Your sharpen broadheads must have razor-sharp edges to provide the cutting force necessary to rapidly kill your target creatures. The best broadhead can get dull or nick up with time, from training, or the occasional errant shot that places your blade in touch with dirt and sticks. This is obviously not great for the sharpness of the blades, and also for the killing power of your shot.
If you ask “how to sharpen broadheads?” On searching forums, you’re most likely to get the speedy and unhelpful answer of “just buy new blades”. Not everyone can afford the most recent heads and sharpening broadheads is a simple way to save some cash when preparing for bow season. Even in case you save your old blades for training, learning how to sharpen a broadhead blade is a practical skill. This is how to do it.
The Sharpening Process
The sharpening process will vary slightly between various kinds of broadheads. You wouldn’t sharpen a conventional broadhead the identical way you sharpen 3 blade broadheads. And not all of 3 blades are build exactly the same. Some are solid pieces of metal, while others are individual blades held together with a ferule.
A strong 3 blade broadhead is simpler, you simply lay the head flat on the rock and you will be cleaning up two edges at exactly the exact same time. For ferule broadheads, you will just repeat this procedure on each blade and reassemble.
1. Locate the Blade Angle
The first step is to get the right sharpening angle to your broadhead, as not all producers are alike. Grab yourself a sharpie marker, any colour will do, and colour over the angled edge of the blade. You gently run the blade over sharpening stone. If the coloring is evenly eliminated, you’ve found the ideal angle to sharpen the broadhead. If just the border is cleaned, your angle is too high and you will need to flatten it out some. A tool such as the KME Sharpener or Smith’s Broadhead Station makes this measure (and the rest) simple.
2. Initial Sharpening
The next thing to search for is nicked up or flattened spots on the edges. These must be knocked down with a rough sharpening stone or file. If you do not have a rock, you can tape rough sandpaper (400, 600, or 1000 grit) onto a sheet of glass. Glass works well because it’s usually very flat, and flat is essential to getting a perfectly sharpened blade edge.
3. Polishing the Edges
Now you need to take up the cleaned up broadhead blades and finish the actual sharpening procedure. First you will need a way to safely hold the blade as you work it on the rocks. The KME Sharpener and Smith’s Broadhead Station have this built in. If you do not have a technical tool, there are quite a few different ways to hold the blade like a needle nose vice grips, a window scraper, or an Exacto Knife holder for bigger blades. You just need something to securely hold the blade and take care of the angle.
Now grab some honing oil or polishing compound, and a nice diamond sharpening stone. Use a firm pressure, but not so difficult that you can not move across the blade. You need just enough pressure to feel a little resistance. Make controlled strokes until you’ve removed the marker from all sides of the blades. Keep track of the amount of strokes you create so you remove the identical amount of metal on all blades.
4. Stropping for “Scary” Sharp Edges
Stropping is the process of burnishing the metal molecules into alignment, which may create that ‘scary’ sharp cutting edge that bow hunters’ desire. You may use an Arkansas stone or a piece of instrument leather endorsed on a piece of timber to do this. Draw up the blade the stropping surface, with a controlled motion, with the cutting border monitoring. Light pressure is all that’s necessary for this last step. Use polishing materials as needed. Test your advantage by pulling a sheet of rubber throughout the edge. If it cuts immediately, you have a search ready broadhead.
Greatest Broadhead Sharpener Reviews
King Sharpening Stone
The King sharpening stone is a fantastic dual purpose whetstone you can use with your hunting knives in addition to your broadheads. The King rock is made in Japan, and it is market toward kitchen knives, but its use for hunt purpose also. It’s double sided, with 1000 and 6000 grit, which can be wonderful to have the ability to sharpen and hone with the identical stone. Soak the stone in water until the air bubbles has dissipated, and you’re all set to begin sharpening broadheads.
The G5 sharpening stone is a more streamlined rock in contrast to the King, and has a nylon carry case that would make it easy to pack trips. It is only 3-1/4″ long by 2″ wide, and also features two sides for sharpening (600 grit) and honing (1,200 grit). This is a diamond stone, so no water is necessary, but honing oil is always valuable. You don’t need to use G5 broadheads with this rock, any manufacturer will have the ability to sharpen on it.
KME Broadhead Sharpener
The KME sharpener is a cool little device for hardcore bowhunters. It’s essentially an aluminum frame with limbs, and a flexible steel roller pin. The jaws grip and hold the blades in place during sharpening, while the roller pin adjusts to allow you to discover the sweet spot angle to sharpen at. Bear in mind that this tool is just for sharpening conventional flat sided broadheads. Combine this tool using a top quality diamond stone and you may have an extremely effective broadhead sharpening installation.
G5 Stick Sharpener
This instrument works by having you push the broadhead blade throughout the carbide sharpening pieces. The carbides are flexible so that it should provide years of use. The G5 stick sharpener is an amazing little tool that should earn its place on your hunting pack. It is probably not as exact as you may get by doing the full blown sharpening procedure, but you never know when you may want to sharpen a blade up in the area.
Closing Thoughts
I hope you see that learning how to sharpen broadheads is a valuable skill to learn. It is not a complicated procedure, but like any other hunting ability it’s something you will need to practice to get terrific results. Practice sharpening broadheads this year and your spouse will thank you (possibly!) When she sees how much money you have saved.