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A good read .... if you want to take the time ...

The Sharpness Factor
Text & Photography By Russell Thornberry
Many bowhunters don’t understand how the “sharpness factor” figures into bowhunting success. First, one must realize that game animals shot with arrows die from blood loss or hemorrhaging. Arrows, unlike bullets, have relatively little foot pounds of impact on big game animals.
My 80-pound compound bow delivers a 660-grain hunting arrow, leaving the string at 245 fps, with about 88 foot pounds of energy. Compare that with a .270 Winchester, 130-grain bullet leaving the muzzle at 3,100 fps and developing well over 2,500 foot pounds of energy. When you compare 88 foot pounds to 2,500-plus foot pounds, it’s easy to see why the impact of a hunting arrow means virtually nothing in terms of lethal impact on big game. A firearm relies on tissue damage and hydrostatic shock created by bullet impact to dispatch an animal. There just isn’t enough “oomph” in an arrow to do that.
In bowhunting, it’s all about the broadhead. It must slice cleanly with little or no bruising or tearing of the tissue. In very simplified terms, when a razor-sharp blade slices living tissue (muscle and/or organs) without bruising or tearing the tissue it has sliced, the brain fails to initiate the process which causes blood coagulation, resulting in extreme hemorrhaging.
The faster the hemorrhaging, the faster the oxygen supply (which is carried in the blood) is deprived from the brain, rendering the animal unconscious. Most animals taken with bow and arrow fall to the ground unconscious before death actually occurs. So, for bowhunters, the object is to create massive hemorrhaging with a razor-sharp broadhead. The sharper the broadhead, the quicker the animal will be dispatched.
Photo: The Stirling Sharpener, the author’s favorite device for establishing the angle of the blade (21 degrees per side, 42 degrees overall), is the first tool used in his three-step sharpening process.
Now, back to that original question: How sharp is sharp enough? Simply put — razor-shaving sharp! Anything less is irresponsible and unethical. A broadhead should shave hair cleanly and effortlessly. If your broadheads won’t do that, then sharpen them or throw them away.
This brings us to the crux of the matter: Most hunters don’t know how to put that true razor’s edge on a broadhead, or even a knife blade for that matter. They buy pre-sharpened broadheads and assume they are sharp enough. Regardless of what it says on the package, if the blade won’t melt hair cleanly off your arm, it isn’t sharp enough for hunting purposes.
Ragged Edge vs. Smooth Edge
There is an ongoing argument among bowhunters about the best way to sharpen a broadhead. Some argue that a ragged edge kills quicker or better than a smooth razor’s edge. This argument can only exist where there is ignorance of what causes the greatest degree of hemorrhaging in the first place. The ragged edge proponents are simply wrong. A ragged edge creates minute tearing of tissue as it cuts, something like the teeth of a saw. That tearing actually helps initiate coagulation. A smooth razor’s edge does not.
If you have ever nicked yourself while shaving with a safety razor, you can attest to the difficulty of stopping the bleeding. This free flow of blood occurs because coagulation is not initiated, due to the fact that the tissue was not bruised or torn.
Compound that same principle by the lethal blades of a broadhead passing through internal organs and you begin to understand the massive hemorrhaging created by such a wound. The bottom line is this: The sharper your broadhead, the faster it dispatches the game through which it passes.
Carbon Steel vs. Stainless
It has long been understood that carbon steel takes a better edge than stainless steel. However, most of the blades offered in today’s market place are stainless. Many of them are laser-sharpened. Bowhunters who take the sharpness factor seriously will choose accordingly. But regardless of your choice of steel, be sure your broadheads shave like a razor before you take them hunting.
Photo: The author utilizes the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpener System in the second phase of his sharpening process. He uses a 12-inch length of arrow shaft with a wooden handle on one end for sharpening broadheads. It’s easier to handle during the sharpening process than his full 31-inch shafts.
Hunters are often mystified by the distance their game travels after being hit with a lethally placed arrow. The sharpness factor plays a big role here. I have seen white-tailed deer survive center lung shots, and in one case, even a center heart shot, because the broadheads used weren’t shaving sharp. You may think that I’m assuming that those heart- and lung-shot deer survived, but I’m not. In the case of the center lung-shot animal, it was killed by an automobile two years after it was shot through the lungs with a dull broadhead. The broadhead and 10 inches of the shaft were still in the buck, positioned right in the center of his lungs. His wound had healed completely, and he seemed to be in otherwise perfect health when the car hit and killed him. He was butterball fat, too. The heart-shot doe was shot later by a rifle hunter, also two years after an arrow passed through the center of her heart. She too was healthy and fat, showing no evidence of ills due to the 6-inch section of aluminum shaft still in the center of her heart. In both cases, dull broadheads failed to do their jobs. There was minimal hemorrhaging, and both animals survived. Shot placement is critical in bowhunting, but unless your broadhead is shaving sharp, a perfectly placed arrow may not get the job done.
In the best case, when an animal has been shot with a broadhead and it bolts, the more massive the hemorrhaging, the faster the animal is rendered unconscious and the faster death occurs. The shaving-sharp broadhead wins this race with time much more quickly than a lesser sharp broadhead. It determines how far your game will travel after the shot. More about this later.
It should go without saying, but never use practice broadheads for hunting unless you sharpen them first. Ethofoam broadhead targets are great, but they will take the razor’s edge off your broadhead on the very first shot.
Achieving The Razor’s Edge
Many hunters choose their broadheads based on their personal inability to sharpen them. If this describes you, I have some liberating news. Consistently getting that razor’s edge on your broadhead or knife blade is no longer reserved for those who have the knack. Anyone can do it every time.

Photo: TrueAngle Hones’ Model LS-24 incorporates leather pads inset in a wooden block and impregnated with a fine metal polish to put the final, smooth, razor’s edge on broadhead blades, rendering them hunting ready.
I confess to having been among the ranks of those ungifted sorts who struggle to get that consistent razor’s edge. The problem is with maintaining the exact angle from stroke to stroke of the blade over the file or whet stone. I am happy to report that I am now a guru of sharpness thanks to some clever products that constitute my tried-and-true sharpening kit.
I employ a three-stage process to achieve that mandatory razor’s edge. First I establish the angle of the edge. I have found numerous tools which enable me to do this, but my favorite is the Stirling Sharpener ($14.95 each; plus $1.00 S&H; manufactured by Tony Roberts, P.O. Box 358, Diamond, MO 64840; call 417-325-4256). This little gadget is dynamite for establishing a 21-degree angle (per side) edge by drawing the blade of the broadhead or knife through the intersection of two grade-9 carbide inserts. About 10 strokes on each blade of my broadhead establishes the proper angle and renders the blades capable of shaving hair. The Stirling Sharpener also provides a second set of carbide inserts specifically for sharpening scissors. At this point, the edges are extremely sharp and smoother than edges created by a file, but there are two more steps involved before the edge is finished to my satisfaction.
Next I employ a Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpener System (P.O. Box 800, Golden, CO 80402; call 303-279-8383). The unit sells for $46.95 and includes both medium and fine sticks. I stroke the edge of each broadhead blade over the coarse gray medium sticks 10 times per side, then do the same with the smoother, white ceramic sticks. Now the edge is near perfection.
Finally, I put the finished edge on the blades by pulling them across a set of leather pads impregnated with fine metal polish and set at proper angles in a wooden block. This little tool is called the Model LS-24 Leather Strop made by TrueAngle Broadhead Hones, Inc. (6658 South State Road, Wabash, IN 46992; call 219-563-8160), and sells for $4.95. The broadhead is pulled backward across the leather pads (never push the blades forward) while applying a downward pressure on the blades. A dozen strokes per blade completes the process and produces an edge far superior to any factory-sharpened edge I have found. The results I experience from this degree of sharpness are sometimes startling. The whole three-step process takes no more than five minutes per broadhead.
The sharper the broadhead, the more easily it passes through the animal, and the less pain or trauma the animal experiences before falling unconscious. For example, I shot a mule deer buck in Alberta years ago from a treestand overlooking a large alfalfa field. The buck walked out 10 yards in front of my stand and began feeding. I shot him through the lungs and my arrow passed effortlessly through him and stuck deep in the earth. The buck lifted his head momentarily and quit chewing, as if to consider the slight noise made by the snap of my string. Within a few seconds he seemed satisfied that all was well, dropped his head and took another mouthful of alfalfa, suddenly falling unconscious and dying without ever taking a step.
On another occasion I shot a huge Saskatchewan buck only 17 yards from my stand. The arrow passed through his lungs and exited, angling slightly forward, finally sticking in the ground just left of the buck’s head. He jumped back toward my tree at the sound of the arrow hitting the frozen earth and stood there listening intently, trying to figure out what caused the noise. Then suddenly, his legs buckled and he fell dead in his tracks right under my tree.
Similarly, I once shot a large mule deer buck in British Columbia. The arrow passed through his heart and stuck firmly in an Aspen tree on the far side of the buck. I watched the arrow pass through the buck in flight. When the arrow struck the tree, the buck looked casually over his shoulder at the tree, then walked over and sniffed the arrow. He was still sniffing it when his legs buckled and he fell in his tracks.
There are two important factors that came into play in the incidents I have just described. First, a razor-sharp, cut-on-contact broadhead (the type I use) passes through an animal with so little effort, creating so little pain or trauma that the animal often doesn’t even realize there is a problem. I have interviewed three bowhunters who have had a razor-sharp, cut-on-contact broadhead pass through some part of their bodies. In two cases the broadheads passed through arms and in one case a leg, and each of the three victims told me that they never felt any pain at the time. After the fact, each was shocked to realize what had happed. This explains why animals shot with these razor-sharp broadheads so often stand casually about until they drop. They simply don’t feel pain, therefore they don’t panic and run.
The second important factor is that the degree of hemorrhaging created by a true razor’s edge renders an animal unconscious so quickly that it doesn’t travel very far, even if it does run after the shot. I have been keeping records of how far my bow-shot game traveled after the shot. In the last 10 years the average has been about 30 yards, which means they seldom get out of sight before dropping. That average applies to all kinds of game, ranging from grizzly bears to Alaska/Yukon moose and many other species of big game, including a bunch of whitetails. A well-placed shot passing through an animal’s vitals often leaves the archer wondering if he missed because of the animal’s casual, unalarmed response to the shot. My experience has been that if a major bone is not hit, the animal will often drop within feet of where it was standing at the time of the shot, especially if the bow is quiet.
I hunt with many outfitters and guide services across the country and they are continually amazed to find my game so close to where it was shot. I attribute this fact to broadhead design and the sharpness factor.
Russell Thornberry