Broadhead sharpening


JimT

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Just wondering how many of you resharpen your head vs. just changing them out right. I am planning just to resharpen my newly beloved Muzzys after I tune them and shoot them into a broadhead target. I ordered a Magnus sharpener, which should be home when I get there this evening. This is the sharpener I got.

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Re: Broadhead sharpening

I "resharpen" my broadheads right out of the package. I shoot the silvertip mechanical and they are not as sharp as I like them out of the package. A few strokes with the sharpener and I have them shaving hair. Jim as long as you don't have any chips on the blades and you can get them cutting hair then resharpening them is fine.

todd

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Re: Broadhead sharpening

Razor sharp is nice but I know of some heads that use a B. File to sharpen them. I doubt very much the file can get "razor" sharp.

I may be wrong but I dont think so...

JimT-

Let me know how that sharpener works. I am using Magnus Snuffers now and was seriously thinking of get that one.. Thanks.

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Re: Broadhead sharpening

I sharpen mine out of the package. I have Magnus broadheads and I use a file to sharpen them. They get extremely sharp. I was sharpening them last year and my hand slipped I cut straight to the knuckle without feeling anything until the blood started flowing.

Archerjg

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Re: Broadhead sharpening

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They don't really have to be as sharp as thye say they have to be. I've heard of several deer being easily killed with the same untouched broad head. I prefer razor sharp broad heads being I only have a few years experience. However, sharpinging sharp broad heads won't make that big of a difference in the kill.

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I totally disagree with that statement.

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Re: Broadhead sharpening

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]

They don't really have to be as sharp as thye say they have to be. I've heard of several deer being easily killed with the same untouched broad head. I prefer razor sharp broad heads being I only have a few years experience. However, sharpinging sharp broad heads won't make that big of a difference in the kill.

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I totally disagree with that statement.

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I do agree with it mostly.

I am not gonna to sit here and say DONT sharpen your broad heads or using dull heads is good enough to kill.

However I never sharpen any heads I have taken out of the package and they ALL have blown threw deer even on a super hard 1/4 away shot; and the arrow kept going.

I do however resharpen if I had used the head already or it had seen any dirt/foam time.

IMHO scapple (sp) sharp is not neccesary but does aid it deeper penitration for trad shooters.

Especially with the KE and MO compounds can produce now. I mean they are almost over kill with how flat and fast, hard hitting, the compounds are now.

For trad shooters, with 100+fps less speed, and who knows how much less KE and MO, needs every edge they can get to get as deep as possible.

To me IMHO penitration applies to trad archery way more the compound archery. With trad your lucky to get pass threw consistantly, with compounds your surprized when you dont.

Use em as sharp as possible but dont kill yourself tryin to get hair popping sharp cause factory sharp IMO is sharp enough...

JMO

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Re: Broadhead sharpening

be careful with that thing Jim. I have a similar sharpener I used to sharpen my ice auger blades a few years ago. Needless to stay I have a nice scar on my finger now. If you exert some pressure on that thing it can slide out from under you and next thing you know you'll be in a bloody mess. I prefer a diamond stone myself, but as long as you get em shaving sharp it's all good.

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Re: Broadhead sharpening

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I haven't ever sharpened mine. Guess I should consider it.

Would something like this work?

72933.JPG

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Nope..Thats pretty much what I got...You cannot get to the tip of the blade with it. It works good on my knife though. I guess i will just pick up some replacement blades for my Muzzys. It may work fine on other style heads though.

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Re: Broadhead sharpening

yep--you can kill a deer with a field tip--finding it might be a different story.

I just think we owe to the animals that we hunt to do everything in our capabilities to cause a quick humane kill. Enough can go wrong with bowhunting so we should try to eliminate any factors that wouldn't create the quickest bleeding/killing time for the our quarry.

Have you ever cut yourself with a dull knife---it actually hurts worse but a cut with a razor sharp knife will actually bleed more---more/quicker bleeding---quicker the kill. A razor sharp broadheads slices thru hair, skin, connective tissue--a dull blade "pushes" thru these tissues causing a decrease in penetration and more jagged cutting edges than a sharp blade. Just imagine a quartering away shot that you hit a little too far back. A dull blade pushing thru skin, fat, abdominal wall (connective tissue and muscle), then going thru loops of intestines, maybe the stomach, maybe a little liver, then the diaphragm--then finally hitting heart or lung. I promise you a razor sharp broadhead is going to reach the thoracic cavity a lot easier than a dull or even semi-sharp broadhead.

We just owe it to the game to try to take advantage of every possibility of the hunt--and that IMHO includes using the sharpest broadheads you can.

If I can't get a blade shaving hair with very little pressure it doesn't go in my quiver.

todd

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Re: Broadhead sharpening

Again, I agree with having "sharp blades". I would never use any that were "dull" but the post was asking about sharpening new blades out of the package and I do not.

Factory sharp is more then enough to do what DogDoc explained in that senerio. (With a properly tuned compound and arrow combo)

The super hard 1/4 away shot I had mention earlier was basically his senerio. At release I had a slight 1/4 away shot, 47 yards later it was a super hard 1/4 away. The arrow entered the deers left rear thigh glacing off the thigh bone, went threw the entire gut with one blade slicing open the belly, (gut did hang-yuck), went into the right lung and heart area and exited. However mine also cut 7/8th of the front legs knee and kept going. (Knee skin held the lower 1/2 of leg on but was unusable to the deer)

I never found the arrow but did find the deer.

(Man was she messed up by all that...)

All in all my arrow cut well over 3/4 of the length of that deer and blew right threw.

I used a new, out of the package, 100g Rocket SideWinder mech head with factory sharp blades on a GT 5575 arrow only 26" long.

Hair popping is NOT neccesary unless it makes you feel better about them.

As for Dull blades.

There is no excuse in my book to ever use them on live game.

EVER!

Using replacement blades vs sharpening used blades is by far and easier thing to do, but not cost effective if thats an issue like it is for most of us.

I resharped used blades to as sharp as I can get them.

JMO

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Re: Broadhead sharpening

Broadhead sharpness is almost as big of an argument as if a bullet should pass through or stop just under the hide of the opposite side. There are 2 main thoughts on broadheads:

1. Super razor sharp are best. A razor sharp broadhead will cut more blood vessles than a duller blade. A duller blade will allow some vessles to actually move around the blade instead of being sliced. A razor will slice everything, promote more bleeding, etc. A razor edge will make cleaner cuts that take longer to close naturally.

2. A sharp but not razor sharp is best. A razor edge is very fine, hence fragile. If it does not contact bone, its fine but as it does, it will roll very easily. We all have seen this when we get a wire edge on a knife. It will float hair by just thinking about running it across your arm but once you cut something, its dull again. A sharp blade with a steeper angle has a stronger edge that will cut better once it goes through cartilidge, bone, heavy gut sack, etc. The edge is stronger and will survive better. It won't be as extremely sharp but its not a butter knife either.

I have used the sharpening devises mentioned earlier, replacement blades, Lansky kits, plain old whetestones, files, etc. Now, I use replacement blades in my Thunderheads. They are extremely sharp out of the package. On a fixed head, I use either a smooth cut file or the tool mentioned above.

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Re: Broadhead sharpening

With the blades I use for hunting only, I sharpen them a little bit right out of the box, each blade gets the same amount of passes with the sharpener.

The little "hand-held" sharpeners do work with Muzzy's. I take the broadheads apart when I sharpen them and then I am assured to put an edge on the entire blade.

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Re: Broadhead sharpening

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The little "hand-held" sharpeners do work with Muzzy's. I take the broadheads apart when I sharpen them and then I am assured to put an edge on the entire blade.

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Chrud--that's what I do also. It only takes a few light passes with the sharpener.

Jim--if you'll take the blades off like Matt suggested you should be able to sharpen the entire blade.

Majority of new blades are going to be sharp enough but if they have been used for practice or have been thru a deer I think the cutting edge needs to be freshened up.

todd

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Re: Broadhead sharpening

I use replacement blades also, and I'm not too impressed with the sharpness. I have tried to sharpen them without much success. I'm thinking heavily on using Montec's so I can sharpen them better. My x-bow will punch right through the deer both sides. I still believe on having the sharpest blades you can have.

too_

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