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Calling all fussy broadhead sharpeners

Allegheny Tom

Allegheny Tom

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2018
Messages
6,044
Location
Western Pennsylvania
We all want our heads to be as sharp as possible, that's obvious and really not the topic here.
Lots of us think our heads are sharp.sharp.. "Hey the ad said said sharp right out of the package and they were pretty good when the mailman delivered them to my door. Maybe. Some guys just don't what "sharp" really is.
There is no such thing as "too sharp" or "sharp enough" .

I realize this thread is gonna morph just like they always do but my #1 question is how many of you you that sharpen your own heads are anal about the finer points?
Yeah, we all have of preferences of how to leather strop, cardboard strop, etc, and that should be a standard discussion.

Big question...
Do you pay any attention to the actual direction/angle of the microscopic scratches you put in in the steel when you hand sharpen?
I noticed many years ago, whether it's a broadhead or a kitchen knife, that the cut of blades is DIRECTIONAL. Run a blade in one direction and id cuts better than if pulled in the opposite direction. The action of a cut is microscopic. Even if we can't see it with the naked eye, an edge has microscopic scratches in it. Those scratches do indeed "channel" flesh, arteries and other goodies INTO the blade edge. It's a minor detail... MAYBE. A barely nicked artery can make the difference between a recovery and a sob story.
When I sharpen a kitchen knife or a broadhead, I can definitely feel the difference in sharpness based on the direction of the cut or the direction of the scratches of the sharpen. Broadheads cut in a forward direction. Sharpen them in the direction in which they will penetrate/cut.
Yeah, it maybe a minor, anal detail, but you might feel different about that detail on a difficult blood trail.
The angle of scratches during sharpening in my experience, makes a difference in how sharp the head cuts during penetration.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
We all want our heads to be as sharp as possible, that's obvious and really not the topic here.
Lots of us think our heads are sharp.sharp.. "Hey the ad said said sharp right out of the package and they were pretty good when the mailman delivered them to my door. Maybe. Some guys just don't what "sharp" really is.
There is no such thing as "too sharp" or "sharp enough" .

I realize this thread is gonna morph just like they always do but my #1 question is how many of you you that sharpen your own heads are anal about the finer points?
Yeah, we all have of preferences of how to leather strop, cardboard strop, etc, and that should be a standard discussion.

Big question...
Do you pay any attention to the actual direction/angle of the microscopic scratches you put in in the steel when you hand sharpen?
I noticed many years ago, whether it's a broadhead or a kitchen knife, that the cut of blades is DIRECTIONAL. Run a blade in one direction and id cuts better than if pulled in the opposite direction. The action of a cut is microscopic. Even if we can't see it with the naked eye, an edge has microscopic scratches in it. Those scratches do indeed "channel" flesh, arteries and other goodies INTO the blade edge. It's a minor detail... MAYBE. A barely nicked artery can make the difference between a recovery and a sob story.
When I sharpen a kitchen knife or a broadhead, I can definitely feel the difference in sharpness based on the direction of the cut or the direction of the scratches of the sharpen. Broadheads cut in a forward direction. Sharpen them in the direction in which they will penetrate/cut.
Yeah, it maybe a minor, anal detail, but you might feel different about that detail on a difficult blood trail.
The angle of scratches during sharpening in my experience, makes a difference in how sharp the head cuts during penetration.
Click to expand...
Do you have a video of your sharpening method?
 
NMSbowhunter said:
How is this? Grizzly sharpened down to 2000 grit then stropped.
Click to expand...
Crap... I can see it in your pic (which certainly doesn't show detail).
The factory, ( or home) sharpening shows the angle pattern of the tooling scratches being 90 agrees to how that head will cut during penetration. A more parallel sharpening profile will actually be sharper in the ASPECT of how that head will cut when it punches thru a critter. I realize that it's splitting hairs, but I realized several years ago with kitchen knives that the ANGLE of sharpening is important on which direction the blade cuts,,,pulling it towards me may or may not cut as well as pushing it away from me. Kitchen knives are not the reason for my point, The angle of those microchips scratches IN RELATION to the direction of the cut, is what is important.
Point being... sharpen them in the direction in which they penetrate.
Center punch the lungs and it won't matter. But have some supid thing happen and it could make a difference. And yeah, these seemingly insignificant things can make a difference on recovery.
Not like this is a game breaker,,, but if you are sharpening heads, may as well pay attention to the little details. Pretty much like 99% of other details with bowhunting. Start to finish...1st day to freezer, It's all about details.
 
d546274b3e894d9dfd5a01547941cc41.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
CooterBrown said:
Do you have a video of your sharpening method?
Click to expand...
I use a KME sharpener. Mine is the one Grizzly sick sells,.. kinda similar to a Lansky.
My pain of the thread isn't about the device, it's about the the microscopic benefit of choosing the right angle in which you scrape the stone cross the blade.
I don't think most guys realize that those tiny, tiny, tiny microscopic scratches that we leave in the steel have an effect on how well an edge cuts in a particular direction. In the case of a broadhead, it's a forward cut,
Minor detail? Maybe. The title of this thread addressed that I hope. But If you are sharpening your head, then why not pay attention to tiny details that could make a difference? 2 Ways of doing it...why not pay attention to details? Successful bowhunting is nothing more than th the cumulation of details.
 
Sounds like a valid point on direction of sharpening. I have not tried that with this head and it could be a challenge to get as sharp as the pull method. I use wet/dry paper on piece of 1" diameter pipe and finish on leather. Like @NMSbowhunter I go through 2000 paper before leather.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
I use a KME sharpener. Mine is the one Grizzly sick sells,.. kinda similar to a Lansky.
My point of the thread isn't about the device, it's about the the microscopic benefit of choosing the right angle in which you scrape the stone cross the blade.
I don't think most guys realize that those tiny, tiny, tiny microscopic scratches that we leave in the steel have an effect on how well an edge cuts in a particular direction. In the case of a broadhead, it's a forward cut,
Minor detail? Maybe. The title of this thread addressed that I hope. But If you are sharpening your head, then why not pay attention to tiny details that could make a difference? 2 Ways of doing it...why not pay attention to details? Successful bowhunting is nothing more than th the cumulation of details.
Click to expand...
 
thanks for the detail. I'm trying to learn this detail but I'm not sure I understand the fine detain is the reason i asked if you had a video. I think I'm a visual learner maybe.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
Okay, what's the point of the photo?
Click to expand...
Was trying to get a clear shot of the blade edge with the phone. Held in bright sun light, there are no visible directional scratches on the blade edges. I understand and do not disagree with the concept of sharpening in relation to primary direction of cut. Just not how certain I am of being able to effective do so with this blade profile. Straight edge, sure, not problem at all. What I can say anecdotally, I have or have seen 3 animals shot high with this head, one being a 250# hog shot down through a shield slightly over an inch thick and none of the blood trails have been even sorta tough to follow, like mostly not even having to lean over. A dull head generally wont produce a god blood trail at all on a high no exit shot. The results I have seen with this head have just confirmed that sharp freakin matters. Can that be improved on with intentional directional sharpening? My gut says yes. How much difference it makes may never been recognizable though. Interesting point that I off the cuff agree with and certainly feel is worth discussing.
 
CooterBrown said:
thanks for the detail. I'm trying to learn this detail but I'm not sure I understand the fine detain is the reason i asked if you had a video. I think I'm a visual learner maybe.
Click to expand...
I don't have a video.
I'm not really good at posting vids on YouTube or ruble.
But it is (in my feeble mind) obvious to envision my point. EVERY edge, whether it be a rough edge made with a file, or if it is honed to a mirror finish, has microscopic scratches. Those edges cut on a microscopic level We make a microscopic edge, and that's the scale in which it cuts.
Those tiny scratches absolutely channel whatever it's cutting INTO the blade... OR the scratches also channel the subject AWAY from the edge, depending on their angle to to the edge.
I can say without any uncertainty that my kitchen knives are sharper in one direction than they are in the other direction of cut. I can feel it right after I sharpen them...pull it and it feels more/less sharp than the push. It's the micro scratches that create this. Sharpen your heads like they need to cut on a forward motion. Refer to the title of the thread...not a game changer but why not make your heads as best as they can be?
BTW, how many of you guys look at your edges with a magnifying glass under certain light?
 
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I can certainly see what you are saying about those microscopic 90 degree to the edge lines. Those are the byproduct of the sharpening method I use. I had a Lansky and others, and I just could not get consistent repeatable results across broadheads with them. The close-up picture really makes them stand out but if I rub my finger (carefully) along it I can't feel them. They are sort of subsurface scratches below the polished higher level, if that makes sense. Since I switched to single bevels and sharpening my broadheads I have seen a marked increase in blood loss from the wounds and a marked decrease in the animal's reaction to the shot passing through them. A lot of times they just acted like a stick broke, and it startled them. They seemed to not notice the arrow passing through.
 
BTaylor said:
Was trying to get a clear shot of the blade edge with the phone. Held in bright sun light, there are no visible directional scratches on the blade edges. I understand and do not disagree with the concept of sharpening in relation to primary direction of cut. Just not how certain I am of being able to effective do so with this blade profile. Straight edge, sure, not problem at all. What I can say anecdotally, I have or have seen 3 animals shot high with this head, one being a 250# hog shot down through a shield slightly over an inch thick and none of the blood trails have been even sorta tough to follow, like mostly not even having to lean over. A dull head generally wont produce a god blood trail at all on a high no exit shot. The results I have seen with this head have just confirmed that sharp freakin matters. Can that be improved on with intentional directional sharpening? My gut says yes. How much difference it makes may never been recognizable though. Interesting point that I off the cuff agree with and certainly feel is worth discussing.
Click to expand...
I can absolutely say that the quality of the edge in relation on the direction of the cut will make a difference. Maybe a minor, tiny difference, but the edge sharpened in a directional matter will be sharper IN FORWARD CUTTING DIRECTION, than a blade sharpened in a 90 degrees opposite direction. It might come down to looking at it in a microscope, but that is exactly the level in which we should measure the sharpness of our edge.
To bring this back to our level of discussion...I 100% know without the tiniest shred thread of doubt, If I sharpen an edge with sharpening scratches in one direction, it has a different effect on sharpness in it's needed employment than that edge used in the opposite direction.
Try it next time to sharpen the kitchen knives.
Orintent the scratches in one direction and feel how sharp it cuts going in one direction, and then pull it in the opposite direction... one way definitely cuts better than the opposite direction.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
We all want our heads to be as sharp as possible, that's obvious and really not the topic here.
Lots of us think our heads are sharp.sharp.. "Hey the ad said said sharp right out of the package and they were pretty good when the mailman delivered them to my door. Maybe. Some guys just don't what "sharp" really is.
There is no such thing as "too sharp" or "sharp enough" .

I realize this thread is gonna morph just like they always do but my #1 question is how many of you you that sharpen your own heads are anal about the finer points?
Yeah, we all have of preferences of how to leather strop, cardboard strop, etc, and that should be a standard discussion.

Big question...
Do you pay any attention to the actual direction/angle of the microscopic scratches you put in in the steel when you hand sharpen?
I noticed many years ago, whether it's a broadhead or a kitchen knife, that the cut of blades is DIRECTIONAL. Run a blade in one direction and id cuts better than if pulled in the opposite direction. The action of a cut is microscopic. Even if we can't see it with the naked eye, an edge has microscopic scratches in it. Those scratches do indeed "channel" flesh, arteries and other goodies INTO the blade edge. It's a minor detail... MAYBE. A barely nicked artery can make the difference between a recovery and a sob story.
When I sharpen a kitchen knife or a broadhead, I can definitely feel the difference in sharpness based on the direction of the cut or the direction of the scratches of the sharpen. Broadheads cut in a forward direction. Sharpen them in the direction in which they will penetrate/cut.
Yeah, it maybe a minor, anal detail, but you might feel different about that detail on a difficult blood trail.
The angle of scratches during sharpening in my experience, makes a difference in how sharp the head cuts during penetration.
Click to expand...
This is a great video I use this on my single bevel blades
 
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Marmuzz said:
I read the middle word in the title of this post as an adjective, and it made me want nothing to do with trad bowhunting.
Click to expand...
Marmuzz said:
I read the middle word in the title of this post as an adjective, and it made me want nothing to do with trad bowhunting.
Click to expand...
You could send all your money to the big bowhunting, marketers, who really care nothing about true bowhunting and you'll find a new definition to anal.....Just sayin :)
 
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