Sorry boys you're wrong about the tearing part..There have been folks that have had limbs "ripped off" by farm and other heavy equipment and the bleeding simply was slow or easy to stop...Tearing or ripping lets a body know that there is an injury and it sends out the little clotting factors...

Razor sharp cuts on the other hand will bleed like crazy..I had a bunch of the serrated broadheads but never got to see one in action..they flew ok but I never used them to hunt. They couldn't pass the sharpness test...

Ever been cut with a razor blade????? You barely feel it for a few seconds and then it's impossible to stop it from bleeding. That's the theory behind the straight blade. The serrated blades do 1) Add resistance 2) Let the deer know it's feeling pain and in turn it will flee farther 3) add surface area for the clots to form.

I don't think there's a contest here.

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I shoot the Steel Force Titanium that has the last 3rd of the main blades serrated. They fly like darts and go through deer like butter. The theory behind the serrations is to prevent a wound from closing back up so quickly, which is possible.

The last deer I deflated took a few steps, looked around, trotted about 30 yards, looked around and dropped like a stone. 7 seconds total.

I have to wonder how much "tearing" is going on with a really sharp serrated blade. I often cut up my deer meat with a good serrated knife and it goes through that meat like butter. I've never seen anything that resembles a tear from this knife. Sharp is sharp, whether it's serrated or not. For some reason, serrated edges make cutting (not tearing) some things easier.

I happen to believe like many here that the sharper the blade, the better the bleeding. I have always used razor sharp heads. But I am also a little interested in the serrated edges. Usually these serrations are toward the back of the blade, not the whole blade. So you will still be able to have a razor sharp blade, which should promote bleeding. I think that the serrated backs may actually help in that it should rip through the flesh leaving a more open wound which may help the bleeding for the cutting part of the blades. JMHO.

Edited by - BobCo19-65 on 09/11/2002 09:12:13

Here's a very good article on serrated knives, which should apply fairly well to a broadhead.

http://www.missionknives.com/articles/Serrations.html

Very interesting stuff. There appears to be several advantages to serrated edges. I certainly wouldn't discount them without some kind of thorough testing. They just may be the ticket!

I don't know whether a serated edge tears more flesh than a straight edge or not. I am a medical/surgical RN so I can tell you this a clean smooth cut will bleed much longer than a jagged tear. The more tissue that is torn crushed or damaged in an area the more of a substance called Prothrombin is released into the blood stream. Prothrombin stimulates the body to activate the clotting facters of the body. Think about how long it takes even a tiny razor nick while shaving to finally stop bleeding.

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