I have been sharpening some broadheads and gotten two signifigantly different results.
on one hand, i can easily get a seriously biting edge on my woodsmans with a file and diamond stone. it bites at barely a touch.
the other is on my abowyer javelinas. I worked off the edge they came with, which was not biting to the touch, but shaved hair like butter! the woodsmans, which were mean sharp, didnt shave near as well. i ran the woodsmans over a japanese waterstone and got them glassier, producing a similar hair shaving edge to the abowyers. what is your oppinion on weather the biting edge or the shaving edge is to be prefered?
Dang!
That is a good question!
Either if placed properly. I put a careful file edge on mine and then de-burr the edge with either a diamond or ceramic rod. It draws blood wickedly when I "oops" an edge.
One buck I arrowed with a broadhead sharpened that way was hit in his lung and liver from a forward quarter (ground level) shot and when he lifted his leg the head sliced down through liver - splitting it almost in two - and opening the diaphragm with an 8" gash. He only ran 35 yards. Thats plenty sharp enough and is a rugged edge.
I small game hunt with the same arrows I deer hunt with and I like a way to sharpen them in the field and simply.
I believe a sharp broad head is only part of the equation with arrow weight/spine/material, energy from the bow and shot placement to the others, as going clean through the boiler room aids in dead and down quickly. From my experiences My Zwickey Broad heads get the file.
Lots of good discussion on this one! Use the search and you will get lots of different opinions. Tons of game killed with each type of edge.
read an article several years ago (probably 20) by either Bob Foulkrod or Judd Cooney (not sure which) that I never forgot. He was testing broadhead effectiveness and comparing shaving sharp to serrated edges.
His analogy was something along these lines of- Try cutting a garden hose with a sharp, cutting edge and then a second with a multi toothed saw which leaves a rough edge.
Try and glue them back together and see which is easier. Made sense to me that a shaving sharp blade contirbutes to less chance of sealing off a wound by coagulation.
I think it comes down to what kind of steel you're working with. My concern is that the broadhead come out of the animal a sharp (or close to) as it went in so that it's cutting all the way through.
Terry Green tells me that he is still afraid of his broadheads after picking them up on the far side of a kill. Since he has ten times the bow kills I do, I'm gonna take his word for it.
I wonder if softer heads wouldn't be better off with a slightly rougher, but more durable edge. I'm thinking of heads like the old Bear razorheads and Zwickey heads here.
Yes Jeff....that IS the edge I strive for.
Longbowkid,
Ever hear of picking flies out of poop?...that's about the difference.
Sharp is Sharp.....file or polished - sharp is sharp and will get the job done.
Just make sure your edge is sharp AND durable...DURABLE is more important than file or polished. You don't want an edge with the wrong angle that is so sharp that it rolls at the 1st sign of a rib. You want an edge that will still be sharp AFTER its been through the animal.....that means is did its job all the way through.
my2cents
I think a sharp broadhead with less taper on the sharp edge (hatchet like)is better for animals with course hair and mud like hogs. I have seen good hits on hogs where the mud and hair turned the edge on the broadhead, still killed the hog so who knows, just my opinion
Thats true JamesV, an edge of 30deg is more durable then one of 20deg both will get scary sharp but the 30deg will (in theory) stay sharp longer. Example is old time barbers used strait razors most of them were 17deg or less a modern major knife manufacturer will have an edge of about 25deg. Both can be very sharp but the barber spends alot of time touching up his blade.
the longbowkid: a broadhead designer Harry Elburg many years ago showed me how to sharpen his heads. He used a file to get his heads very sharp, Yes, they still in my opinion had a bit of a course edge but they were VERY sharp. He used a course file to start, then a finer file to finish.
Just my2cents
Glenn
I like to say sharp is something you can actually shave your face with... BUT I can only shave with my STOS's when abowyer brown bears shave hair on my arms but i can't shave my face with shaving cream like the stos so IDK I think the degree of the bevel has alot to do with it.
and to say I agree with bendbig because someone once said to me that if a broadhead has that scary sharp edge that has a low degree of edge bevel like a straigth razor the sharp edge will actually Curl over if it hits a rib or bone and rides along the edge,, I think his theory is correct.
i'm with terry.
i've tested twin blade double bevel heads that i ground at two different angles, both steep and gradual, then lightly honed and stropped each to remove the burr. the steep angled blades were MUCH more durable than the thin edged blades, but the thin edged blades were "sharper", as sharp as a stropped straight razor. i know both types would effectively kill, but the more fragile one got me concerned for durability of both use and handling.
i use steep angled, really sharp broadheads. the last kills i made were this past june. the very sharp wensels went completely through both hogs at about 17 yards. both heads were still sharp upon retrieval, which tells me they had to do some serious damage while passing through the animals.
thanks for your opinions everyone! Terry, I definitely agree with you on the fact that the difference wont be noticible with a good dbl lung shot. :archer: Ill just have to see this weekend on some pigs
Just a knife maker/veterinarian, but I prefer a slight burr. On a knife blade I can get them so sharp that they cut just looking at you but that honed edge just doesn't last as long. I prefer a medium grit edge with a slight burr. It stays sharper longer and hunting sharp still after pass through shots.
Bowdoc hunts with the Howard Hill file raked edge...works for him.
I don't think the type of cut edge makes any difference as to the clotting time of the animal at least in my surgical experience. JMHO...Doc
I sharpen some heads with a polished hair popping edge and others I sharpen with the rougher but still sharp burr edge. I find some like one and some like others but both do a fine job killing as long as I dont get the extreme fragile edge as mentioned. Also in the field if I take a shot I am left with a BH that needs sharpened and that is likely to get a burr edge over a polished edge.
When using a file only there is a difference between sharp and rough. If it will easily cut you it will cut on penetration, if you can drag a rough broadhead on your nail or finger and only get a scratch, it is still dull. I have seen guys using the Hill method and give up and go for the serration before the broadhead is ready. There is another thread about 140 grain Hills and comments about them being difficult to get an edge. When you take a shaving sharp head then serrate it you will see the difference. I use an arrow holder when using a file to have better control of getting a consistent stroke, the difference for me is dramatic. Most of my heads are shaving sharp. However, some have better luck with using a file with their particular broadheads. I have seen both work about equally well as long as they were as sharp as possible with either method.
Great thread and question here guys.Enjoyed all the info/opinions.All good.