Hello all,
Thought I would give a little pictorial on getting your broadheads beyond razor sharp.
A wise man once said "Sharp broadheads add weight to your bow." I couldn't agree more.
Razor sharp is good. Razor sharp in all honesty is good enough. But there is a level above. Surgical sharp takes an edge from shaving sharp to will remove skin with ease while attempting to shave sharp. Thats how I like my broadheads.
You can achieve this by stropping with jewlers rouge on leather after you have established an edge but it takes a thousand strokes to get a mirror finish on it. Or you can find a buffing wheel, attach it to a grinder and do in seconds what stropping will take hours to do with the help of buffing compound.
BE CAREFULL WHEN DOING THIS. A BUFFING WHEEL IS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS TOOLS IN THE SHOP.
Once again, it isn't nessacary but your sharp broadheads will be above razor sharp.
On the buffer.
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n32/papsblueribbon1/broadhead01_zpsa273fb61.jpg)
A surgical sharp head on the left with a mirror polished edge vs a fine diamond stone razor sharp edge on the right.
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n32/papsblueribbon1/broadhead03_zpsf0a5a33e.jpg)
One very careful pass on a bit of hair will remove anything in its path with extreme!!! ease. Do not try this (shaving your arm hair) at home.
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n32/papsblueribbon1/broadhead02_zps2576851f.jpg)
Happy hunting!
Todd
I'm always impressed with people that aren't sharpening challenged as myself. Looks like those heads can do work
Yeah high speed buffers are not for the faint of heart. I have a background in the auto resto business and have some time with a wheel, you must be very careful. I remember this one time first starting out I got complacent while polishing a piece of chrome trim that was smooth on one side and had some sharp edges along the back side where the attachment points were. I was moving it back and forth and started working on the leading edge and just lost my focus for a split second and one of the sharp edges caught on the wheel and the trim piece proceeded to get stuck and become a propeller of death, LOL. The noise it generated was incredible, like a Huey helicopter...up to that point the machine had been so quiet! LOL. In those few seconds the piece hit me in the shoulder, chest and hand. Hairline fractured one of my metacarpals. Severe bruising to my upper chest and belly. Thankfully I was wearing a leather welders apron, glasses and a face shield. They saved my @ss. And I jumped away pretty quickly! But it all happened in a split second. After all it was all spinning at almost 4000rpm. Industrial buffers are no joke.
The moral of the story is when it comes to high speed buffers and metal objects...BE careful! Especially when those objects are sharp.
I will agree though, this is THE method to achieve a level of sharpness that is nigh unbelievable. I actually have plans to get the rouge wheel setup from Jim Neaves to start doing this myself.
I get mine scary sharp with a file. I cant imagine what that would do to them as the final step in the process.
Yup.. There is instruction online via youtube and what not that will teach you how to safely do it but loosing focus for an instant just like nineworlds said can result in severe injury. Thanks for sharing with us.
I get my edge with a file which will pop hairs no problem, get them shaving sharp with a DMT diamond stone first medium or red then finish with fine or green and they are extemely shaving sharp after a few strops to remove the microscopic wire edge. Once again this is plenty good enough for clean kills. The mirror polish on the edge takes them to such a level past shaving sharp though it is hard to explain.
Thanks for the comments!
Todd
I also don't want to sound like file sharp isn't good enough either. Lots of archers have effectivly taken lots of well deserved critters with file sharp blades.
I guess my point with it all is the sharper it starts out, the sharper its going to be when the broadhead quits doing its work.
In other words if you take a surgical sharp head and a file sharp head of the same make and model and place them exactly the same on the exact same animal they are both going to be dull on the other side of the animal. In theory, the one that starts out the sharpest is the one that is going to be the less dull on the other side.
It has been proven the world over a well placed file sharp head will do the deed very quickly.
Todd
Copy and paste the you tube link. I like sharp. When our surgical instruments get dull, we have a mobile company come in and sharpen them. They have various wheels that they use.
Just_a_hunter,
I like your post. I've read about these sharpeners in the past. I bought one and wasn't impressed.
Fast forward a couple of years. I'm walking around the local flea market and here's a guy charging people to sharpen knives with one of these things. I get to thinkin' "maybe I should try again".
I got out my new Grizzlys and went to work. My left forearm is hairless and I drew blood more than once without trying. I literally shaved skin off of my arm. What changed?
The first time I used it, I sharpened some Tusker broadheads. I really like the heads but they require you to remove some metal before they get sharp, much like the old Grizzlys. If you are patient, the Tuskers are awesome. If you're like me, you get impatient and remove the temper from the tip of the head.
QuoteOriginally posted by medic77:
I'm always impressed with people that aren't sharpening challenged as myself. Looks like those heads can do work
After I sharpened my Grizzly's, I brought out all the kitchen knives (This part is for Medic77). A very light touch and wild guess as to the blade angle, my kitchen knives, cheap as they are, have never been so sharp.
I do like working with a stone and my KME sharpener but, I really do like my adapted bench grinder. It works great to put a super edge on a broadhead and knives.
homebru
P.S. I've got one Tusker that is, without a doubt, the sharpest piece of metal I've ever held in my hand and I did it with this system on my bench grinder.
The angel of the edge is also important. Too little of an angel won't get the scary sharpness too much of an angel will be very sharp but weak and round over or knick. 25°-30° is about right. (http://www.welshoutdoor.com/KNIFEINFORMATION/KNIFESHARPENING/files/uk-deer-knife-sharpening-graphic.jpg)
Awesome that you go the extra mile, and get your edges as sharp as possible. I admire that a great deal.
I choose a different route, however.....I force-trained myself to get proficient with a file and leather strop. My reasoning is that I don't want a piece of machinery required to get my heads shaving sharp. I like the freedom of being able to shoot my heads often in the field, touching them up as I go.
This one is good. His wheel is way more coarse than my cotton wheel. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9Vn7KTlBVE) He touches on the safety stuff.
The buffer just polishes the edge. It will eventually remove enough metal to give it an edge but it will take hours and likely will remove the temper. You need to know how to establish an edge first before you should try crossing this bridge.
VA bowender picture is awesome. If your edge is too steep, the buffer will bend or roll it over and actually dull your blade in a hurry.
Todd
QuoteI force-trained myself to get proficient with a file and leather strop. My reasoning is that I don't want a piece of machinery required to get my heads shaving sharp. I like the freedom of being able to shoot my heads often in the field, touching them up as I go
Good advise. Once again, shaving sharp is easy to obtain. This process takes the edge so far past shaving sharp it cannot be explained.
My buffer stays at home. If I miss, the head just gets resharpened with my field tools and like I touched on earlier, thats plenty good enough for most killing.
Thanks so much for all the awesome input.
Todd
QuoteOriginally posted by just_a_hunter:
I get my edge with a file which will pop hairs no problem, get them shaving sharp with a DMT diamond stone first medium or red then finish with fine or green and they are extemely shaving sharp after a few strops to remove the microscopic wire edge.
I have been doing research a on KME and DMT. But my question is what kind of file do you start out with? Brand, size and coarseness? Just curious and thanks.
Wow! Those polished mirror edge broad heads of yours will cut you just looking at them!!!
I just use a standard 10" bastard mill file. Get as fine as you can get. A fine file is 1000x more coarse than a course diamond stone. The trick to that is making sure your file edge degree and the edge your KME and DMT system degree need to be the same and that takes practice. I would suggest getting the blue course DMT and skip the file until you get good which you will. Its an easy transiston from diamond stone grits compaired to file to diamond stone. On the other hand the only way to get there is doing.
Todd
Great job Todd! Hope you get to send a couple of those through critters in the following weeks! Just wished you lived closer so you could put that sweet edge on mine ;)
Jack Hoyt...give Ronnie a call at KME. He will answer all your questions. Ronnie did a doz Zwickey Deltas for me last year...as a favor. Super sharp!
Myself, I use the 10 mil bastard file, finish the heads off with a leather strop. I apply some jewelers rouge on the leather for a smooth finish.
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/005_zpsd7105ffb.jpg) (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/sf1oak/media/005_zpsd7105ffb.jpg.html)
Where do you guys getting buffing wheels, rouge and such?
I am a BIG fan of the Lansky sharpening system. I do all my BH's on it including replacable blades. They come out surgical sharp.
I've been a butcher by trade for 43 years so I do my knives by hand on a whetstone still.
I used to use my buffer wheel to strop my heads. Works awesome but I'm a little to impatient and get careless. To many times the buffer would catch the other edge and send the head flying. I often thought about making a safety box and jig for the buffer.
I'm happy with how I get them by hand so I never messed with it again.
If you would like another option that works really good use a 2 or 3 foot price of card board and stop on that. The long piece let's you drag the blade a long way on each stroke and really gets it done fast and safe and cheap.
Great post! Awesome to see you go the extra mile to make them extra sharp.
Great pictures - I'm all for getting my broadheads sharper! (But taking anything "to the next level" sounds too depressingly like being in the office instead of bowhunting ;>) )
Todd
I woodcarve as a hobby so I understand what you're saying. You can't really explain the difference a power strop makes without actually doing it. I sharpen with a 6 in. mill bastard file to start but, finish with the wheel.
You can pick up a wheel, buffing compound or kit from here. Sharpening (http://www.texaswoodcarvers.com/Tool_Catalog/Sharpening_Equipment.htm#Paper%20Sharpening%20Wheels) You can also fine a set-up for a hand drill. Hand Drill Kit (http://www.mountainwoodcarvers.com/sharpeni1.htm)
Jewelers rouge will surely work but, it's made for softer metal like gold & silver. You can get green chromium buffing compound at most hardware stores. It's made for hard steel buffing. This stuff Dunkle (http://www.thewoodcraftshop.com/store/p/4477-DUNKLE-PLATINUM-MX-BUFFING-COMPOUND-1-2-LBS.html) works better than anything I've ever tried. Either of these will polish much faster and smoother than jeweler's rouge.
Try this like Todd explains and you'll be amazed at the results.
I'd like this thread to spawn a bunch of threads of different techniques for achieving a hunting sharp edge.
Normally I get my wife's heads smooth and shaving sharp. Last year she shot two arrows through a year and a half old buck. One was shaving sharp and the other was one that I had resharpened with a a file after it had been test shot into a bale. After field dressing her deer I went back to find her arrows. I was surprised how much edge was left on the file sharpened arrow, it could easily kill another deer, the smooth one that could easily shave had become very dull, both old Bear broadheads. I wonder if metal hardness may determine which sharpening method works best for which head. With my custom tempered and ground single bevel Hills, razor edges hold up on deer hits, but do not seem really any different than the filed edge for good blood trails and penetration than the filed serrated edge. What I see most often with people just learning how to sharpen is thinking that a burr left on the edge is a smooth razor sharp edge,when that burr is gone so is the cutting ability. For them I most often suggest get the KME sharpener or stick to heads that can get sharp with proper file techniques.
I too had a head get away from me with a buffing wheel. Being a classical guitarists things that can hurt my hands are a bit frightening. A bare buffing wheel can be a dangerous thing.
Some good tips here... Thanks!
Very nice!