FIELD NOTES / 03

FIELD NOTES / 03
I LIKE SHARPENING
By Andri Elko

Maintaining sharp broadheads is important. Especially with traditional archery, where our draw weight and arrow speeds tend to be lower in comparison to most contemporary compound bows.

Traditional archery, ideally, takes place inside of 20 yards. Some archers can stretch that out to 25-30 yards with a lot of practice and proper equipment. Close proximity is crucial for ethics and respect when taking the life of a wild animal using traditional methods. All equipment has inherent limitations. With traditional archery, those limitations can be curtailed with measures of well-suited and well-maintained equipment and also with arrow release only when within the archer’s capable range.

Tradbow hunters tend to love close proximity. It feels like you’re immersed in Nature, a silent spectator, privy to a secret world. Extra challenge comes with it, too, in making yourself invisible enough to bear witness; to watch without being watched; to see and hear what few humans these days venture to see and hear.

These kinds of close encounters evoke a rare intimacy. There’s both adrenaline and peace; both over-thinking and meditation; both practicality and poetry. These dichotomies of human experience are all wrapped up simultaneously. We discover them in a good sit, or in a day well-spent glassing prior to a stealthy spot and stalk. They’re revealed in moments: in the fleeting colors of a sunset that prelude the end of shooting-light; in the fresh scent of sweetgrass that lingers in heavy evening air; in the birdsong that “plays” in the background while walking through timbers and prairie fields. They are found, also, in the effort behind every well-placed arrow.

With a tradbow, there isn’t an optic to look through like we have with rifle hunting. Nothing on the bow is going to make your target appear closer. There’s no gauging where to shoot based on a peep and a pin. There is no added component to help compensate for human error or shortcoming. But there is something, something pure and primitive in being close enough to share space with what you’re aiming at; in being close enough to pick a specific vital spot for the most clean and ethical aim.

When I’ve shot compound bows in the past, I didn’t bother much with sharpening broadheads. I could easily just replace them entirely by screwing in a brand new razor-sharp-out-of-the-box identically machined broadhead. Or, I could replace blade inserts for a brand new razor sharp edge. With traditional archery, though, broadheads are glued on, kept longer, and they usually don’t have mechanical or replacable parts. Broadheads that are designed for the tapered end of wooden arrow shafts typically need to be sharpened often — especially in preparation for a hunt.

I like sharpening; the sound of the burrs and rough edges grinding away on the sharpening plate or stone. Fine metal residue gradually turning the oil from clear to gray, then to charcoal-black — evidence of making headway.

Sharpening with oil is convenient too, because I can use that same oil for the steel maintenance of my broadheads after sharpening them. Broadheads designed for wooden arrow shafts are often made of high carbon steels. This kind of steel needs oiling from time to time to help prevent rust.

I have yet to find the sharpener, the one that feels perfect for every situation. I’m still exploring different sharpening products. I figure it’s good to have something for a workbench and also have something else that’s packable and will get the job done quickly in the field. It’s even better if that field sharpener is lightweight and can sharpen various edges.

For today’s sharpening, I used a recently purchased OZCUT 2 Easy Broadhead Sharpener. It has 1000-grit diamond plates set at 30-degrees on one side. Per the product description, this is designed to accommodate edge angles on both two and four-blade broadheads. On the opposite side of those angled plates, we find a single flat plate. The flat plate is designed for sharpening three-blade broadheads and straight blades, like a hunting knife.

This sharpener is robust, and feels solid and reliable. It’s a hefty piece of machined metal. Both sides seat firmly on a flat surface. I only wish they made the two hollowed-out tunnels in the main brick functional as storage for a small re-fillable bottle of oil on one side, and maybe a wiping cloth on the other. That way, I’d have all I need for the task in one handy all-in-one package.

Another thought is that many broadheads are not sharpened to a 30-degree angle. There’s a lot of online talk about edge angle, and about finding that perfect combination of cutting quality and durability. For single bevels, you’d still need to use a jig on the flat plate side with this sharpener.

For my broadheads, I tried both sides, just to test things out. In a perfect world, I would have loved the option to adjust the plate angles and their proximity to one another. But that isn’t an option with this product. So, I tried running one broadhead at the 30-degrees. Soon, I had to modify my approach because I was unable to grind the full edge as the tip of my broadhead sat in the channel with no grind. I then tried free-handing my grinds on the flat-side with a shallower angle and that allowed me to grind the full edge. But that came at the cost of using the angled side, which was part of why I purchased this.

I was hoping this would be a quicker tool than using a jig. I wanted something that could put a fast edge on my broadheads while they’re on the arrow. I wanted something for quick and easy touch-ups. I can’t say that the outcome I got is perfect, but I am pleased with how quickly I was able to obtain a sharp edge with this setup.

I think some of the design elements that required me to modify my technique could be remedied. I’ll explain a little, because I think it can lead to customer awareness and maybe even improvements in the design.

As I noted before, this sharpener is designed with a center channel. This channel accommodates the extra axis of 4-blade broadhead shapes. It’s advertised as a sharpener for any broadhead, not just the company’s broadheads. My issue with that channel is that it results in the plates missing the apex of my ACE Standards, so I found myself needing to manually adjust for that. I’m sure it’ll be great for my compound setup, but it’s not currently meeting the needs of my traditional setup in the ways that I desire.

From a design standpoint, I think the channel issue could be remedied with an easy modification by designing the angled plates to slide toward center where they could then be tightened down into place with the existing inset screws. This could be achieved by replacing the single screws on each end of the plate with either an inset slide-groove, or — even simpler — by offsetting the current screw insets on each end. This way, the user could simply remove the screws, flip the plate orientation, and tighten it back into place. As a result, the user could choose to have the plates touch on center or choose to leave the channel open for other broadhead styles.

That’s just my own two-cents on getting more out of the existing design. I’d probably also include a small hex or phillips tool for the screws, and I’d mill a storage-slot into the main brick for storing that tool. I love when tools are stored in the product that needs them! It’s efficient, and thoughtful.

Additionally, there’s potential for a cut on price-point that could be achieved by reducing the packaging that went into this sharpener. Ideally, packaging should be practical, minimal and maybe even useful. Great packaging is all of that, with the added plus of being artful or playful.

This sharpener, on the other hand, came housed in an elaborate box that included elements of paper, plastic, magnets, metal and foam. Inside the box was a hard plastic housing for the sharpener. The housing was framed with LED strips on two sides. On the backside, wires connected the LED strips to a compartment with 2 AAA batteries. The batteries were corroded and not working at the time that I purchased it. This also meant that the LED’s were not working at the time of purchase either. And, on top of all that, why would I need a hard plastic protection housing for something that’s built to withstand wear and tear? Honestly, the excess and the LED’s do not impress me. But the performance and the results from this product do.

Sometimes, less really is more, and more is just overkill.

All-in-all, I’m happy with this purchase. It’s a great sharpening tool for fast and sharp results. Albeit, it’s probably better suited for my compound broadheads than my for traditional broadheads.

I asked my Dad for his pocket knife. We both tested its initial sharpness. It was fairly dull from use. In less than 5 minutes I had a new edge on it for him. It took no time at all to get the sharpener, apply the oil, run both sides a handful of times with hard pressure, followed by a handful of times with lighter pressure. I wiped it clean and that was that! The edge was sharp!

He got so excited when I handed his sharp knife back to him, that he wanted to see this sharpener right away! And, now, I have to wrap up this writing, because he wants me to go sharpen more of his knives.