# Sharpen my broadheads?



## nockedup (Jul 15, 2008)

I would like to sharpen my montecs and hellrazors in a few weeks, but I am not interested in screwing it up myself. Is there anyone who could help me out by sharpening them?
I would love to learn, but I dont want to experiment and screw em up. 
Thanks
Josh


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## Kelly Johnson (May 22, 2005)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBg4aYBAdt0&feature=related


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## Rancid Crabtree (Apr 14, 2008)

Right now, 3 blade, fixed blade broadheads are very popular. Those G5 Montecs revived the interest and other broadhead makers have followed suit. All of these heads appear to be top notch, but as a broadhead collector, I can tell you that these heads are not exactly razor sharp right out of the package. Don't get me wrong. All of these heads will do the job straight from the package if you make a well placed shot through the vitals but they can all be improved by a little touch up prior to taking them to the field.

The same is true of a head that you have been using as a practice Broadhead. Foam targets don't really damage a broadhead but they will dull them considerably. In either case, sharpening a 3 bladed broadhead is so easy that there is no real reason to not to give them a touch up that will make them scary sharp.

Sharpening a 3 bladed broadhead is a simple a rolling a toy car on a table top. No special skills are required to produce a sharp, hunting quality edge. You can use something as simple as 400 or 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. This sandpaper is normally black and is available at all hardware stores and home centers. For longer life I use a flat diamond hone. You can also use a whet stone. The only other thing you need is a sharpie marker. The sharpie is used to draw in the blade edge. As you sharpen the head, you will wear away the marker and know that you have touched up the entire surface. One thing to keep in mind is that you need to keep your stoke count equal on all 3 sides of the head to maintain balance. If two sides can be honed with only 30 stokes but the 3rd side, requires 40 strokes, all sides must get 40 strokes.










Here is a head I took straight from the package. Notice the grind marks and the rolled over edge (white line along the cutting edge). This head was semi sharp but not one I would take into the woods.










I took another head and spent perhaps 3 minutes on a diamond hone and then an Arkansas stone. In very little time, I had the head much sharper. In the upper blade you can see the reflection of the camera lens info.










This is the sharpness tester I built from a piece of wood and some rubber bands.










I was able to press the first head into the tester without cutting a single band.










The head I sharpened with only a few strokes cut nearly every band it came in contact with.










Here is a video I shot of the diff between the two heads in the sharpness tester.

http://www.youtube.com/user/rancidcrabtree64

It takes very little effort to take a new broadhead that is semi sharp and turn it into a head that is more suited for hunting. The duller of the two heads will push tissue out of the way (like the bands) while the sharper head will slice through the material it contacts.


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## Michihunter (Jan 8, 2003)

It appears as though RC does it about the same way I do. Here's the directions I put together a few years back for sharpening a Montec (my favorite broadhead by the way). I promise you if you follow the directions you won't screw it up.

*Sharpening a Montec*


1.) Go to hardware store and buy a 9" x 12" scrap of 1/2" plate glass unless you have a piece laying around. It doesn't have to be tempered glass and for that matter can be any non porous hard material like marble or such.
2.) Go to auto parts store and purchase one sheet each of the following wet/dry sandpaper grits: 600, 1000, & 2000 (or whatever the highest is they have). If you have a Woodcraft store in your city, they will also have this same kind of sandpaper in grits well above 2,000.
3.) When you get home, cut your sheets of sandpaper in half or thirds the long way. That way you get more mileage out of each sheet.
4.) Starting with the 600 grit, wet it completely with water then spread it flat on the plate glass (grit side up). The water should help "stick" it to the glass. If it starts to move on you, just dump some more water on the sandpaper. The water becomes both your paper adhesive and your sharpening lubricant.
5.) Take a sharpie marker and black out all edges that need to be sharpened. Just the edge itself, not the whole blade.
6.) Begin sharpening the broadhead just like you would on the diamond plate like they show in the video http://www.g5outdoors.com/#sec_video . Flip it to the next side when all of the black magic marker is gone from the side you've been working with.
7.) Once you've made it all the way around, move up to the next higher grit of sandpaper and repeat steps 4 - 6.
8.) Continue moving up in grits until you've made it through all grits, repeating steps 4 - 6 with each grit change.
9.) Now, if you have a leather strop, go ahead and lightly strop each side just to remove any micro burr that may exist.
10.) If done properly, you should have the sharpest Montec that the known world has ever seen, all for under 20 bucks. Now, go out and find something that bleeds to run it through...


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## Rancid Crabtree (Apr 14, 2008)

Excellent post.


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## michigandeerslayer (Oct 24, 2004)

thanks

That makes it seem easy


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## SPITFIRE (Feb 10, 2005)

Wow huge diffrence with the before and after rancid,thx for the info.


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## nockedup (Jul 15, 2008)

awesome posts rancid crabtree and michihunter... Is there a stone similiar to the g5 diamond stone that I can purchase locally at a hardware store or somewhere similiar, that may be less costly?
Josh


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## Michihunter (Jan 8, 2003)

nockedup said:


> awesome posts rancid crabtree and michihunter... Is there a stone similiar to the g5 diamond stone that I can purchase locally at a hardware store or somewhere similiar, that may be less costly?
> Josh


Yes there is. Most any hardware store will carry sharpening stones. I'd suggest one that has two different grits on each side. I personally have a waterstone with a 600/1200 grit combo. I think I paid $12.99 for it.


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## DanSS26 (Jul 10, 2008)

WOW, I was always afraid I would not be able to get as sharp an edge as a new one, so any time I shot a broadhead, it became a "practice head" because I always want to make sure I had the sharpest broadhead possible. Thanks for the great information, now I am going to get some broadheads out of my box of practice heads and start sharpening!


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## Michihunter (Jan 8, 2003)

DanSS26 said:


> WOW, I was always afraid I would not be able to get as sharp an edge as a new one, so any time I shot a broadhead, it became a "practice head" because I always want to make sure I had the sharpest broadhead possible. Thanks for the great information, now I am going to get some broadheads out of my box of practice heads and start sharpening!


Keep in mind that the method I describe will be for the grind angle G5 uses on the Montec blade which I believe is 60 degrees.


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## sbooy42 (Mar 6, 2007)

good info 
thanks fellas


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