KME Broadhead Sharpener Question

[LV2HUNT]

I am trying to sharpen my first set of Grizzlys with my new KME sharpener. I did the bevel grinding and the marker indicates that I should have an even grind.

I am now trying to sharpen the edge and seem to be producing a burr on the top 1/5 of the blade and it is catching a nail. However, I do not seem to be able to produce the burr on the rest of the edge. What am I doing wrong? Anybody know?

[Charlie Lamb]

I'll take a stab just to keep this up until Sharpster shows up.

It sounds like you are either not getting the entire length of the blade in contact with the stone or more work needs to be done to the angle in the area of the double layer.

[BobW]

ditto what Charlie said...

OHHHHHHHH ROOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNN!

Where are you???????

[Jake]

Without speaking to you direct or being able to see it I too think you need to remove some more from your profile.  The older Grizzly's have a lot of metal that needs removed before you start your sharpening process.  Give us a call if you can't get it and we'll walk you through it.

[LV2HUNT]

If the answer is that I still need to remove more material from the tip how do I know when I am there and is there anything more agressive (than the coarse side) I can use to do it?

[Jake]

Frank,  You can use a file to remove the excess material.  This will save you a bunch of time and sweat.  The coarse stone will get you there...eventually.  A file will get you there quicker.  That is an older BH isn't it?  Ron will be on the phones after 6pm or you can give me a call.

[BobW]

have you put marker on it to see how it is being removed compared to the area where you are getting a nice edge?  i had to get out a magnifying glass to see where i was leaving a slight bit behind on the edge of an Eclipse, despite thinking i had it right.

Give Ron (or Jake) a call.  He can talk you through it.  its worth the time.

[Sharpster]

Originally posted by LV2HUNT:
If the answer is that I still need to remove more material from the tip how do I know when I am there and is there anything more agressive (than the coarse side) I can use to do it?

You'll know you've removed enough metal when you can feel a light burr or coarse wire edge running the entire length of the blade on the unbeveled side... and yes, you can use a sheet of 80 grit wet/dry sandpaper on a piece of plate glass or other flat surface. Or just file them by hand to quickly remove the metal. To be honest, until we raise the burr on a grizzly or any BHD or blade, we're not really sharpening, we're grinding. Take heart though, after you've done the work once, they're no harder to sharpen than any other BHD. Let us know how you make out,

Ron

[LV2HUNT]

Okay, I was able to raise a burr along the whole length with the coarse stone. I then kind of stropped it with a piece of carboard on both sides to knock of the burr and developed a reasonable edge.

However, the edge I developed is still not razor sharp so I guess that is where the fine side comes into play?

So what should be the order of operations here?

1) Bevel grind
2) Sharpen with coarse stone till a burr
3) Sharpen with fine stone till a burr
4) Strop with cardboard to knock fine burr off

or should I knock the coarse burr off with cardboard and then proceed to fine stone?

I am close but am still missing something.

Thanks in advance!

[Sharpster]

When we're sharpening a single bevel head, 95% of the work is done to the bevel side. Here's my order of proceedure:

1) File the factory burr off the unbeveled side. Just lay the file or stone flat on the unbeveled side and work it till it is flat and true. We do this so that we can tell when we've raised our own burr.
2) File or grind the bevel side with the coarsest stone or file you have till we've raised a new burr that extends the whole length of the blade.
3) leave the burr alone and continue to work the bevel side through as many grits as you desire.
4) flip the clamp and do the minimum number of all forward strokes necessary to remove the burr. This may be 5 passes or 12 but usually it won't take more than that.
6) now start doing individual forward passes on your finest stone, alternating between the bevel and unbeveled sides of the blade just like you would finish a knife or any other BHD. 5 or 6 passes per side should do it.
7) Leave the head in the jig, wipe any oil off  the blade and roller and repeat step 6 on a piece of plain brown corrugated cardboard only this time rather than forward strokes, pull the sharpener backwards over the cardboard.

Keep us posted

Ron

[Jock Whisky]

Take your file and file the back side (non beveled) of the broadhead flat. I had the same problem. I watched a video by "Kingwouldbe" showing this technique and it made all the difference. The sharp edge is a very thin piece of steel. Any irregularities in the surface of the broadhead, especially single bevel broadheads will inhibit achieving a good sharp blade

JW

[pdk25]

ttt

[LV2HUNT]

Well, that got it and it is shaving hair off my arm. However I still have one spot that is not developing as fine and edge as the rest. It is just below the first 1/5 of the blade. The marker shows it is being hit but it is just not shaving. Do you recommend still working it with the fine side or does it sound like I need more bevel grinding?

[Sharpster]

Excellent Frank!!!

Yea, I'd go back to the coarse stone for a couple minutes, raise a small burr again and make sure that the burr isn't missing from the area that's not quite as sharp as the rest, then finish it up again. I constantly preach that the coarsest stones are our friends because they're time savers. The cutting edge is created at the coarsest stage of sharpening. All the fine stones can do is polish and refine the edge created with the coarse stone. If we jump to finer grit stones prematurely, all they will do is polish the dull edge, not make it any sharper. Sounds like your're getting it down.        

Ron

[LV2HUNT]

Ron, thanks for all the help. I really found the secret though when I started really flooding the stone both coarse and fine. I know you guys told me to do it but I did not realize how important it was   . I previously was using dry ceramic sticks to great effect on double bevels but these Grizzlies are going to be like flying knives!

I also found that if I use an old mouse pad under the stone it makes life easier.

Thanks again,
Frank

[Jake]