any body using these broadheads other than the price just wondering what you think of them.
doug77
I have not used them but you'll hear hear from a lot of guys that say they are the best out there. The way I look at it is if I ever do a once in a life time hunt were I need a heavy non-wood arrow, a Silver Flames going to be on the front of it. The critters walking around my neck of the woods don't need anything special to kill them as long as it's sharp and stout.
Same here
You can get a huge wound channel with the Simmons broadheads for about half the price. I like the concave design, too.
JBiorn how are those simmons to sharpen
doug77
A piece of cake, especially with the steelmaster sharpener. They come from the factory with a good burred edge already, so a round diamond home followed by the crock sticks will produce a scary edge in no time at all.
I have used the Flames for four years now 180grs. They are second to none in quality and sharpness. You will never find a broadhead as sharp as a flame out of the package. And I challange anyone to get any other broadhead as sharp as a flame it's not possible!
hunt it do they hold an edge very well, seem's i am always touching up my broadheads not that that's a bad thing just looking for some new broadheads
doug77
If I were rich I would have a quiver full of them, but for now Zwickeys are more in my price range.
I have only heard very good things about them.
They stay sharp unless you shoot them into game or ground. They will not need resharpening unless you use them. I have found that the razor rake from Cabelas brings em back to as close to original as possible. Nothing else I have tried comes close.
QuoteOriginally posted by hunt it:
I have used the Flames for four years now 180grs. They are second to none in quality and sharpness. You will never find a broadhead as sharp as a flame out of the package. And I challange anyone to get any other broadhead as sharp as a flame it's not possible!
Hunt, I'll take you up on that challenge! :readit: :D
-Ron
I agree with Sharpster. I have shot most of the two bladed broadheads on the market. They all make a good hole in an animal, when sharpened properly. I don't know what dictates one broahead being sharper then the other, but if you do your homework, the broadhead will do it's job, and your quarry will go down. Just my thoughts!
guys i sell them and unless you really see how sharp they are you can't comprehend what sharp really is !!!
have a friend who is well known in archery circles who is well known for his sharpening abilities ,he took one look and said no way i can come close .
one customer tested broadheads for a trip to Africa he bought 13 x 3 packs of silver flames to test and compared to all the ones from all the ones made in North America , must have bought several thousand dollars worth of blades from Grizzlies to Zwickies to test as he was going after cape buff . he wqas very dissappointed in what was made here in North America weights were off , not sharp , fell apart in the testing .he got his Buf with Silver Flames .
another bought a 3 pack of 125 gr took them to Africa shot a zebra stallion broadhead lodged in opposite shoulder bone ,trackers cut it out of the bone and returned it to him , he tried it on an arm and still stripped hair , so he stropped and put it back in his quiver . when he got back he ordered a doz , last june i sent him 3 doz more
does he like them you bet .
most people can sharpen broadheads and that is a fact ,and knowing that what you are putting on the end of your arrow is the best out there sure adds to your confidents ----- herb
Ron,
Your welcome to try, pick any one you want and send it to me or Herb or JC for that matter he shoots some Flames as well. There is nothing that even comes close - nothing! I use surgical scalpels for alot of my cape work. I would say that the Flames come sharper than a scalpel. You must remember that we are talking a hollow ground edge. I gave a Flame to one of the guys in KME booth at Denton this past summer he spent half an hour on it and only he could not come anywhere close to new. The flames will not shave hair out of the box, they take all the skin under the hair off as well. Marcus guarantees that you can shoot a new Flame into any foam target 50 times and it will still shave hair and he's right! Scary scary sharp and my money says you will not duplicate this no matter what anyone says.
Dave,
The guy at the KME booth at Denton was Me! I think a half an hour is quite a stretch. I remember working on it for a couple of minutes but, what you don't know is that I wasn't putting that much effort into it because knowing what they cost I didn't want to take a chance of messing it up and having to buy you a new one.
I totally agree that they are the sharpest head out of the pack, second to none. I just know from experience that any two blade can be made every bit as sharp as a Flame.
How about making it a real challenge? How about a Grizzly El Grande? or a Zwicky Delta, or better yet both. We'll need an impartial judge though...
Any volunteers? :thumbsup:
-Ron
Ron,
I'd say JC make a good judge! He's a STOS lover from way back and sure likes em sharp. He has a few Flames and his biggest beef has been resharpening the things. Pick any head that turns your crank. JC sure would like to see how sharp you can get a STOS, he uses a paper wheel.
Send me a STOS----I'll make it spooky sharp for you. Just the fact that the Silverflame IS as sharp as it is says that its entirely possible to sharpen anything that sharp.
Guys, I shoot Wensel Woodsmans and sharpen them myself. I also have a dozen arrows tipped with Zwickey Deltas. Recently,I double lunged two whitetails without pass-thrus with the WW. So, I purchased a 3 pack of SilverFlames (180 grains, just to see if they were really worth the money. Once you hold one in your hand, you will realize why they are $20 a piece. They are the ULTIMATE broadhead. The absolute best head I have ever seen in over 20 years of bowhunting. Now, do I tip every arrow with a SilverFlame?...No I am not a rich man. I still shoot WW and Zwickeys. But the SF's have their place in my quiver. You may rest assured that when the shot absolutely counts, or the next time I draw on a big game animal (for me that is probably a whitetail or hog) the Silverflame will be on the tip of the arrow. They are SCARY SHARP and THICK out of the package.
Unless there is a magical machine in Germany it should be possible to reproduce the same edge.
So how does Marcus, the factory, sharpen the Silver flame? Are they machine ground, some special set up, or maybe tricky little black forest elves?
You won't find a better broadhead, and I don't plan on switching anytime soon. They are very easy to sharpen, are wicked sharp out of the package, and hold an edge like crazy. They penetrate like mad and are very tough.
Don't believe me?
I shot a doe this season with the SilverFlame head. I was about 12 feet up in a stand when a doe came in at 10 yards, very slightly quartering to me. As I drew she looked up at me, and when I released, she jumped the string. My arrow went where I was looking, but the doe was a few feet lower. When she hit the ground immediately I knew I'd hit spine, so I quickly grabbed another arrow (Eclipse broadhead on that one) and double-lunged the downed deer, finishing her off quick. I pulled the broadhead out of the spine, noting that the broadhead had completely cleared the spine, going a few inches through the off side of the vertebrae, and coming pretty close to exiting the offside skin.
The next morning, when I went to clean the arrow off and sharpen up the broadhead, out of curiosity, I tested the edge on my arm. IT STILL POPPED HAIR OFF MY ARM WITH LITTLE TO NO PRESSURE! I was shocked! This is incredible performance.
We were able to examine the wound channel the broadhead made. Upon entry, the Silver Flame severed a rib at an angle. Continuing on, it dead-centered a vertebrae. After completely severing it, the broadhead continued another few inches and stopped there. I was EXTREMELY pleased and impressed by this performance!
The bow I was using was a DAS set at 52#@30", my draw length, with arrows weighing only 435 grains total.
Craig
Dave,
I haven't had the pleasure of meeting JC yet but, I have no objection. I would like to suggest Lin Rhea (if he's willing). Lin was the grand champion of the BLADE Show cutting competition in 2006, and I think a journeyman bladesmith would be able to judge the sharpness of any type of blade better than most of us.
I suppose that we could easily assemble a panel of judges to keep it all honest. It's too bad we're all so spread out. It could be a good time at a rendezvous or trad shoot somewhere.
-Ron
Oh, I was able to use both Eclipse and STOS heads on another deer as well. I felt the Eclipse's wound channels on both animals were underwelming, which I thought strange, due to their large width, even though they seemed to penetrate very well.
The STOS left a great wound channnel, which I thought strange due to their small width ;) , but the tip bent pretty good after hitting nothing hard dead on, not even a rib. The arrow did not completely pass through either, to which I was surprised. It could've been a strange situation, but I feel the tip should not have bent that much on that particular hit.
To me, from what I could observe that was not subjective, the Silver Flame seemed to outshine the others considerably.
Folks,
there is no magic involved, only a bit metalurgy (spell?) and a few guys who are top notch experts in their field.
Especially the company who does the hardening (tempering) and grinding of the blades is superb. They normally make high-end industrial knives.
Describing the whole process would take the whole night, so I cut it down.
The edge is ground in a CNC machine with a size of approx. 20'x20'10' in a wet grinding process by a special grinding wheel which got two different grids on it. Don't ask me how that works. I simply don't know.
I get the blades ready for assembling, showing a tiny tiny burr at the very edge which I strop on two leather wheels and one flat leather with different kind of polishing paste. That's all.
The paste is no secret since I tried different ones and most times I got the same results. Using a hard, vegetabil tanned leather is more important imho.
Resharpening:
Once the blade lost of its cutting ability I use a fine single cut cabinet file and let it slide with almost no pressure two times over one edge, then turn the broadhead and let it slide one time over the opposite edge (flipping the burr).
That creates the same tiny burr which I can strop again. You can put the burr upright with a kitchen steel before stropping if you like.
That's effective resharpening with $15 tools in about one minute.
It's important to note that you should resharpen the edge as soon as it doesn't shave hair anymore.
Up to this point the file method works best.
Recreating a complete new edge on a really dull head is asking for some more abrasive methods.
Here you will need your Lanskys, Spydercos, EdgePro etc. or whatever works best for you.
Sharpening is a very individual thing.
For next year I will offer the SF blades in a new steel. Basically it's the same alloy but treated in a patented process before the steel boards get roll-forged.
The result is a superfine micrograin structure yet only to be found on carbon steels. That means a tad more edge retention & easier resharpening.
That steel is somewhat more expensive but I will absorb that.
Markus