren’t the same. Often factory ground edges take the temper out of the edge and so as you work into the steel it gets better too...

[toddster]

Right or wrong, I get my broadheads, sharp.  The test I have always used, is to take a medium size rubber band, holding the arrow under my arm, I loosely drag the rubber band over the broad head.  If the rubber band cuts, before the 1/2 way point I call it good.  I use rubber bands, because they mimic the texture of an artery.  If I shoot a broadhead, I will touch it up.  If they sit in a quiver for a minimum of a month without being shot, I touch them up.  One thing many forget is a well razor honed edge, will begin to get dull over time, with oxidation and minor rubbing in a quiver.
I have used a lot of broadheads over the decades and I know that there are more experienced guys than me.  But as long as a quality fixed blade broadhead is sharp, and put through the vitals it will do it's job.