Bear with me, this is another two blade vs three blade question (thankfully, I don't post often!). Assume everything else equal (arrow weight, speed, game, etc.), would you prefer a pretty sharp three blade (Woodsman)or a REALLY sharp two blade (STOS)?  I ask both in terms of ability to kill and quality of blood trail.  I can get a woodsman to shave hairs to a respectable degree but my STOS are razors.  Which would you choose?

I would go with the sharper of the two.

Sharpness aside, it's STOS hands down, both for penetration and structural integrity ... as proven in Dr. Ashby's long-term studies, wherein 3 blades did really poorly in most categories. I shoot STOS for elk, and with embarrassingly long experience they're the best I've found so far (since I can't sharpen the Grizzly), modified with a Tanto tip (easily done) Watch for the forthcoming single-bevels, Tanto tips and other Ashby-inspired improvements in STOS (and others). I shoot the big Woodsman for turkeys.

I would use the sharper two blade without hesitation. It is the best choice for game.
Dr. Ashby's results are clear.  Plus I would never want to take a college course trying to lean how to get a three blade Woodsman sharp enough.. LOL

I've used Zwickey's (Eskimo)for almost twenty years. They just get crazy sharp, fly perfect and "work" evertime..

John III

Blade count is irrelevant compared to shot placement and sharpness. Yes, I'm clearly biased about this but I'm also confident that the case has been scientifically proven time and again.

I am a 2 blade devotee though, so I'll go with the STOS for more reasons than it's sharpness.
I get consistantly better groups with two blades than I do with three blades and two blades penetrate better (all other factors being equal).

Ron

STOS over woodsman anyday. Now throw in the new 300 extreme and I'll go three blade over two for really big stuff. But this is the only three blade exception I'll make.

It depends on what you're hunting.

I'd rather blow through a whitetail with a 3 blade or 4 blade than a 2 blade anyday.

I like a two blade for hogs and a three blade (or four) for deer. My thoughts being,it's easier to get an entry and exit hole in a deer, so I like a big sharp broadhead(Snuffer).
For hogs, I like a two blade head that tends to penetrate deeper(Magnus 2).The reality is, if it's sharp and you hit them good that's enough.

I'd take the STOS every day of the week and twice on Sunday!   :D

I have both but, according to my wife standing down range, the woodsman whistle.  The STOS fly like field points.

Twos company, Threes a crowd. 2 blade

Well, the 2s have it by a significant margin!  I must admit, I will double my free time by not having to sharpen woodsmans.  Not to say one can't get them hair popping sharp but the two blade is much easier for me.  I use the Spyderco sharpener, FWIW.
I know that in theory I should get better blood trails with a three blade but my first traditional deer was shot with a woodsman and it plugged with fat and hardly bled out at all.  Darn theories!  My first archery deer (compound) was killed with a two blade Steel Force.  Fell over in sight.

Uh, Al.  What's your wife doing down range???

http://www.simmonssharks.com/

You want good blood trails? Like you stuck them with a machetti.

I've shot many bhs over the years, 52 to be exact. I have found that multiple blade heads do better by me than single blade and the best head I have shot is the Razorcap. Great blood trails, perfect flight, easiest to sharpen, and most of the time game goes down in sight. Last year I shot a 600 pound moose and she went 3 strides and was down.

It would depend on what I was hunting.For most animals I would shoot the woodsman if those two were my only choices.Both are small little heads that will penitrate very easy but at least the woodsman will cut a bit more.You still have to recover stuff after you shoot it and in most cases more blood on the ground makes that easier. jmo

magnus two blade are on the serious end of my arrows

Magnus Stinger 4bld Broadhead-----fly like fieldtips out of my bow and zip through deer ribs like butter. Plus, if you are lazy like me---you can just replace the blades after going though a deer. I do touch them up through-out the season though.

ben

I agree with Bill and James.  I like multiblade broadheads for deer.  Last year I hit a doe in the liver with an old Bear "greenie" with the bleeder blades.  The bloodtrail that the 4-blade broadhead left made recovery easy.  Would I have gotten the same bloodtrail with a 2-blade?  Don't know but after using 2-blade broadheads for years, I was surprised at the amount of blood on the ground.