Wow, lots of questions and thanks to those of you who answered for me.
Jeremy and Pat are both correct.
Depending on the width of the BH, the BH sharpener will average 25 degrees per side for a total included bevel of 50 degrees or so on a double bevel.
The knife sharpener is as good or better because of the infinite angle adjustment. Because the clamp assembly is spring loaded, interchangeable jaws for the knife sharpener would be tough. I put broadheads in the clamp tight against the ferrule but, swing the point end out to get the blade as close as possible to paralel with the front of the clamp before actually tightening the clamp.
With either system, start with a pretty coarse stone and work just the bevel side till you can see and feel a well defined burr running from tip to heel of the blade. Then progress through the finer grit stones. As you do this, the burr will continue to get bigger and heavier. When you're satisfied with the level of polish on the bevel side, the last step is to flip the clamp and do the absolute minimum necessary to remove the burr.... usually this will require just 3-5 passes on the unbeveled side. If you "loose" the edge, just make a few passes on each side of the blade with the finest stone like you would a double bevel.
You may see a very thin line on the unbeveled side where the paint has been removed but it will be very small and should not create even a tiny micro bevel because you only want to remove the burr, not actually grind a bevel.
I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with Ed Ashby last Monday and we were sharpening single bevel heads with the knife sharpener. Both Grizzlies and the ABS "Ashby" heads came out sharp enough to cut hair off our arms without even touching the skin. (the Grizzlies had been filed previously) We also were able to whittle up little curls on a single hair without cutting through it. Ed said even if a small microbevel is ground on the unbeveled side, he's seen no difference in the performance of single bevel heads when sharpened this way. I left Ed a knife sharpener (he already has a BH sharpener) and he called me Wednesday morning to tell me that he had been doing some more experimenting and was able to get broadheads sharp enough to dry shave his face. (please don't try that)!
Did I miss any questions?
Ron
Topic: KME and Abowyer (Read 592 times)
