Got my KME broadhead sharpner today.  I recieved 6 Abowyer Brown Bears last week, mounted some steel inserts.   I watched the video from KME a couple time.  Just got back from the shop, first sharpening effort with the KME.        They came out as close to Silver Flame out of the box sharp as I have ever seen!!!

Oh come on Mel.... Everyone knows broadheads made from American steel can't be made anywhere near as sharp as the Silverflames!  

Thanks, and happy to hear that the sharpener is working to your expectations. If you want to take them to the next level, try stropping on a plain piece of corrugated cardboard. 10-15 pull strokes on each side of the blade then, one flip, one flip, one flip, etc. It is amazing what a 15 cent piece of cardboard can do for an already crazy sharp broadhead.

.... and those Abowyers! best heads for the money anywhere.  

Ron

where do i find the kme video?

http://www.kmesharp.com/kme_video.html

How does the KME sharpener work with single- bevel BH's?  It looks to me like it's intentionally set up to do a double-bevel BH, or impart about a 15-degree angle on each side of the blade.  With a single bevel you'd need a steeper angle than that.  How does it accomodate a single-bevel angle?

My KME has been doing a great sharpening my Abowyer boneheads also. Not sure how it woks it just does.

John,
I'm sure Ron will correct me if I'm wrong, but the KME is set up for 20-25 degrees on each side of the head (depending on BH width) for a total included angle of 40-50 degrees.  That's what Ashby has said is ideal for a dbl bevel head.  

So it works great for a single bevel!

http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=057209

IMO, for the single bevel heads the KME KNIFE sharpener is the way to go. With it you can adjust the angle of the sharpening stones to suit your broadhead angle..

Hey Pat,
Now that makes sense to me.  I use the Jet wet bench grinder to sharpen my single-bevel BH's because you can pretty precisely adjust the angle of attack to match most any tool.  I'll bet the knife sharpener would allow that!

Pat, do you know if it's possible to use the angled BH jaws in the knife sharpener?  With my wet grinder the clamp jaws I use are like the KME knife clamp jaws - straight across.  Using them on BH's requires that I clamp on the BH blade at an angle so the BH edge is square with the grinding stone.  It seems the same problem would exist with the KME?

That issue is the present with the KME.. I'm sure that problem is attacked similarly with both systems, that is to adjust the broadhead in the jaws so the cutting edge is perpendicular to the stone.. Seems to work great even if it isn't ideal..  

To answer your question, I don't know if the angled jaws are available on the knife sharpener.

There you go Ron, some great free advice from John, what do ya say ????

I have had no problem with Grizzly BHs either.  The KME seems as close to ideal as there is for Grizzlys.  Of course I prepped them first on a disc sander with a jig designed by SOS on this site.  That made a rough 25 degree angle.  Then I attacked with the coarse and fine whetstones with the KME.

I've heard nothing but praise for the KME system. Seams I need to look into purchasing one. Hey Ron, where in Jersey are you located. I'd love to check out your operation and maybe get some hands on guidance if thats possible. Will you be at whittingham sunday??  Skippy

Wow, lots of questions and thanks to those of you who answered for me.

Jeremy and Pat are both correct.

Depending on the width of the BH, the BH sharpener will average 25 degrees per side for a total included bevel of 50 degrees or so on a double bevel.

The knife sharpener is as good or better because of the infinite angle adjustment. Because the clamp assembly is spring loaded, interchangeable jaws for the knife sharpener would be tough. I put broadheads in the clamp tight against the ferrule but, swing the point end out to get the blade as close as possible to paralel with the front of the clamp before actually tightening the clamp.

With either system, start with a pretty coarse stone and work just the bevel side till you can see and feel a well defined burr running from tip to heel of the blade. Then progress through the finer grit stones. As you do this, the burr will continue to get bigger and heavier. When you're satisfied with the level of polish on the bevel side, the last step is to flip the clamp and do the absolute minimum necessary to remove the burr.... usually this will require just 3-5 passes on the unbeveled side. If you "loose" the edge, just make a few passes on each side of the blade with the finest stone like you would a double bevel.

You may see a very thin line on the unbeveled side where the paint has been removed but it will be very small and should not create even a tiny micro bevel because you only want to remove the burr, not actually grind a bevel.

I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with Ed Ashby last Monday and we were sharpening single bevel heads with the knife sharpener. Both Grizzlies and the ABS "Ashby" heads came out sharp enough to cut hair off our arms without even touching the skin. (the Grizzlies had been filed previously) We also were able to whittle up little curls on a single hair without cutting through it. Ed said even if a small microbevel is ground on the unbeveled side, he's seen no difference in the performance of single bevel heads when sharpened this way. I left Ed a knife sharpener (he already has a BH sharpener) and he called me Wednesday morning to tell me that he had been doing some more experimenting and was able to get broadheads sharp enough to dry shave his face. (please don't try that)!

Did I miss any questions?

Ron

dry shave......  No thanks!

All I can say is with the KME, I've got some of the sharpest heads dirt has ever seen......

But seriously, the BH sharpener is about as easy as it gets for straight edge heads, and the Knife sharpener is just fantastic for "odd angles" and curved edges!

QuoteOriginally posted by BobW:
All I can say is with the KME, I've got some of the sharpest heads dirt has ever seen......

That one made me laugh.  

Yeah.  Me too. That is funny right there, don't care who you are.

I can relate to them!