How sharp is a sharp broadhead?

[nyamazan]

How do you determine when your broadheads are hunting sharp?

Here we call the broadhead "Bang skerp" which means Scary sharp when they are ready, but how to determine this is not allways that easy. Is shaving sharp a good enough test or is there another method?

Thanks for your time.

[frassettor]

I heard of people using a stretched rubberband between the fingers, then rest the broadhead on the rubberband and swipe ounce, if it slices the rubberband on that first time its sharp!

[Rico]

It will easily shave the hair on my arm after awhile you can feel the edge with your thumb and know you have them sharp enough to cut hair.

 The rubber band stretched I never knew how far to stretch the rubber band or how much down pressure on the broadhead to use.

[fatman]

the Tusker site in the Sponsor's List has a sharpening tutorial, and a test demo with rubber bands....go to the "Sharpening" section.

[VA Bowbender]

If it shaves hair it's ready to hunt with.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

when my arms are bald then they are sharp

[Don Stokes]

My heads are ready when my arms are bald.

[GrnMtnTradNut]

they shave hair and you are afraid to touch um' thats how I like um' NASTY!

[Ian johnson]

I can shave hair with my magnus I's, real easy to get sharp, wensel woodsmans are easy to get sharp too

[Red Boar]

"Bang skerp"  = Silver Flames

Look at them cross-eyed and they will cut ya.    

[WidowEater]

Originally posted by GrnMtnTradNut:
you are afraid to touch um

ditto

[nyamazan]

Red Boar,
Your right, I know a bloke over here who has some and they look awesome. Trouble is the price by the time they get here make me "bang". Sure they're worth the price looking at the construction though.

Reason I ask is I found some Zwickey 2 bladers in a gun shop here, real cheap, probabley very old stock and don't even know if they're even made any more or if people use them.

Anyway I can get the single part of the blade scary sharp but having a bit of hastle doing the same to the front part where the blade has the 2 extra reinforcements spot welded.

Using a Lansky ( made in the good old U.S of A!) sharpener system.

Fatman,
Will have a look at that site now.

AS usual thanks for the advice guys, you are a good lot, most of the time!

[blueslfb]

When your eyes bleed when you look at em.

[CheapShot]

Shaving sharp for me too. Those Zwickys you found are still being made. They are very good heads IMO. I hunt with them as do lots of other folks.

[rxhntr]

You know its funny--I am reading this and I look down and see that half of the hair on my arm is gone----I sharpened a lot last night--I leave tomarrow for my hunt starting this saturday.

[C2@TheLibrary]

There is a single word to describe the perfect broadhead edge.......vorpal.
I mythical word invented by Lewis Carrol in the poem "Jabberwocky." It means it will pass through flesh, sinew and bone like a red hot wire through beeswax.
If your broadheads don't scare you, they aren't sharp enough.
By the way my friends have learned the hard way that when I tell them,"it's sharp." they no longer test the edge with their fingers.

[carbonarrow]

I use LANSKY. LANSKY makes a broadhead so sharp that it wont leave a blood trail. I'm talking with knowledge. Three deer left no blood trail because the wound sealed and,not one drop of blood to be found.

I wont use that sharp any more.

[Brian P.]

In bowhunter education, they said the standard is a number 14 rubber band stretched between 2 nails 2 1/4"  apart.

I use truangle files, followed by a DMT angled diamond stone (you can use the truangle hones as well), and then a leather strop (also angled) to finish. When done, test on the rubberband by holding your arrow by the nock. This means you only have the weight of the arrow putting pressure on the rubber band.

Mine will usually cut through the band in less than an inch of travel along the blade edge.

I use this method on all 2 blades and 4 blades with removeable bleeders. Truangle products can be used on heads that dont have removeable bleeders as well.

BP

BP

[Earl E. Nov...mber]

I like to use a tissue to test with.. Next to the table edge I place a small empty coffee cup on the tissue with the rest of the tissue hanging over.. I hold the  other edge up so the tissue is horizontal.. Then I put the arrow with a broadhead on it point down. I want to see it cut thru the tissue by it's won weight, and slice not tear to the full radius of all blades.. Trouble with the rubber band thing is it only take a sharp edge on one blade to cut it, the others can be dull as a brick and the broadhead will still pass the test.

[Brian P.]

Earl,

I agree with ya. I go through a lot of rubber bands since I test each and every blade on a head. Usually a couple times.

I have never had a broadhead I thought was TOO sharp.

BP