A razor sharp broadhead is one very important, yet often neglected, piece of the bowhunting puzzle. Although a semi sharp broadhead can often get the job done, if complete pass through shots and short blood trails are your goal (and they always should be) then spending a little more time honing your broadheads to a shaving sharp edge will go a long way toward that end.
In this video I do the bulk of the work with a diamond stone, getting the edge to a rough sharpness. A bastard file also works well if you can sharpen freehand as I do. But if freehand sharpening gives you any trouble, there are a thousand options out there to help you hold the proper bevel throughout the stroke. One great option is the KME jig with the roller bottom. But however you do it, maintaining a consistent bevel is one of the most important parts of sharpening a blade.
As mentioned I sharpen everything freehand but it can sometimes be difficult to see where you are removing material and where you’re not. Coloring the shiny edge with a permanent marker will show you very clearly where the material is being removed. Whoever sharpened the broadhead in the video had changed the bevel on a small section of the blade. If this is the case, don’t be temped to change the bevel of your stone just to get down into the recess. It’s much better to maintain the original bevel and take the entire edge down to the low spot rather than cheating. That’ll make more sense in the video.
Once you’ve got a bur raised on the back of the blade, we’ll move over to the buffing wheel to remove the bur and leave an extremely sharp edge. If you’re using a wheel, make sure you work from the centerline down, not on top. That way, if the blade gets turned the wrong way and catches in the wheel it’ll get thrown toward the ground and not back at your beltline.
For re sharpening broadheads in the field I carry a light diamond stone with a piece of leather glued to the back. A little buffing compound rubbed on the leather will help bring back a razor edge. Just putting the broadhead in and out of the quiver during the course of the season will dull them a little. A few strokes on the leather strop will bring that keen edge back in short order.
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