Broadheads.

[biggamefish]

So I shoot a reusable sharpen yourself broadhead. I just went through the ones I plan to use and sharpened them up. I decided see what the difference was between a non sharpened, sharpened and the a stroped broadhead. Now I am only using my binoculars flipped around as a microscope so it isn't a huge resolution but the difference is amazing. The none sharpened one has a really rough edge then as you go to the stroped one it almost looks like a mirror.  It is amazing the difference just between the sharpened and the stroped broadhead.  I wonder what the factory ones look like. 

 

Keepum sharp and shoot straight. Good luck out there.

[Moho81]

What do you sharpen with?


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[dbHunterNY]

i've been pondering putting the head on a shorter section of arrow shaft that doesn't favor one side and checking if it's weighted evenly around the circumference. seems like it would be possible to sharpen out a nick or damage it might because lop sided.

i use a whetstone with a pretty fine grit and pull vs push to finish. they get pretty sharp. i don't getting into leather and stroping compound.  

[biggamefish]

50 minutes ago, Moho81 said:

What do you sharpen with?


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I use a jewel stick on my current broadheads. My old ones I just used a bastard file.

[Moho81]

I use a jewel stick on my current broadheads. My old ones I just used a bastard file.

Not gonna lie. I had to look both of those up as I’ve never heard them before. Turns out I know why they both are but always just referred to them as “steel” as in steel sharpener and file.


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[Marion]

Not gonna lie. I had to look both of those up as I’ve never heard them before. Turns out I know why they both are but always just referred to them as “steel” as in steel sharpener and file.


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Bastard files otherwise known as rat tail files are shaped quite literally like a rat tail

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[left field]

I think those are more properly, "rat tail files". I wouldn't use one to sharpen a flat edge.

"Bastard files" are rectangular and typically somewhere in the middle between rough and fine work.

Some say the name came from heraldry as noble bastards had a barre sinister across their shields. Which is as cool an explanation as any.

Edited October 3, 2019 by left field

[Core]

That is interesting.

I'm still not convinced that sharpness matters that much on these. I've googled it a lot and I've not yet come upon a single actual scientific test that demonstrates better penetration with a sharper head.

[Marion]

Bastard files otherwise known as rat tail files are shaped quite literally like a rat tail

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Nevermind I'm a dumbass and confused the two. They are both separate. But I do use both.

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[Marion]

I think those are more properly, "rat tail files". I wouldn't use one to sharpen a flat edge.

"Bastard files" are rectangular and typically somewhere in the middle between rough and fine work.

Some say the name came from heraldry as noble bastards had a barre sinister across their shields. Which is as cool an explanation as any.

Damn you're right!

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[johnplav]

No... this is a rat tail

[johnplav]

Possibly a bastard too

[biggamefish]

2 hours ago, Core said:

That is interesting.

I'm still not convinced that sharpness matters that much on these. I've googled it a lot and I've not yet come upon a single actual scientific test that demonstrates better penetration with a sharper head.

If you take a dull knife and push it through something like tight rubber bands the knife will cut some but will push some or roll some out of the way. If you take a shaving sharp knife and do the same it will cut way more rubber bands. The same goes for artery's and such. Trust me a sharp broadhead matters.

[Marion]

Slicing through with sharp will result in less drag on the blades as the tissue is sliced vs torn and punched through thereby resulting in better penetration

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[Core]

10 minutes ago, biggamefish said:

If you take a dull knife and push it through something like tight rubber bands the knife will cut some but will push some or roll some out of the way. If you take a shaving sharp knife and do the same it will cut way more rubber bands. The same goes for artery's and such. Trust me a sharp broadhead matters.

I don't think it's a fair comparison. Peel a sticker off something. If you go slowly it peels entirely. If you pull it fast the sticker rips.

A broadhead is going through far too quickly for anything to roll or be pushed out of the way. As long as the broadhead is still moving it's going to cut anything there. Vessels and arteries have flesh behind them. They will not give; they will be cut.

I'm confident sharp blades will penetrate better. Positive, in fact. I'm also very confident they don't make much of a difference. The huge bulk of energy being lost to an arrow is not due to drag over the 1 mm edge of the blade. Again I've never seen any reasonable test of penetration that demonstrates better penetration with sharper blades. i suspect the impact of sharpness to be extremely muted.

Edited October 3, 2019 by Core

[Marion]

I don't think it's a fair comparison. Peel a sticker off something. If you go slowly it peels entirely. If you pull it fast the sticker rips.
A broadhead is going through far too quickly for anything to roll or be pushed out of the way. As long as the broadhead is still moving it's going to cut anything there. Vessels and arteries have flesh behind them. They will not give; they will be cut.
I'm confident sharp blades will penetrate better. Positive, in fact. I'm also very confident they don't make much of a difference. The huge bulk of energy being lost to an arrow is not due to drag over the 1 mm edge of the blade. Again I've never seen any reasonable test of penetration that demonstrates better penetration with sharper blades. i suspect the impact of sharpness to be extremely muted.

Shoot a field point and a broadhead at your target and let us know which penetrates further. I'd bet the broadhead does

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[Core]

Just now, The Jerkman said:

Shoot a field point and a broadhead at your target and let us know which penetrates further. I'd bet the broadhead does

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It's a different shaped head.

Take a razor sharp fixed head. Now take a dull one. Shoot them both. I expect before pulling them out you won't be able to tell which was which.

I may be wrong. I've never tested all this. But that's my point: i've never seen anybody actually identify how sharpness impacts penetration and to what degree we should worry about it. Just the general adage "Sharper is better".

[BowmanMike]

2 minutes ago, Core said:

It's a different shaped head.

Take a razor sharp fixed head. Now take a dull one. Shoot them both. I expect before pulling them out you won't be able to tell which was which.

I may be wrong. I've never tested all this. But that's my point: i've never seen anybody actually identify how sharpness impacts penetration and to what degree we should worry about it. Just the general adage "Sharper is better".

Wouldn't you want that sharper the better advantage? Who knows if it is 2% or 10% improvement. I for one would take 1% as reason enough to get my broadheads razor sharp. 

[biggamefish]

13 minutes ago, Core said:

It's a different shaped head.

Take a razor sharp fixed head. Now take a dull one. Shoot them both. I expect before pulling them out you won't be able to tell which was which.

I may be wrong. I've never tested all this. But that's my point: i've never seen anybody actually identify how sharpness impacts penetration and to what degree we should worry about it. Just the general adage "Sharper is better".

You are completely wrong with this. Just take your broadhead target out grab two arrows one shaving sharp and the other dull and you will see a huge difference. I have played with this just to prove the I am not wasting time with all the sharpening I do. My sharp arrows would go all the way through or the fletching would stop in the block where the dull broadhead would stop before the fletching even touched the block. 

[Core]

1 hour ago, biggamefish said:

You are completely wrong with this. Just take your broadhead target out grab two arrows one shaving sharp and the other dull and you will see a huge difference. I have played with this just to prove the I am not wasting time with all the sharpening I do. My sharp arrows would go all the way through or the fletching would stop in the block where the dull broadhead would stop before the fletching even touched the block. 

I may actually do this. If I do it I will post results, whether they make me look clever or foolish  I figure a couple dozen randomly shot heads on the same arrow and measuring depth might be interesting.

Edited October 3, 2019 by Core

[Marion]

I may actually do this. If I do it I will post results, whether they make me look clever or foolish  I figure a couple dozen randomly shot heads on the same arrow and measuring depth might be interesting.

Don't forget different spots on the target. Don't want a mushier spot to skew results

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[dbHunterNY]

16 minutes ago, Core said:

I may actually do this. If I do it I will post results, whether they make me look clever or foolish  I figure a couple dozen randomly shot heads on the same arrow and measuring depth might be interesting.

it's likely to depend on the profile too. head with longer shorter blades will have less of an effect than shorter taller blades that have to be pushed through more. an exaggerated difference would be comparing the effort to push a butter knife through a block of cheese versus a sharp knife.

jerkman brought up a good point. might consider shooting many arrows in different spots for both heads and take an averages.

[Fletch]

I sharpen them so I can at least cut myself and leave a good blood trail once a season!

 

I sharpen all mine. I figure sharper is not going to do worse, duller may.

Edited October 3, 2019 by Fletch

[left field]

Who goes out into the world with a dull knife?

[BowmanMike]

47 minutes ago, left field said:

Who goes out into the world with a dull knife?

Good point...