Zwickey vs. Magnus

[olddogrib]

I' m going to switch to cedar arrows before next season and was looking for a good 125gr. traditional head. The Zwickey Eskimo 4-blade and the Magnus look like they would fit the bill. I think I could handle a file and stone but nothing matches the edge I put on stuff with my Lanskey kit. Does anyone use one to sharpen braodheads? The bleeder blades on the Zwickey' s are fixed and I don' t know if they would be in the way with the Lanskey stones or not. The Magnus heads have replaceable bleeder blades so maybe I should give them the nod. I' m not ruling out the 2-blade versions of either. Who' s had experience with these two heads?

[woodbow]

I' ve used Zwickeys for quite a few years and like them very well. Probably the biggest complaint I' ve heard about them over the years is that people have difficulty getting them sharp. I made a sharpener from a 2x4, similar to the tru-angle, using diamond stones. The difference in my homemade sharpener is that the middle groove between the stones is deeper. This allow the main blade room to pass while sharpening the bleeder blades.

The past several years I' ve been using Ribtek broadheads. They fly great, seem to be reasonably strong and are much easier to sharpen, plus seem to hold an edge better. All that, plus the fact that they are substantually cheaper.

[IrishLad32]

I like Zwickeys better than Magnus. Partly for unknown reasons, but I think Zwickeys are stronger. On some of my Magnus heads I' ve had the tip curl for rather unknown reasons. Maybe it got a little too deep into the target and hit the newspaper backing or the wall. However, with the Zwickeys I know they' ve hit the wall, but the tip was alright. They can be difficult to get sharp though.

[Ossage]

Actualy I like the sharpenig qualities of the zwickeys vs the Magnus, though the Mags I had were pretty early production. What I liked about the Zwickeys was how easily they filed up sharp. I found that didn' t work on the mags.

[Josh Sorensen]

Pepsi vs Coke!!!

I personally like magnus heads. I always get them scary sharp and they fly very good for me. i have also never really liked the green color of the zwickeys. I also like the different styles of magnus including their very impressive Snuffer broadhead. Nothing cuts a bigger hole than a snuffer.

[Ossage]

I agree about that colour but I shoot the big Zwickeys, which are black.

I have some of the original snuffers, they are great, haven' t ried any made by Magnus.

[Wingbone]

I personally prefer Magnus. That removable bleeder blade makes it easier to sharpen. A friend of mine that has used both in the two-blade configuration, told me that Zwickey heads seem to have harder steel. He says that, for him, the Magnus are easier to sharpen.

[wulff]

i use the magnus 140 gr head and i sharpen them with a file and stone and if i can get them sharp anyone can

[towerrat164]

I am going to jump into another direction. Have you considered the Wensel Woodsmans? I have used Magnus in the past and they were okay, but I really like the look of the Wensels. The Wensel is a three blade head so using a lansky may not get the job done; on the other hand I have read numerous postings that say the Wensels hone up very nicely with a good file, and the hole produced by the three blades is without exception. I will let you know as soon as I get home and purchase some.
Towerrat

[Arthur P]

I' ve used Zwickey and Magnus interchangeably for at least 20 years. Whenever it was that Bear quit producing their good carbon steel Razorheads and switched to that horrible stainless stuff, that' s when I switched. (Still use the stainless Razorheads for small game and such, but not deer.) Like said above, the biggest difference I' ve ever noticed is one is green and the other is black, with a bit of an edge to Zwickey for ' sharpenabililty.'

But I' ve been thinking maybe I' ve gotten into a rut and it' s time for a change. Might try Ribteks this year.