Calling all fussy broadhead sharpeners

[elk yinzer]

Are you renaming yourself “Major Master Bowhunter Flex@??!!

No thanks I prefer to call people on their bullskittles. So much flexing in bowhunting. Saddlehunters are the worst, it's like the crossfitters/keto/vegans of the hutning world. So much flexing on minutiae. And I'm extra grouchy, hurt my knee and feel stuck in a perpetual offseason.

 

[Jammintree]

No thanks I prefer to call people on their bullskittles. So much flexing in bowhunting. Saddlehunters are the worst, it's like the crossfitters/keto/vegans of the hutning world. So much flexing on minutiae. And I'm extra grouchy, hurt my knee and feel stuck in a perpetual offseason.

Sorry to hear that. Are you also waiting for your season to open?

 

[elk yinzer]

Sorry to hear that. Are you also waiting for your season to open?

No tore my ACL and some other goodies in there the day after our season opened. My own stupid fault. Trying to get a little hunting in before I get it fixed, but I'm not sure if that's gonna happen or not. Not been in a good place the past couple days, more painful still than I expected.

 

[Jammintree]

No tore my ACL and some other goodies in there the day after our season opened. My own stupid fault. Trying to get a little hunting in before I get it fixed, but I'm not sure if that's gonna happen or not. Not been in a good place the past couple days, more painful still than I expected.

Oh man, so sorry to hear that. Dealing with injuries is no fun at all. I hope all goes well for you and that you heal up quickly.

 

[thedutchtouch]

Perhaps Major Master Bowhunter one-knee-that-doesnt-flex? Sorry to hear about your injury and hope my attempt at some additional levity doesn't insult.

I don't see this as a flex. Discussing minutiae, possibly, wouldn't be the first or the last time that happens, but it hasn't crossed into the "I'm better than you because" that makes it a flex, it's more "I obsess about this detail, do you? Does it matter?"

I'm my opinion it matters only to an extent and will be another combo similar to FOC where it'll always come back to a gear(or sharpness) vs shot placement and a "we aren't hunting cape buffalo" type of discussion likely, but two holes are better than one to blood trail, so anything that helps make that happen is a positive in my opinion. Sharpen on, or don't.

 

[DelaWhere_Arrow]

Perhaps Major Master Bowhunter one-knee-that-doesnt-flex? Sorry to hear about your injury and hope my attempt at some additional levity doesn't insult.

I don't see this as a flex. Discussing minutiae, possibly, wouldn't be the first or the last time that happens, but it hasn't crossed into the "I'm better than you because" that makes it a flex, it's more "I obsess about this detail, do you? Does it matter?"

I'm my opinion it matters only to an extent and will be another combo similar to FOC where it'll always come back to a gear(or sharpness) vs shot placement and a "we aren't hunting cape buffalo" type of discussion likely, but two holes are better than one to blood trail, so anything that helps make that happen is a positive in my opinion. Sharpen on, or don't.

Darn your logic and reasoning and general good nature. Darn it all to heck.

 

[DelaWhere_Arrow]

I spent some time chatting with a fellow coach at the gym. He’s a martial artist with 20+ years of experience in using and making bladed weapons, he is a knife and tool maker now both professionally and otherwise, he is also an auto mechanic 9-5, and he has sharpened a pile of broadheads dating back to the original Zwickeys with the file. He had some interesting thoughts on all things sharpening, and he said that when all’s said and done, the most knowledgeable craftsmen at these knife and tool conventions will tell you sharpening is personal (much like archery) and when you find the method/direction/materials that works best for you, that you are most confident and REPEATABLE in executing to earn the best edge you can get for its intended purposes, THAT is the “best” way to sharpen. So for @Allegheny Tom and to a large degree, myself, directing the scratches to align with the most intentional direction(s) of cutting have produced the best results thus far. Definitely on 3-blade broadheads and smaller knives while using a standard size stone, I can maintain the best angle and earn the quickest edge by sharpening directionally to the cutting “style”. And I can repeat the process across multiple blades. I admit I have yet to find my groove (pun not intended this time) on larger knives and machete-length blades but I’m getting there with a combo of AT’s more directional flow and the conventional “shave a sliver off the stone” method, which seems to be producing a more diagonal scratch pattern. And makes stropping a little more difficult IMO but that may also be the size of my blade compared to the size of my leather, and not ALL my big blades need stropping anyway (which is a whole rat’s nest of a conversation on its own).
Anyway, I think you can’t really beat a dead horse TOO to death on some of these topics, especially on a nerd-hub such as SH.com. What else are we supposed to do with our fingers to warm them up in the tree?!

 

[Micneador]

So much flexing in bowhunting. Saddlehunters are the worst, it's like the crossfitters/keto/vegans of the hutning world.

So you're saying I'm skinny??! Finally!!!!

 

[Heydeerman]

Successful bowhunting is nothing more than th the cumulation of details.

That’s wisdom

 

[DelaWhere_Arrow]

Hey @Allegheny Tom thanks for making me think about my sharpening technique a lot more. Both the broadhead and the gut knife were sharpened with your influence. They both performed flawlessly. My neighbor helped me get her and he was shocked at the clean wounds (both sides of her), the heavy blood, and the clean gut job. I admit I’ve never cleaned a deer so damn cleanly before. I could probably clean the dirt off the broadhead and shoot/gut another deer or two with the knife.

 

[bigmike23]

Reviving this. Just finished my IWs with 12000 grit whetstone. Getting ever closer to cutting the spacetime continuum