Snuffer sharpness

[Dustin Waters]

I stopped at Lowes yesterday to get lumber for some shelves in the garage and picked up a big file to sharpen some broadheads with.  Next to the files they had a small cheap diamond hone I thought egh its 5 bucks why not give it a shot.  

Got home put the shelves up ran inside and grabbed a head to sharpen.   Sharpie marker to the edges to make sure I got the bevel where I want it.  File down the bevel so its uniform, wetstone to smooth out the newly shaped bevel, diamon sharpener to polish up the edges, then cereal box to finish it up.  Sounds like it shoudl make them just like razors.

Except one thing.... I am sharpening challenged.  I cant get them to shave hair.  They will snap a rubber band in half in a millisecond with minimal tension on the rubber band.  I have no question they will flat out cause some serious bleeding, but im trying to get to that holy grail of sharpening these things.... i want to see patches of hair on my arm missing.  What am i doing wrong?

[fountain]

i think they are tough heads to get that sharp too.  they will get sharp--but i cant slowly drag one on my leg and roll the hair off either

[hvyhitter]

Sounds like you have it down, I sharpen the same way but add dragging accross a crock stick instead of the cardboard. I use the rubberband test as to how sharp my snuffers are, and they do just zip through deer. The angle of the edge, at 30*, isnt the optimum for shaving hair. 20* or less is Better. have some old strait razors that are hollow ground to about 8*

[Matt Fowler]

I'm shooting snuffers for the first time this season. I use a file, course-medium-fine stone, stick, and leather strop and my arms are bald. Can't wait to send one to a deer.

[Mr.Magoo]

I can get my snuffers to shave hair with just a file.  Maybe you're hitting them too hard or getting one side uneven.  I'm not sure you'll get them "razor" sharp with a 30 degree edge, but frankly if they'll pop a rubber band easily ... they're done.

[Dustin Waters]

thats good news to me.  I know that they did a number on the deer I killed last year, but I was just trying to reach that pinnacle platfrom of popping hair sharp.

[pdk25]

I touch mine up with a fine dmt hone and they are sharp, but not hair shaving sharp.  Just shot through a rib next to the spine and buried up to the fletching with alot of the arrow sticking out the front of the chest.  Massive hole and blood.  I wouldn't get to worked up about it for deer.  I'm not saying don't get them as sharp as you can, though.

[Zbone]

How "big" a file did you find at Lowes? 12" mill bastard is the largest they carry at mine, and it's barely wide enough for a Snuffer. I have a 14", but am looking for a 16".

Cardboard???... Never heard of such a thing?

Matt - Where do I buy a leather strop?

[leatherneck]

Dustin- Others will criticize what I am about to tell you. Get yourself a Snuffer tamer. You will shave hair, I promise. I know, I know many will say that the manufacturer doesn't reccommend them. Others will say that they make the BH weak. I'm not here to give you a bunch of BS, just facts. I've used the tamer since it came on the market(15 years maybe?) and have never, I mean never had a BH fail. Make your own decision but if you want some hair shaving pics, then PM me and I'll send them to you. There are several other ways to sharpen a Snuffer. This, TO ME, is the easiest. I to am sharpening challenged. Good luck.

Mike

[longbowben]

Snuffer tamer easy as pie.

[champ38]

Will the Snuffer Tamer work for all 3-blades, ie WW ? Or just the snuffer ?

[Charlie Lamb]

Dustin... some guys have a tendency to "oversharpen". Easy enough to do especially if you are using too much pressure.

The very last strokes on the file should be very light... with a new file they should't be very heavy from the start.
Too much pressure will cause the blades to "spread" slightly and the amount of spread will change from pass to pass. This can cause a rounded edge... sharp but not like a razor.

Go directly from the file to your finest hone and and do a half dozen ultra light passes for each rotation.
Do the same with the cardboard.

Report back please.

[Matt Fowler]

Zbone,
I cut a piece of leather from an old coat and nailed it streched over a 12in 2X4.
I couldn't find a file wide enough so I angle the head slightly and push forward. As you can see, there are a lot of methods to get heads sharp. I think the key is to take it easy until you figure it out. Kinda like tillerin'. You can always take some off.

[Ryan Rothhaar]

For several years (and occasionally still) I used only a "RazorRake" pull through sharpener on my Snuffers.  This makes an edge very similar to a Snuffer Tamer, but hollow ground instead of changing the whole edge angle.  I never fooled around getting a shaving edge with the Rake, but used the nasty wire-burr edge it left as is.  Shot at least a half dozen deer, a couple antelope, my moose and muskox with heads sharpened this way - no problems at all - and the heads generally lose no edge after going through the animal and into the dirt.  Last year I went back to a fine smooth shaving edge using the hollow grind/bench grinder, diamond stone/leather strop method, and frankly, I'm not convinced it is any better.  I may end up back at the wire edge.

You get a good wire/burr edge that grabs skin and feels sharp and you are good to go.

I know the "studies" may say otherwise, but I just don't see the difference in the REAL WORLD.

R

[Tom Leemans]

Hee hee Every year, the BH sharpening threads start a month before season.  :p  

Why must our broadheads shave hair anyway? I have never gotten mine to shave hair easily. I file sharpen, then give each side a pass or two with a diamond hone and virtually no pressure and I'm done. They usually won't shave hair, but they'll cut you very easily, if you aren't careful, and they seem to have no trouble running through everything but heavy bone on a critter. At the risk of sounding cliche' here, are we just splitting hairs?

[leatherneck]

Champ-Yes, they will work on the WW.

Dustin- Charlie is too modest, so I'll tell ya. He has a good method as well. Go do a search for his tutorial and check it out.

Ryan-I hear ya brother. I sometimes don't hit the leather strop and won't hesitate to shoot an animal with the burr edge from the file.

Dustin- Photos sent.

[boznarras]

Looking at the pix of the snuffer tamer, is it something I could make myself with a 2x4 on a table saw? Looks like a block to hold two files at an angle to each other, changing the bevel from 30 to 24 degrees.
If I am thinking right, just cut one face at 12 degrees to the other half of the block, but it is early in the day.
Maybe glue a block on the end with holes for the tails of the files? Make another with faces the right width for stones? Anyone tried this?

[sagebrush]

I made my own jig to use on two bladers. It is just a piece of oak with two files at the right angle. It is also much bigger so I can use bigger files. So I get longer strokes on them. Once finished, the only thing I have seen that you have to watch is that the files will dull after a while and not work as good. Then you just put on new ones or turn them over if the other side is new. Gary

[leatherneck]

Heres the tamer with some results for those who care. This is the arrow I'll have nocked come Sat. morning.

 

 

[leatherneck]

And no salivating over those sexy legs.