single bevel woes

[caleb7mm]

I am the guy at work everyone brings there knives too. I can sharpen a file into a usable knife. Two blade double bevel broadheads no problem. Magnus 1's with a small file and 5 minutes they shave hair.

single bevel grizzly's (old style) I have only ever gotten 1 to be close to hunting sharp. I don't even know how I did it. I don't understand? I have even sat down with a fellow member here years ago to learn how to sharpen them. the newer ones are fine but I cant get the old style close. I have so many of them I don't want to just toss them.

multiple files, jigs, free hand. Doesn't matter.

I have watched every video there is out there. Nothing helps!

One might say: just keep hunting with double bevel heads.
The last couple deer I killed were double lung shot deer under 10 yards. complete pass throughs. Both with muzzy 200gr phantoms. ZERO BLOOD TRAILS! Found by grid searching, im done with that.

for the love of all that is holy in this universe there has GOT to be a way for me to get these dang things shaving sharp.

[Stump73]

I would like to know also

[Jayrod]

Buy ron at kme sharpeners broadhead sharpener and let him walk you through it and you will shave hair in minutes...95% of the sharpening is done on the beveled side

[caleb7mm]

I will never understand why you cant just buy them hunting sharp out of the package?

[Fletcher]

Originally posted by caleb7mm:
I will never understand why you cant just buy them hunting sharp out of the package?

What are you going to do after you shoot them and they are dulled a bit?

[Austin Brown]

With the old ones the easiest way is to push them into a big file clamped to a bench..  There is a tutorial in the how to section.  It takes a bit of work on the old ones.  Once the bevel is set knock the burr off on a ceramic rod or strop.  Make sure the flat side really is flat too.  Some of them I have had to lay the nonbevel side flat on the file and true it up a little.  I wouldn't want to do theiinitial work on a brand new old Grizzly with Kme broadhead sharpener even with a xx course diamond stone.  Pretty sure Ron will recommend starting with a file also.  Once the initial file work is done the kme will work great.

[Tsalt]

Caleb,
I just started using single bevel this year.  This video my Clay Hayes (which you may have already seen) helped -  

but... what actually ended up working for me was free handing on this stone...

 

I just wet the stone with spit and with the broadhead already mounted on an arrow, I hold on the angle and push.   It's pretty easy to keep the angle because the head is basically resting on the ferrel.  I can get it shaving with this single stone... no further steps required.  

Nothing special about this stone... as you can see it's pretty cheep.  You just need a stone that aggressive enough to get the burr off.  

I'm certainly no expert but it worked for me.

I can't figure out how to get any single bevel sharp! The double bevels work just fine for me, so I quit trying on the single bevels!

Bisch

[jwhitetail]

I finally got into the Grizzly BH this year and struggled a bit before I finally clicked and got it...
My sharpening process looks like this:
1. sharpie color the bevel (remark occasionally)
2. hit it with file
3. then to Smiths Diamond Benstone... orange and yellow side w/honing oil
4. work it with a rod and then
5 strop on leather or cardboard... I think this is crux.

Seems like a lot of steps and I could probably cut out the file or the benchstone and use one or the other... but there it is.

Mine are now really sharp and had a pass through on a deer this fall.

[Steve O]

Abowyers and Tuffheads are hunting sharp out of the package. The paper wheel that goes on a bench grinder is an amazing tool. KME is excellent as Jarrod says talk to Ron and he will spend time with you until you "get it". One thing I learned that helped was you do all the work with the corsets stone. The rest just polish.

[3arrows]

You guys are making this way to hard.Accursharp cost 10-12 dollars pulled back to front once edge is set a few light passes is all you need.

[SteveB]

Originally posted by caleb7mm:
   

One might say: just keep hunting with double bevel heads.
The last couple deer I killed were double lung shot deer under 10 yards. complete pass throughs. Both with muzzy 200gr phantoms. ZERO BLOOD TRAILS! Found by grid searching, im done with that.

 

I seriously doubt a single bevel would have made an appreciable difference if that was the only variable. Some killing shots just don't bleed that much. I can why 2 in a row would be frustrating, but it can happen with any broadhead.

[Doc Nock]

The great thing about traditional archery is that there is no ONE way to do anything... it lends itself to many approaches that work, depending on one's definition of "success".

I had trouble with the double bevel.  Got the KME.  Ron talked me thru it.

As Steve pointed out, I was getting frustrated with the coarsest stone and switched BEFORE I raised a wire edge... bad juju!

Once I got that thru my stubborn head, things went better. FForward to Single Bevel.  Same thing. Have to raise a wire.

When you have the unbeveled side showing a wire, taking off that wire actually "sharpens" that side a 'wee' bit!  Not a true double bevel, but think about it, you have to get that wire, then the wire off, so it's sharpening the other side too!

Recently visited a friend who had trouble with some Grizzly heads getting them sharp.  I had trouble with the old diamond stones years ago and got the new ones from Ron..Wow!

I had his heads very sharp.  He was amazed! Whatever he was doing with another brand, there was just too much variance between strokes where the KME keeps a very precise angle using the knife or Broad Head sharpener (I have and use both).

Good stones, aggressive cut, removes metal. Often the bevel isn't exact or uniform on most affordable heads... that black marker really makes a difference in seeing what needs removed or where it's being removed.

I strive for 25* setting, but sometimes it creates a "compound edge" cause the original bevel is say 30* and only the very edge gets the 25* which is fine...

Good luck!

[zipper bowss]

Originally posted by caleb7mm:
I will never understand why you cant just buy them hunting sharp out of the package?

Price point. We could sell the Grizzly's shaving sharp and do when a customer requests it. Most guys would rather sharpen the heads themselves and save the money.
 
You mentioned the new Grizzly's don't give you any fits. That is because they come with a burr already on them. What you need to do is get your old ones to that point.To do this use your roughest stone or a file to remove the steel. If you would prefer you can send them to us and we will regrind your old style Grizzly's on our machines. Then they would have a burr and you can start from there. Of course I can not regrind your heads for free but the charge would be very reasonable.
If you prefer to give me a call and we will talk through the process.

[Mint]

Exactly right, you need to get a burr first and then you remove the burr and it will be sharp enough to hunt with. They frustrated me at first until I figured this out. The KME and a extra course diamond stone makes this pretty easy to do.

Right now I use the muzzy phantoms and palmer extreme cut broad heads and so far the blood trails have been great.

[KentuckyTJ]

There you go Caleb7mm ^^^ send them to Bill. Grinding metal isn't free. Like Bill says most want to save the money initially. If you want to do it yourself, call Ron at KME, he is such a great dude he will help you even if you don't have or buy any of his products. I will tell you, I was struggling also a few years back. I found out that my old stones just weren't capable any longer of doing the job. I got new diamond stones and walla everything I sharpened from then on got super sharp!

[Sam McMichael]

At least I'm not the only one who has had trouble here. I have only tried the old style Grizzly. I could get it kinda sharp but never could get that really keen edge I wanted. My solution? I went back to Zwickies. Besides, I just don't buy the notion that single bevels are that much better, because I have finally learned to get double edged heads shaving sharp without great difficulty. Stick 'em in the lights, and the animal goes down.

[SlowBowinMO]

The most common mistake I've seen over the years with old Grizzlies and now Tuskers is not getting completely through the bevel with the file.  Guys will get crazy close then stop 'cause they think they are there.  Of course you need a consistent angle all the way through as well.  That is for those who are using a file (which you should be), another big mistake is attacking those heads with something like a KME or other sharpener to start out.  Great sharpeners but they are for finishing, not removing large amounts of steel like you need to do at first.

Another common mistake is not cleaning off the back side once you get all the way through the top.

Nice thing about those old Grizzlies and Tuskers is once you get them sharp they are crazy sharp and tend to stay that way, and touch ups are a breeze.  It's just the first time around that gives most people fits.

[Steve O]

Originally posted by KentuckyTJ:
There you go Caleb7mm ^^^ send them to Bill. Grinding metal isn't free. Like Bill says most want to save the money initially. If you want to do it yourself, call Ron at KME, he is such a great dude he will help you even if you don't have or buy any of his products. I will tell you, I was struggling also a few years back. I found out that my old stones just weren't capable any longer of doing the job. I got new diamond stones and walla everything I sharpened from then on got super sharp!

Better yet just get new stock from Bill and sell the old ones. Everything he does he finds just a little bit better way to do it. You have a lot of good options here    

[LongbowArchitect]

KME broadhead sharpener and a leather strop on a 1x4 base work REALLY well for me on my single bevel broadheads. Scary sharp.