Sharpening broadheads

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Kevin the grey

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Aug 26, 2005
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Hi I was told we have a few bow hunters here . I have magnus two blade broadheads . I have made them shaving sharp . My poor nude forearm is a cause for levity at times . There seems to be a secondary bevel which is at a much more acute angle than that which I put on .
This bevel appears to be at about 10 degrees . ( 5 Degrees per side)

I may not be describing this perfectly so feel free to ask for clarification . Even If what I did was correct in itself it seems to me that this secondary bevel could use a touch of the stone as well . Kinda smooth off any oxidation or microscopic imperfections that build up in storage and handling .

Also can you give me a good "use what you have around the house method of stropping" ? That may just settle the whole issue here or at least be the next step .

What do you think ?
 
Kevin the grey said:
Also can you give me a good "use what you have around the house method of stropping" ?
Click to expand...

Got an old leather belt hanging in the closet you outgrew a few years ago but can't make yourself throw away? Use the back of it. Rub some polishing compound on it if you want to get fancy. Just remember light pressure is good, heavy pressure bad.

Got a crock stick? Lightly pull edge accros it backwards in a stropping motion.

I have heard of guys using their blue jeans and cardboard, but dont think those work that great.
 
Are there any products lying around the house that can be used as a stropping compound ? I have tried using leather belts as strops and never noticed a difference .
 
If you have the edge sharp, then you should not have to do anything to the primary bevel. Usually you sharpen the primary bevel to a fairly acute angle, then add a secondary bevel at a more obtuse angle. This refines and strengthens the edge. Sounds like you did step 2 before step 1.

If you have some ultra fine sandpaper (1500 grit or better), this works well as a finishing step. Broad heads don't need a mirror finish, a little "toothy" is good. This is under $4 at walmart for 4 4x9 inch sheets.

I've heard that card board works well enough. It is a fairly abrasive material for knife blades, but it won't work as well as loaded leather.

The general rule is that a blood vessel has the approximate strength as a stretched rubber band. If you can pop a stretched rubber band with light pressure then you are good to go (this is very sharp). As a practical matter, if you can pop a rubber band with a slice with your broad head (this would be a lower limit for broadhead sharpness), without the blade rolling the rubber band during the cut, then you are good to go. Broad heads make slicing cuts, not push cuts.

I know this does not help your current situation, but Muzzy's are ready to hunt right out of the package. But, then again, I'm using Monteks this year. Good luck on the sharpening and the hunt.
 
Hlee this is my second year with these heads . The only reason they dulled was that they were practiced with when put on new arrows to make sure they fly true .

I have not had the opportunity to see muzzys or other heads such as Zwickeys yet .
 
Regardless, if they are shaving sharp, you are good to go. I don't have any experience with magnus, but from what I have read, the people that shoot them like them. Good luck.
 
Magnus two blade 125 grains are great . The only thing I know is if you are shooting a heavier bow with heavy arrows it would pay to have a more robust head . For lighter game such as whitetail and lighter bows like mine you would have a hard time to find a broadhead that penetrates better .

I would think anyone shooting less than sixty pounds couldn,t make a better choice .
 
The two blade Zwickys and your Magnus are hard to beat bar none. There are a few others in there class for simplicity and pure effectiveness.

Using a quality (american made Nicholson for example) single cut mill bastard file is a great wat to get a hair poppin edge with good "tooth," no stropping required. Just make sure you get your burr knocked off by finishing up with very light strokes.
 
The two blade Zwickys and your Magnus are hard to beat bar none. There are a few others in there class for simplicity and pure effectiveness.
Click to expand...
I'll agree with that!
I use the old Zwickey Black Diamond on my cedar shafts with my longbow. touch them up when needed with the 880 grit wet/dry sandpaper square I always carry folded in my wallet.
When I hunt with my compound bow I've been using one-piece Montecs, but I have had excellent results with Muzzy in the past. I've only been sticking deer with arrows for about 25 years. If it wasn't heading for 80 freakin' degrees today, I'd be out there right now!
Good hunting!
 
JW I have seen the Zwickeys and they look like a tough broadhead . The ones I saw looked blued like a gun barrel .

I have only heard of the Montecs . Their one piece construction interests me. I do think they are meant for a higher powered efficient bow . Do they become as sharp and penetrate as well as a well sharpened Zwickey ?
 
The Montec is a one-piece 3 blade so the angle is a little different from a 2 blade. They penetrate well but I can't get a razor edge on them.
I shoot a Mathews Legacy bow and GoldTip carbon arrows at 295fps so everything penetrates, its just a question of how far into the ground on the other side of the deer.
 
295 fps ? Thats just not fair .
I,m somewhere around 150 fps. Of course this is an inaccurate estimate . I was running alongside my arrow to guage its speed . L:O:L
 
I hunt with my fast compound until I get three or four deer in the freezer.
Then I switch to the osage longbow with the cedar shafts, turkey feather fletching, and zwickeys.
I went out tonight even tho it was hot and buggy. passed on a couple of small does. I have to whack 'em when I got the time to butcher 'em.
We don't buy meat, we harvest it.
 
32 inch arrows , 500 grains of super straight P:O:C: . 44 pounds at 31 inches .
Fairly efficient reflex deflex laminated longbow .

When I can afford it I will get a super efficient recurve to boost the footpounds up a bit . I prefer the longbow to shoot . That is only if I ever want to go after bigger game than whitetail .
 
STOS broadheads do the trick! I just use a small file with light strokes. There's a video out in cyber-land somewhere showing the technique. It worked for Fred Bear!
 
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