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I think JZarr hit the nail on the head with his explanation. I also saw that demonstration in a video where the rubber tubing (simulating arteries) were pushed aside when a dull blade passed between them, thereby causing less trauma upon pass through. Then they pushed a razor sharp blade through and every strand the blade touched was severed to allow for faster bleeding and a more humane kill.

No doubt that a double lung hit with a slightly dulled blade would bring the animal down, but as you said, " if penetration was an issue then the sharper the head the better because the blades would not drag as much." Isn' t penetration always an issue since we cannot possibly tell exactly what we' ll hit (bone, shoulder, etc.) until after the shot is over? So, if the blade strikes shoulder or rib bone and doesn' t have the sharpness needed for the required penetration, the arrow may only strike one lung and end up in a tedious day of tracking, or unfortunately lost game.

We all owe it to the game we hunt to use nothing but the sharpest blade possible for a quick, clean kill.

Titleist_03, I agree that Muzzy' s could be a little sharper out of the box, but in the 10 years that I' ve used them I have never had a problem with a lethal shot, so they must be sharp enough to do the job, they always shave hair off my arm though.

I' ve tried to hand sharpen but it is tough as he!!, besides replacement blades are only around $8 a box so why bust your knuckles over something like that.

Try shooting fixed blade heads and sharpening them yourself! I spend at least half an hour to an hour every weekend just touching up the heads in my quiver that I haven' t shot yet.

When I' ve got a dull blade from practicing it takes me every bit of an hour to get it sharp enough to consider hunting with it. My general rule of thumb is that my blades are sharp enough when I can shave the hair off my arm with them. Getting to that point with a file, a stone, and a leather strope can be a pretty time-consuming task.

i attended the delaware bow hunting class, it just kept repeating itself about a broad head cannot be sharp enough. did the surjical tube thing. the idea is to sever main vessels for a clean kill. it may be so that if you cut your finger with a razor blade you won' t bleed much but animals are running and not letting the incision start the healing process.

may be overkill but i shoot my spit fires once and then replace blades.

That sums it up in a nut shell. As a hunter we want penetration, not blunt force trauma. Penetration is the key, because once the lungs are punctured they will collapse, expiring the deer. You dont want a dull head stoping on a rib or shoulder allowing the deer to be hurt but still perfectly alive.

Thats my take.

Sharper is better, however I don' t care how broadheads arrive from the manufacturer. If you practice with them, they become too dull. If you shoot them at a deer, they become too dull. If you pull them in and out of a quiver many times, they become too dull. So, as you can see, you must have the ability to sharpen your heads, if you want the ultimate in sharpness and performance from them.

Many replacable blades are awkward to re-sharpen, so I recommend buying any good fixed two-blade broadhead (like Magnus) and then learning the " scary sharp" method of honing them.

[link]http://www.shavings.net/SCARY.HTM[/link]

If you do, your broadheads will do maximun damage to whatever area you hit.

And? Since when is penetration not an issue in bowhunting ungulates? You' ve answered the question already.

I' ve been through a ton of heads in the relatively short time I' ve been bowhunting. But I am a Pro Chef and sharpness in steel IS the game in kitchen cutlery and the sharpest and easiest to re sharpen are...Steel force. Open a package and you CAN shave with it. The 2 blade with bleede configuration makes for easy resharpening as well.