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RE: If it will cut paper............
 

I would say that with the pounds per square inch of force that is behind a broad head, that what you have is plenty sharp enough. Cavemen and Native Americans and countless other civilizations brought larger game than deer down with sharpened flint and bone and what not.

-Brad
Eastern Nebraska Bowhunter

RE: If it will cut paper............
 

Being a good knife sharpener (I actually took a class on it) I can tell you cutting paper DOES NOT mean you broad head is sharp. The guy who taught the class sharpens knives at gunshows and always gathers a crowd for his demos. He uses a lanski or an Edge pro sharpener and can cut 1/2 inch free hanging rope when he's thru. He taught me that if you can't cut hair it isn't sharp. I sharpened a set of steel force broad heads that would cut arm hair but pull a little out of the package, I sharpened them untill the hair would jump off my arm by useing a lanski. This does take some practice.
If you would like I could give you the guy's phone #. He sharpens just about any thing thru mail order. Knives, hatches, broadheads etc. He usually charges by length so broadheads would be cheap. He's also fast , turn around only a coupple days. Jim



Edited by - JimBow on 10/01/2002 17:07:32

RE: If it will cut paper............
 

PAredneck,
I like to push mine across a rubber band, using just the weight of the arrow to make it cut. I've heard that the rubber band simulates arteries in the deer, and if the BH's are sharp, they will cut them instead of just pushing them aside. They have to be very sharp to go through the rubber band smoothly. This is how I test mine, and it's always worked for me. Good luck,
Trebark

Become one with nature...then grill it.

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RE: If it will cut paper............
 

I can say that usen only the weight of the arrow does show the head is sharp,But I've also done this with the head NOT able to cleanly cut hair.....me I use the rubber band thing as a test that I'm getten close


If god didn't want us to eat animals....Why did he make them outa meat?

RE: If it will cut paper............
 

A broadhead can never be too sharp. It can be too dull. The question is what is too dull and does sharpness increase effectiveness.
A surgen uses a scalpel that's sharper than a razor for a reason. The sharper it is the easier it cuts flesh. Sharper also creates more capillary bleeding, ie: better blood trails and quicker bleed out.

I always get my heads as sharp as possible. I'm sure they would probably work fine if they were not as sharp as a razor but I'd rather not gamble on whether or not they are good enough.

As for early man and the American indans they didn't sit in a tree stand all by themselves waiting for a good buck to come by. This would be impractical for someone hunting for food. They hunted in groups usually, and put as many arrows in the animal as possible. That still didn't do all that great of a job.
The 1st thing the indians did with steel from europe was make arrow heads due to the inefficiency of stone or obsidian ( odsidian by the way if fractured properly can be 3 times sharper than a scalpel)

I don't know how well a rubber band simulates a deer's artery I do know this, if you can cut hair with it you can cut a rubber band.

As i said before , I can give you the phone number of a service that would get them razor sharp for you. I know it can be a hassle to sharpen broadheads the way you want them. Jim

RE: If it will cut paper............
 

Jimbow has a valid question on how much does increased sharpness lead to faster kills and easier recoveries. I try to get mine sharp enough to at least start shaving hairs off my arms, though, I prefer to get them sharp enough to shave off clumps of hair with each pass. This can be done with just a mill bastard file. Will a duller or sharper broadhead kill a deer? Sure, but how much faster or slower and with what change in blood trail (if any), I don't know.

However, I quite disagree with his assessment that more primitive broadhead types (stone, bone, firehardened wood, etc..) were inefficient. If primitive peoples could effectively feed, clothe, and defend themselves with such points, I'd surmise they were anything but ineffective. I also doubt very much if the majority of game they took stuck around long enough to be shot with more than one arrow. :^) (Only one deer ever let me shoot successive arrows into it, 3 total in 30 seconds, as it seemed undecided on which way to flee.) Natives' use of steel points stemmed predominantly from their ready availabilty through trade and/or rapid production compared to favored stone points, which took significant time and a great deal of skill to manufacture. I've handled some modern day stone points that were masterfully crafted and astonishingly sharp, as mearly laying a finger on the knapped edge would cause it to cut the skin. If I possessed the skill to knap points half as good, I'd be using them now instead of steel heads.

RE: If it will cut paper............
 

Have to agree with Ak on the sharpness os stone points(if done correctly).Have seen 1st hand points that would lay 1 open faster than a fillet knife.I'm getten ready to switch back to trad gear(back to what I learned on) and 1 guy I'm talken to makes tips that are legal to hunt with and very very sharp......but either way ya go I wouldn'r wanna be the deer hit with a stone tip or a modern tip (assuming both are sharp) both will get the job done.

If god didn't want us to eat animals....Why did he make them outa meat?

RE: If it will cut paper............
 

I never said they were ineffective only inefficient. They are hard to make , brittle, and very rarely well balanced. They can be sharper than steel if fractured properly. Some have been found with a edge of one molecule thick. That's sharp! As for several arrows in a animal I ment big game like bison or prehistoric beast. I doubt they could hit a white tail more than once That is unless Indians could run real fast. I could be wrong on general effectiveness of stone heads but the main point still holds true , sharper is better be it stone or steel. Jim