Is factory sharp, sharp enough?

[Scout]

What's your opinion, is factory sharpened broadheads sharp enough to hunt with or should they all see some time on a stone?

[Sidekick]

Of course they need to be sharp but I think there is a point that you can reach when it really doesn't matter. Factory sharp is probably good enough. If you think about it once a broadhead pokes through hide and bone it surely takes some of the edge off it. That being said I touch mine up a little but I sure don't obsess over it.

[ncboman]

depends of which factory ... :D

The thunderheads I use are plenty sharp new. I reuse my blades though and keep em touched up as needed.

[Scout]

Of course they need to be sharp but I think there is a point that you can reach when it really doesn't matter. Factory sharp is probably good enough. If you think about it once a broadhead pokes through hide and bone it surely takes some of the edge off it. That being said I touch mine up a little but I sure don't obsess over it.


What got me thinking about this is an article on the subject in Outdoor life. Generally, I hit my broadheads a lick or two on a stone after I get them. I then replace the blades after I've shot something (ie. deer, tree, ground, etc). The article talked about individuals obsessing to the point of attempting to make the blades sharper than a surgical scapel.

To me, you can reach a point that you sharpen the things so much that they become brittle.

[Scout]

depends of which factory ... :D

The thunderheads I use are plenty sharp new. I reuse my blades though and keep em touched up as needed.

I've used the thunderheads in the past. Good broadheads. I currently use Muzzy and touch them up just a bit before use.

[Sidekick]

I also use muzzy's and really like them.

[dave-t.]

With the Montecs I'll use thhis year, I do sharpen them before use.

With most factory blades I go as is unless I notice the need for a touch up.

I do check the blades if they've been in a quiver a while.

[DaveHawk]

For factory sharpen heads if in dough put them to a leather strop, works great

[GF.]

If the question is whether factory or hand-sharpening produces the better edge, it's Factory. Well, flint, actually. No steel edge will ever hold a candle to a skillfully knapped stone head, because there, you're not clumsily grinding off the dull parts, you're fracturing the stone along a line that essentially comes down to bonds breaking between individual molecules...

But seriously - If you want the sharpest edges you can get, 99 & 44/100ths % of us are better off using factory-sharpened blades.

I think the belief that 'factory sharp' won't cut it ( ;) ) comes from back when that was true. You buy a package of the old-style Magnus heads (and this probably applied to Zwickeys and the original Bear Razorheads as well, at least back in the day), and those don't even pretend to be ready to hunt. In fact, the last time I bought the trad-style Magnus heads, there was a great big WARNING: NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME message on the package. And I'm sure that's a big piece of the reason that they cost less than half of what most guys are paying these days; way less, as in $21/six-pack vs. up to $40 for 3. :eek: Getting the edge ready to go is the slow, expensive step.

And to believe that you can get a better edge by hand than a factory can do when they're using purpose-built machinery and techniques that have been refined using extremely high-powered microscopic examinations of the edges they produce....?

That's just stupid. :rolleyes:

OK, maybe a few guys out there have unique gifts. Hell, I've put some mighty keen edges on a few blades here and there myself! But to think that I could take a steel or a stone and consistently outperform a machine that may be using laser beams to zorch off the last few little microscopic burrs? Gimme a break!

Myself, I use 4-blade heads with a factory-sharpened bleeder insert. My old Magnus heads, I sharpened up myself, but the Stingers I just ordered are supposed to be good-to-go (on the main blade) right out of the package. Of course, then I'll probably take that brilliant, factory edge right off by test-firing each head into the block, and then I'll want to try and clean it up a hair by hand, but that's why I'll load a fresh, factory-sharp bleeder into each head for hunting. Just for peace of mind.

Now, as a mater of how sharp is 'sharp enough'...

Fact - the sharper the blade, the better the bleed.

Or, to put it slightly differently... Since crushing blood cells and vessels releases clotting factors, you might also say 'the cleaner the cut, the leaner the clot'.

And if you've ever cut yourself with a really good blade, you may not even have felt it happen. A really sharp cut-to-tip will cut through hide much more easily, without delivering that 'punch' of a chisel-tip, so sometimes guys who use the CTT/COC style will talk about animals not even running off at the shot.

So you can't overdo the sharpness, but on the other hand... But even I know when people are obsessing needlessly.... (I'm an expert, seeing as I do that all the time....:o )

If you can shave your arm with it, it's sharp enough to kill cleanly.
If it snags when you graze it across your thumb nail, it's sharp enough.
If it slices through a rubber band, rather than sliding up and over it, you're good to go.

[purple heart]

Factory sharp wasn't sharp enough on the first slick tricks I bought a few
years ago. They would cut hot butter but that was about it. I sent them an
e-mail about it but never got a response.
I bought one of those little, hand held broadhead sharpeners. It works
pretty good.
The latest slick tricks I've bought have been sharper but not razor sharp.
Apparently they don't have the machinery to get them that sharp.
I stay with that head because it shoots so well in my crossbow and after
I touch them up they have been doing the job on the deer.
Mechanicals supposedly shoot well in crossbows but I'd like to stay with a
fixed blade. Does anyone shoot a different fixed blade in a crossbow?

[Scout]

PH,

"Does anyone shoot a different fixed blade in a crossbow?"

I shoot my Muzzy's out of my Parker crossbow. I actually shoot the exact same broadheads from my crossbow and my compound.


GF,

Any thought as to the possible loss of sharpness on factory blades due to the packaging process or possible oxidation while sitting in a package in some warehouse? (Personally, I wouldn't think that either is really going to make a difference, but who knows?)

When I touch up my blades....I really don't think I'm really making the blade much sharper as much as I'm making sure the edge is clean and clear from burrs or defects in the manuafacturing process. It also just makes me feel good and helps get me into the archer mode:D

[GF.]

I wouldn't think those two considerations would amount to squat, really. The manufacturers are going to have to protect their investment in sharp edges by packaging them carefully, and lets' not forget that an awful lot of these blades are stainless anyway.

I've got some Thunderhead 125 replacement blades that are 15 years old, and they're still scary to handle.... So I don't, mostly ;)

But yeah, quivers can be hard on blades, and any time you can spot a burr or a rolled edge, you ought to clean it up as best you can.

I'll tell you guys what I think when I get the Stingers....