anyone use the wheelie sharpener for broadheads?
Do you mean the Rada knife sharpener that Simmons broadheads sells, or at least used to?
If you mean one that has wheels I do. Mine is a RADA Quick edge. Bought it for a buck at a garage sale. It combined with a strop leaves them super sharp. I prefer it over the Accusharp.
link: http://www.radacutlery.com/kitchencompanions/quickedgeknifesharpener
i used the rada and finally got my woodsmans sharp enough to shave hair
That's the one I was referring to. JC turned me onto it years ago. Agree with Tuscara. That and a leather truangle and my Eclipse's are ready to go!
Here you go: http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=31;t=000320;p=1
One of the original threads on this item.
I have looked at a KME and priced them. I am sure they are an excellent sharpener but I cannot see spending fifty bucks for one when my $7.00 RADA will leave me with bare arms.
Paul Kimbol (Dragon Rider) gifted me a Rada on a Sika hunt this past January. It seemed the rest of the hunt group also used this sharpener...everyone except me!
"Amazing" doesn't even come close to describing this little sharpener's performance.
I guess I need to buy another one....my wife has pretty much laid claim to this one....for the kitchen.
I can't sharpen a pencil!! I have or have had every sharpening device on the market and still can't get anything to work! I saw a week or so ago about this Rada sharpner on here and ordered one. Well, it ain't idiot proff cause it didn't do anything for me. However, I just went to the link posted above and saw the angle he was using to pull the BHs through. I was pulling it through flat, so will go try it again, dang I hope it works!!! Got mine for $1.98 from the big A.
Rada make my Magnus,Stos and Tree sharks scary sharp!
The KME is expensive but it gives a totally different and more durable edge. All of these wheeled or carbide gizmos raise a burr on the edge and it does feel sharp. I suppose it even IS sharp but that kind of edge is very fragile and doesn't last, it'll get dulled in your quiver and it will completely get destroyed as it enters the animal. Its much better to use a honed edge than a raised burr.
Well, the verdicts in, the Rada is NOT idot proof! If anything I think it dulled the BH more. I used the angle demonstrated and between slight to somewhat preassure. It felt smooth as all get out sliding through? I don't know. It really embarreses me to not be able to sharpen anything, I can get a knife useable sharp with crock sticks but that's about it.
With the Rada you need to start with a properly sharpened broadhead where the edges have been established and then use the Rada to maintain the edge. It is not designed to remove a lot of metal, just touch up the edge like a sharpening steel.
Allan
If the bevel on your broadhead is much too steep it could cause what you have described. It is riding on the sides and hasnt actually touched the cutting edge.
I love my KME for 2 blades and knives, but I got Zwickey 4 blades so no KME on those. Made a good edge with a file then the Rada sharpened them up real quick, I like it for that. Works good on my hook bill wire stripping knife too.
Eric
I use the rada for my sharks. Works real well!!
Love my Rada for touching up my heads. A few strokes, then leather strop and my heads will easily shave hair.
Rada fan here. I use it for my knives and 2 blade broadheads. Works on 3 bld pretty well but I feel I can get them a bit sharper with a file/ cardboard combo.
enjoying the posts so far.....
I love Mine!
Sharpening anything requires understanding what you are phyisically doing and why. Nobody explains it better than ron @ kme. Nobody makes a better sharpening tool than Ron @ kme.
I have played with these and they ruin the edge of a broadhead. If you only stroke it a couple times through the wheels, it works ok, but any more, and it rolls over the burr and edge, and to sharpen the edge again you have to reset the edge angles. So it is a quick fix for a temporary sharp edge, but I don't recommend them.
I'm not sure there is a handier sharpener for Hill and Simmons broadheads.
When I use a carbide pull through sharpener, I always finish the edge with a crock stick (ceramic hone stick) and then strop it.
The carbide establishes the edge, the ceramic set up the edge and removes the burr, the strop polishes and refines the edge... it takes a special strop for the Hill's and Simmons.
QuoteOriginally posted by Overspined:
So it is a quick fix for a temporary sharp edge, but I don't recommend them.
Isn't that what everybody wants? A cheap, temporary, no skill required fix? Oh ya, they call it compounds and crossbows.
It took me all of 15 minutes to perfect the KME jig OR sharpener. I can darn near shave my face with them. And the edge is easily replaced by stropping on the back of my quiver.
If RC reommends the Rada wheel sharpener then I'm all in. RC takes more game annually with his bow/broadheads then I see during a normal season. I've been using a Cutco wheelie for field touch-ups on my Bear Razorheads since 1970 with good results. I'll have to give the Rada a try. Thanks for sharing. :thumbsup:
I think each person has his/her preferences. Some like to spend all day Sunday sharpening stuff. I don't. I like quick and effective because I want to be in the woods and not in the house. Just my two cents, but people's feedback to this post is very helpful.
justin
I have a hard time correlating a wheel type sharpener to a compound but to each his own. Just because a guy uses one to sharpen a certain type of head doesn't mean he's taking the easy way out. Hope the comments have helped :)
love all the comments. Many have raved for the KME. I couldn't make it work consistently. Some have cheered for the redi edge. It worked but took off too much metal. Denny Sturgis Jr. swore all I needed was a 6" file. He was right but it has drawbacks for me. The rada gives me what I need for the most part. The rest is up to my shooting skills.....
You won't be disappointed, Mr. Turner. RC know his stuff and knows very well that the RADA wheel gets your broadheads more than sharp enough to get the job done, and is about the best thing going for in the field touchups. You can get a broadhead that was shot into gravel/ dirt ready to hunt in less than a minute and it very small with no moving parts to mess with. The KME sharpener does do a great job for establishing a bevel and getting a honed edge, and there is no better customer service than Ron. Certainly nothing wrong with someone choosing to use that system, just a little cumbersome for the field. As far as earlier comments about skill, etc..., I am not sure that using the KME necessarily means that you have more skill than someone using a RADA wheelie sharpener, or that using the RADA is similar in anyway to using a compound or crossbow. I guess everyone can decide for themselves if this makes sense.
I use the Rada to recover the edges on my heads and then use the simmons pro sharpener.
didn't like the RADA at first but now glad I have a few of them just in case.
As others have said, they work great and make quick work of touching up heads in the field. It's the only sharpener we carry on our site.
well put.
touched up my heads with my rada minutes ago. this simplest and therefore the most reliable for me to use.
justin
Had to get one myself to see what the fuss was about. Worked well on my knifes and Zwickeys. Fast and inexpensive. Have to pick up another one.