I read alot threads on here from time to time about sharpening BH. I recently discovered Alaska Bowhunting Supply has come out with a neat system to sharpen any 2 blade head, hunting and fishing knives, etc in mere seconds. I gave it whirl and found the results.....well...you be the judge.....for demostration i used a Single bevel Nanook head from Alaska Bowhunting Supply.
Heres my setup..a cheap 6" grinder (3400 rpm) bought seperately from any big box store and Griz Stic Razor Sharpening wheels. 1 wheel is 240 grit and other wheel is paper.
For example since this head comes razor sharp from ABS, lets say i need to establish a new bevel. I'll lay the bevel for a flat grind on the 240grit wheel and make LIGHTLY 2-3 passes. This should produce a micro micro burr
Flat grind ( wheel and blade have same angle)
I'll make sure the the 240 grit wheel grinded the bevel flat all the way to very end on the single bevel shoulder. NOTE here...i'm not making a new bevel angle here, i'm just going with the angle already on the head...very little material is removed..Then I'll take BH and make several LIGHT passes into the bevel on the paper wheel.FLAT GRIND also although the pic doesn't show it too well. IMportant Note here...do not ever put enough pressure on the head into the wheel or you could change the temper..you'll know this if your haed changes color...stop and back off pressure.
This shows a Light Burr from bevel side bent over to flat side. I drug this head across leather to show burr folded over to flat side of BH. Now your in business
I then take BH over to leather strop treated with sharpening paste and powder and lightly strop on the FLAT edge FLAT to flip burr back over to Bevel side. Important point here..When stropping on flat side ,BH must be flat to leather. If BH is rasied to any angle then you'lll have a Double bevel..which is not a bad thing but this is about a single bevel.
Note ,I LIGHTLEY (weight of BH only) drag the BH down the side of this leather not across.See the burr flipping back up?
After about 10 or so light strokes, the micro burr is getting smaller and smaller and will mostly flip off. I take the BH and turn bevel into leather and light drag BH several times on Bevel side to remove all micro micro filings or burrs..
Then I'll move over to cardboard and LIGHTLY LIGHTLY ( only weight of BH) drag BH 4-5 times across the cardboard (pic not shown) against face of bevel and then drag down cardboard on Flat side (pic shown). Do not drag the FLAT side of BH across the cardboard because the angle of ferel will produce a shoulder and you will have a double bevel...this is about single bevel.
The test......Face Shaving sharp. we see alot of guys shave hair on their arms and if your any good, you'll know there's a trick to doing this will a moderately sharp head....but to shave your face.........It has got to be Sticky Polished RAZOR Sharp.
In closing ,Normally to touch up heads to get back to RAZOR sharp, I'll hit it with just a couple of passes with the GrizStic Paper wheel then Strop on Card board.....30 seconds!!!!! To put an new bevel on a single bevel, i go through the above steps. I can touch up a dull SliverFlame in 45 seconds to back to factory sharpness...if you have SF, you know thats pretty good.
I really like this system the guys at Alaska Bowhunting Supply has marketed. You can sharpen DOUBLE BEVEL heads just as easy as single bevel.. and Hunting knives.....ohh man you can get them sharp. This system is so simple to use. It works great on all single blade heads of various makes and metals. Learning curve on this is so steep. it's just a neat neat product.It comes with great instructions and you can retreat the 240 wheel with grit supplied countless times,.Believe me you will love this product because makes sharpening FUN. Hope this helps a few of ya'll...pm me any questions thanks
Topic: Sharpening Heads Face Shaving Close! (Read 1921 times)
