KME Knife Sharpener on Single Bevel Heads

[Trad Longbow Joe]

Does anyone sharpen single beveled broadheads using a KME Knife sharpening system?  I got one for Christmas and I can't get the sharpening angle steep enough on my Grizzlies Broadheads.  I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions.

[snakebit40]

I just bought some Cutthroat BH's the RMSG just put out and sharpen them on my KME knife sharpener. I called Ron and asked the best method. He told me to use a sharpe and make the cutting edge about half way up. Start with the most course stone, use it until you get a burr. Once a burr is achieved go to your next course stone. DON'T FLIP THE HEAD! Polish the same edge you just hit. After it's polished go to the next step down. Polish that same edge you've been working on. NOW flip the head. With very light pressure and sharpen until you have a little burr on the opposite side. Now go to your finest grit stone. Start on side you've spent the majority of the sharpening. Polish that side, flip BH repeat. Then finish the head off with your typical one stroke a side. When finished the back side of the cutting edge will have a very thin polished line if that makes sense.

I followed these instructions and OH MY!!!! I've never got BH's that sharp. I mean hair popping sharp. If you have any questions let me know.

PS I bought the XX Course diamond stone and it cuts your time in half easy.

[R. W. Mackey]

Joe, that's all I use for my single bevel heads. I have a pile of Grizzlies I sharpen every year without problem. Your sharpener will adjust to over 30 deg. The bevels are no where
Near that extreme. The first time I sharpen a head with it, I use a marker and highlight the very edge of the head, I start out at
25 deg. Do a few strokes to see how the stone hits the blade,
Then make adjustments as needed. You only want to sharpen the very edge.
  If you continue to have problems, you can call the guy that
Owns the company and he will walk you through the process.
Great guy, good luck.
RW

[Trad Longbow Joe]

Thanks guys, when I put the head in the clamp and adjust the rod to the top and the stone just hits the inside edge of the bevel (the edge of the bevel away from the sharp edge).  I used a marker to cover the edge making it obvious where the stone was hitting the edge.  I must be doing something wrong.

[Kopper1013]

Hmmm the knife system is what I've used for years, can you post a pic. I also found buying the broadhead jaws for 25 dollars was a good investment

[Trad Longbow Joe]

 

[Trad Longbow Joe]

The first pic shows the edge where the stone is hitting and the second pic shows the guide up as high as it will go in the slide.

[WESTBROOK]

Thats an older grizzly head, not sure what the factory angle was cut at. They were famous for requiring a good bit of work to cut the angle down. The new ones Bill at Zipper is making are ground to about 25 degrees at the shop.

Your not doing anything wrong, just that head has a very steep angle cut on it which means ya got a long ways to go.

[WESTBROOK]

And yes...I use a KME knife sharpener on mine too.

[Trad Longbow Joe]

Okay, thanks for the comments.  I wanted to be sure I was missing something before I regrind the angle on these heads.

[Jerry Jeffer]

What is happening is you need to re-set the bevel first. Follow the simple directions that came with the KME. I use it to sharpen my single bevel BH (Abowyer brown bears) and I must say... look out!    sharp!

[Kopper1013]

X2 what Westbrook said

[snakebit40]

Sorry should've read your post closer before I posted. I still recommend a diamond XX course stone, I promise you won't regret it.

[KentuckyTJ]

Yeah that a really old head. You need to start from scratch and grind down the bevel flat again. Start with your coarsest stone or a large file. After you have the bevel flat all the way up and down the head then you can go with less course stones to fine tune the edge.

[Doc Nock]

I had Ron talk me thru several various attempts before I got it 100% right...

I even typed up what he told me last time and emailed it to him to make sure I was hearing/doing all steps right...

There are so many tiny nuances in understanding verbal language, that even though simple, I'd recommend touching base with Ron...

But the coarse stone, bh jaws, all make good sense to me!

[bowtough]

Use the KME on Abowyer single bevel. When finished they are so sharp you can hardly look at them without losing an eye! Best single bevel head out there.    

[maxwell]

Remember you are only trying to get the very edge sharp not the whole bevel.  With the old grizzly's I used a file first to get the bevel manageable.

[jonsimoneau]

Yea I think you might save yourself some time if you hit that with a file first. I use the knife sharpener on single bevel heads and it works great. Good luck!

[Recurve50 LBS]

If I remember correctly Dr. Ashby stated in his articles that the Grizzly heads works best with a 25 degree bevel, requiring you to change the factory bevel with a hand file.

I have done this with my Grizzly heads and then finished off with my KME knife sharpener. As stated by others above, look out because they come out very sharp.

[NoCams]

The extra extra course diamond stone is your friend ! You can get a shaving sharp edge with it, no problem. As others stated use a belt sander or course file to get as much of the factory bevel removed first to save you time and frustration. Once that is done use your sharpie and switch to the KME and XX course diamond to build your new 25 degree bevel. This is a one time process.... once the new bevel is built you can touch up a head in minutes with a course diamond, then medium india, then fine white stone or strop with one of the leather "stones" that KME offers with the CBN honing oil.....