Why Does this Happen When I Sharpen Broadheads??

[Nala]

Hey all,

I am a NOVICE at sharpening broadheads, I freely admit it.  That's why I got the Woodsmans.  I read that they are just about the easiest heads to sharpen.

I got an old one to practice on before I buy new ones so I would make sure and not screw the new ones up when I tried to sharpen them.

So I watch all the videos and read all the posts talking about how to properly sharpen the Woodsmans.  I get out my files and go to it.  Well after filing I have a decent edge so I go to the final steps to get that RAZOR edge.  I try several different methods including using 2000 grit sandpaper, a butchers steel and using the FINE stone that came with my Lansky system.  I can never seem to get that RAZOR edge on them no matter what I try.

What is strange is that after I finish with the other methods to try and get that final edge, I will feel the edge with my finger and it will feel like it is not as sharp as what it was before I started.  I am going the same direction as I did with the file and I am not using anything that would remove much material off the edge at all.  The other day I tried using 2000 grit emory paper to polish the edge after using the file.  I thought I would get a nice, smooth and razor sharp edge, but I didn't.  It felt and seemed duller than when I started with the emory paper.

Why is this happening when I am using methods that are designed to not remove material at all, but simply polish the edge?

Please explain.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks for the help.

Nalajr

[**DONOTDELETE**]

To much pressure. You want the BH to float over your finisher. I Use some pressure with the file and when I move to my Stone I use just enuff to hold the bh down on the stone. I pretty much just push it and let the weight of the BH be the only pressure.

Again no pressure when I then move over to Leather strop.

[lpcjon2]

I'm not one of the pros but when you finish with the file you have to take the rolled edge off.You need to do this with light strokes I do two then lighter two more then real light two more.I also finish mine with an Arkansas stone and then a strop.Hope this helps

[raghorn]

Are you doing two blades at one stroke? Back to Front? Rotate the head after every stroke. Put Magic Marker on the edge and you will see where metal is coming off at. You will always have a slight burr on one blade. I can get Snuffers,Woodsmans, Semerod, MA-3 ( all three blade heads) shaving sharp with just a double cut knife file.

[LarryS]

I HAVE THE SAME EXACT PROBLEM WITH MY SNUFFERS !!!

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Snuffers tell you to leave the edge ruff, just file work. That is good and does a mean job on any game. I Myself like the razor edge, which makes it take long to heal and adds to doing more of a clean long cut.

Do as raghorn said about the marker. This will really help you see what's going on. Also remember to TAKE YOUR TIME. This is not a race. Trust me to run thru this like a race, better get some band aids.

[WESTBROOK]

They gave me the run-a-round too at first. I took them off, threw them in the corner and put my 2 blade back on.

Then I finally got it. As said above, mark the edges with a sharpy when start with the file so you know when you have them flat. I took mine out and touched them on the belt sander on all 3 sides(a well worn belt is not so aggressive).

Then to the stone, medium Arkansas, 5 strokes on each side, then4, 3, 2, 1. Then go around a couple times just 1 stoke per side VERY lightly. Then pull the head across the edge of a piece of wood(the 2X4 my file is mounted on). When they start poppin a few hairs I switch to the fine stone and do the same, not long and they're mowin hair.
The light pressure and counting down the strokes was the key for me.

Eric

[Johnny Reb]

If you havent learned to sharpen a knife or broad head it'll take a little time, just stay after it and be carefull not to cut your self, it's not hard to do I can tell you from experience.

[Nala]

Hey all,

When I start I get the file and with the head mounted in a short shaft to hold it, I take a 6 inch file in my right hand and go back to front 4 times and then turn the head and do it again until I have done all sides the same amount and then I will go 3X, then 2X and then 1X.  When I have went around each edge with a single file stroke a few times I start lightening up on the pressure.  To get them as good as I have now I will make a single file stroke on each side and do it for maybe 15 minutes but VERY LIGHTLY.  The file is just barely touching the edges.

When I go to the next surface to finish the job I start having problems.  Do I go to the butchers steel, the 2000 grit sandpaper or what?  I don't have a leather strop.  I had someone tell me to use a piece of cardboard, but that didn't seem to make a difference at all.  I too have a stone, but I don't know if it is a fine stone or a medium stone that will remove more material than I need.

I seem to get the sharpest heads from simply using the file and then a few light passes with a butchers steel.

Here is my inventory of sharpening gear, you all tell me what I should use and in what order on th Woodsman.

1.  6 inch Mill bastard file
2.  1000 and 2000 grit wet or dry sandpaper
3.  Stone that I don't know whether it's fine or medium.  I suspect it's more of a fine because it doesn't sound like it's grinding away too much material when I try it.
4.  The 600 FINE stone that came with my Lansky system.
5.  A couple of Butchers Steels than came with my kitchen knives.

I probably could dig up a belt sander too.  I'm sure my step dad has one, but I don't know the grit of belts he has.

That's it.  What would you suggest I use and in what order?  Maybe you all can take me from being a KLUTZ at sharpening this Woodsman to a NOVICE....

Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions.

Nalajr

[DngrsDan]

Nala,
not trying to insult ya or anything, but when you use the sandpaper are you holding it in your hand and stroking the metal that way?
If you are what is happening is the paper rolls over the edge as you stroke and is actually rounding the edge you just sharpened with the file. Which might explain why you said it felt sharper before you used the paper. Try gluing that paper to a stiff piece of metal and using it like you would the file to polish the edge, keeping a consistent angle throughout the strokes, and using less and less pressure as you get it down to the final edging. Hope that helps.

[Charlie Lamb]

It sounds like (from your description) you are trying to sharpen one edge at a time with the little 6 inch file.
I believe that may be part of your problem.

The easiest/most reliable way to accomplish your goal would be to go to the hardware store and buy a very large Mill file... big enough that when the broadhead is aligned (point to heel of blade) with the long axis of the file two blades sit on the file at once.

Or just watch these videos if you haven't.

  Woodsman Sharpening

[freefeet]

I agree with above.  Use a very large file.  My bastard file is 2 inch wide and about 12 inch long.

Then onto wet and dry paper, three grades getting finer each time.  The paper is laid flat on a flat hard surface.  The papers just polish out the rough surface left by the bastard file and take the serrations off the edge.

If you go from a file to 2000 grit paper you ain't gonna get much happening cause 2000 grit is far too fine to buff out the coarseness of a file.

After a bastard file, i go to 180 grit paper, then 280 then 400, then onto 600 and 1200 diamond stones, then leather strop.

I also use a bright light when doing this so i can see how the edge is being polished down at each stage.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

1. 6 inch Mill bastard file = to small
2. 1000 and 2000 grit wet or dry sandpaper = IMAO don't need
3. Stone that I don't know whether it's fine or medium. I suspect it's more of a fine because it doesn't sound like it's grinding away too much material when I try it. = Are You using water/oil on it
4. The 600 FINE stone that came with my Lansky system.  = Are You using water/oil on it
5. A couple of Butchers Steels than came with my kitchen knives. = IMAO don't need it. use a old leather belt that is 2" wide.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

In this pic You'll see My 16" Mill Bastard File, Gerber wet/dry fine stone and Leather strop. This is all I use on my Snuffers and I can shave with the BH when I'm done sharping it.
 

[Bill Carlsen]

Years ago I was in Ohio after my first wife's dad died and we had to take care of his house and belongings. While there I got in touch with Roger Rothhaarr and have yet to meet a more gracious man. I spent two days with him and he showed me how to sharpen snuffers. He started with a large mill bastard file and stroked two blades at a time rotating the blade after each stroke. He did this 30 times so each blade got 10 swipes of the file. Then he checked the edge of each blade to be sure there was a burr on each one for its full length. If he wasn't happy at that point he repeated the process, as he would on each step along the way. Then he used the back of the file, which gets the least amount of use and is therefore sharper than the front end and he would lay that part of the file on two blade and using it like a butcher's steel he would very lightly, using just the weight of the file, to stroke two blades at a time for another count of 30, doing two different blades on each stroke. The purpose of this step is to remove the burr. At that stage he claimed that they are "hunting sharp"...the edges are not polished to a razor edge but they can take off hair and can kill cleanly. To get a razor edge he would use an artificial diamond stone and do two blades at a time, pulling back to front for a count of 30, rotating two blades on each stroke. He would then strop the heads on a hard maple block but said that leather or cardboard would do fine.

What I have found, using the method he taught me, was that the most crucial part was the first two steps with the file. Get a burr, then gently remove it. After that you can polish the edges to get the razor edge or you could stop right there and hunt with confidence. If you don't get that burr and successfully remove it correctly you will spend a lot of time getting nowhere. I have found the to be true on all three blade heads that i have tried to sharpen.

On heads that have harder steel I do what Westbrook does and I find that a well used belt on a belt sander gets the burr up quickly. It is also is a fast way to deal with those heads that have been used for practice or have been shot into the ground and need more work than one might want to attempt with just the file. The file just takes a bit longer.

[Bill Carlsen]

Years ago I was in Ohio after my first wife's dad died and we had to take care of his house and belongings. While there I got in touch with Roger Rothhaarr and have yet to meet a more gracious man. I spent two days with him and he showed me how to sharpen snuffers. He started with a large mill bastard file and stroked two blades at a time rotating the blade after each stroke. He did this 30 times so each blade got 10 swipes of the file. Then he checked the edge of each blade to be sure there was a burr on each one for its full length. Then he used the back of the file, which gets the least amount of use and is therefore sharper than the front end and he would lay that part of the file on two blade and using it like a butcher's steel he would very lightly, using just the weight of the file, to stroke two blades at a time for another count of 30, doing two different blades on each stroke. The purpose of this step is to remove the burr. At that stage he claimed that they are "hunting sharp"...the edges are not polished to a razor edge but they can take off hair and can kill cleanly. To get a razor edge he would use an artificial diamond stone and do two blades at a time, pulling back to front for a count of 30, rotating two blades on each stroke. He would then strop the heads on a hard maple block but said that leather or cardboard would do fine.

What I have found, using the method he taught me, was that the most crucial part was the first two steps with the file. Get a burr, then gently remove it. After that you can polish the edges to get the razor edge or you could stop right there and hunt with confidence. If you don't get that burr and successfully remove it correctly you will spend a lot of time getting nowhere. I have found the to be true on all three blade heads that i have tried to sharpen.

On heads that have harder steel I do what Westbrook does and I find that a well used belt on a belt sander gets the burr up quickly. It is also is a fast way to deal with those heads that have been used for practice or have been shot into the ground and need more work than one might want to attempt with just the file. The file just takes a bit longer.

[JCJ]

I use a thick piece of glass and increasingly fine grits of sandpaper to make Woodsman's "Scary" sharp.

A key to the process is the first step. Out of the package, color all the blades with black sharpie. Using a file, belt sander or as I do 100 grit paper on a piece of glass work each pair of edges until all the marker is removed and you are making complete contact the full length of the head on all edges.

Once you get this, then it is just a matter of working each pair of edges equally with finer and finer grits of paper on the glass using very little pressure when you get to the 1,000 and then 2,000 paper. I always pull the head from back to front when sharpening.

The key is the first step in making sure you get each pair of edges contacting the sandpaper equally the full length of the broadhead.

[Curveman]

I have been using the stones that come with the Sharpmaker, the gray, grittier one a bit then the white one to finish. About 10-20 strokes a side. Tippit, who I respect a great deal, voiced his approval after he inspected one that had passed through a javelina (OK, not much of a test). If it grabs my nail it's sharp enough. (Hair poppin' is a push cut not a slice cut as would be the actual action of the broadhead). I've gotten complete passthroughs on deer, bear, hogs, etc. What I also like is that I can just bring the white stick with me on trips for field touch-ups. I actually lost one of the sticks but now sharpen my knives with the KME, so I'm glad the Sharpmaker went to some use.  

[joe ashton]

too much pressure, go lighter and lighter  with pass.... light.. Joe

[Choctaw]

The best tool I have ever owned was a small board shaped into a paddle, like for the kids rear end.

I glued down a piece of boot leather to the board, and rubbed it down with jeweler's rouge. Once you get the broadhead or knife edge taper right. Start hitting with the rouge impregnated leather. It will make em shave.

Choctaw