Trad Gang

i just got 6 new 160 snuffers in a trade last week. so i went and bought a 12" file, and took out my norton stone and tried to get them to shave hair... well after way to long and nothing that resembles shaving sharp i guess i give up!!    

i guess im gonna stick with my stingers..

ive looked at the posts that show how to do it and i still cant get it right.. talk about frustrated..
 :(  
gaff

I used to have the same problem,then I bought the snuffer tamer from 3rs, I just did up 6 WW heads and touched up 6 160gn snuffers, all this am!! worth every penny and then some!!

Hi Gaff,

I can understand the frustration on sharpening them. I have a buddy who can't for the life of him sharpen them either. I shoot snuffers, and have for years. I start off using a 14" file. Lay it flat on a table of and lay the head on the file and starting from the tip pull it back toward the handle then rotate each time. It does take awhile on new heads but you will get them sharp then take and use a stone or leather crop on them to polish the edge. One thing I have noticed is that they don't have the "feel" sharp to them like others do but if you try to shave hair they will. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I am sure others on here have other ideas too....

Just like anything else bud...it might take some time to get it right....but it's all worth it when you stick with it , see them shave hair, then see all the red stuff on the ground!

Why not keep them and practice?

Hey,
I talked to Terry Green about how to sharpen them and he told me the best way was to put them on a sander and change the bevel slightly...helped me alot.  Might give it a try.

Ben

We need to get together then, preferably before the season starts. We'll get those bad boys sharp...

thanks guys.. i did exactly what you described lonnie. it looks like its working, and i cal feel the stone polishin the edge. but i cant get it to shave for the life of me.

that may have to happen chris. i will be working in green island soon, so ill be near lemmes and able to see you guys more..

gaff

Gaff, i had the same problem you did (i could turn the finest blade into a spoon)  look at 3Rivers i think its called the snuffer tamer not sure (its two basterd files mounted on an oak block and also comes with a leather strope mounted on an oak block)  No more spoons even i get hair popping snuffers with this system (actually sharpening some 160's as i type this   :thumbsup:    best of luck

As stated above they will feel different because of the angle on the blade. How hard are you pressing? Start firmly on file but get increasingly lighter as you rotate head until you feel the head glide across file. Then use a very fine hone or diamond sharpener. ThenI get one of these new magazines with the very high gloss/shiny finish on the cover and just slide it across with no pressure but the weight of the head to really polish the edge. Always stroke from front to rear of head. I guarandangtee ya they shave and make alot of blood.

Nothin wrong with them Stingers, the last 4 I put on the ground didn't like em, didn't go far either ... Good Luck on them Snuffers ...

The sander will save you a lot of time.Just don't get carried away.Just lay them on there and get a surface area on each side moderate pressure for a few seconds.Hit them on a good file 10 or so strokes and then on a stone.I prefere a diamond stone and they will be sharp.Practice. you will figure it out.

Try to get together with someone who's good at it. I was so frustrated for so long until last week. I got together with a fellow tradganger and he showed me the ropes. I'd read about how to do it over and over, but until you see it done, and can be coached a little, you'll just be frustrated.

Theres a great video demo on the " HOW-TO " section on here..it is about 3/4s the way down the page..title is:How to sharpen a ww..pretty much fool proof..

I'm gonna try my darndest with the file.....but I opened a pkg of woodsmans, yesterday......and they're NOT hunting ready, from the pkg.  I was a bit surprised to find that.

I've got 6 I'm using for practice and 6 I'll hunt with.  I'm certainly hoping I can get it down......and if not, I'll revert to the tamer.

Thanks for the heads-up.

light'n up on the downward pressure. You just want to hold the BH on the file/stone/leather enuff so it doesn't stop on you and to make sure the edges touch the tools... I can shave my face with my BH's.

Been there done that. My advice is to NOT get the snuffer tamer. What it does is take off more metal at the back end of the head and can make it weaker. At least that is what happenned to me. What I ended up getting was a DMT 4" x 10" diamond bench stone. I took a black magic marker and marked all the blade edges on my snuffers and woodsmans. Then I put two blades at once on the stone and did a full stroke. Then rotated to the next to blades and so on. I used a meduim stone and it took a little while until the edge was adjusted and the black maguc marker was gone. Once it was the blades were hair shaving sharp. Then I flipped the stone over to the fine and did 10 stokes each side and the head will be hair popping sharp. BB from stickbow showed how to do this with snuffers and it is the simpilist method out there since the stone does the whole blade at once. The double sided diamond bench stone goes for around $100 but it will last for years and a diamond stone will sharpen the heads much faster than a regular stone. Good luck.

Who sells a file wide enough for the 160s?

I have my snuffers sharp enough to shave with using this method. I have two files mounted flat on a board. I draw the broadhead backwards  equally on all three sides until I get a bur on the edge, Magnus suggests that you stop there and use the bur as a cutting edge but I found that if you pull the broahead backwards lightly over a ceramic stick till the burr is removed you can get them shaving sharp.

QuoteOriginally posted by AdamH:
Nothin wrong with them Stingers, the last 4 I put on the ground didn't like em, didn't go far either ... Good Luck on them Snuffers ...

True that!

Gaff,

Send them to me, I'll get them sharp for ya.

This is what took me from sharp to shaving sharp (probably nothing new here):

1. A new file, cleaned and chalked and placed on a very solid surface
2. Black ink on the blades - work them on the file till it's gone
3. A well oiled tri-stone; a triangular stone with a fine, medium and coarse stone
4. A leather strip mounted to a flat piece of oak

For the first time in my life I sharpened WWs AND snuffers and took enough hair off my arm to leave quarter-sized bare patches. DOesn't appear to be rocket science. If I can do it anybody can do it.

I use nothing but snuffers and have'nt had a problem getting them shaving sharp.

I have 2 files glued to a board to give me a wide surface, always use ink on them, and file them til I get a good burr going, then go to a coarse diamond rod and then to a black surgical stone. Just like a razor. The big thing, I've found with the snuffs, is to always make a couple of strokes backwards first before going forwards. To be sure youre not folding part of the burr under. Seems like the snuffer is more prone to burr problems.

Once they're sharp I put a little turtle wax on my finger tips and rub on the edges to moisture proof them. Carry a little ceramic rod to touch up in the field if needed.

Well I'm here to tell you, the Snuffer Tamer is an excellent product. I've been sharpening my snuffers since it first came out and have NEVER, hear me, NEVER had a blade fail. Unless of course WHEN it passes through my game and smashes a boulder. I can't tell you the number of times I've shot a deer and went home and resharpened the same head. I just buried one in a tree the other day and after I dug it out, I would have still hunted with it. I hear alot of people dogging the tamer on rumors, not experience. I know what the company recommends, and I respect their intelligence. I'm telling you from my years of using this product that it works. If it weakens the blades, then I don't notice it.  There are several ways to sharpen the snuffers, this one is mine. It works and it kills, period.

Mike