Carbon or Stainless

[snafu72]

#5731

I am going to buy some Abowyer brown bear broadheads

But not sure what steel to get 440 C Stainless Steel or 1075 Cutlery Grade High Carbon Steel

I am thinking about the stainless whats is your thoughts guys

[Stephen Graf]

#44064

I like the abowyer heads. I have used them the last 3 seasons with great success (for me, that is…) I have killed 10 deer in that time with a bow and had all but 1 drop within sight. And that one only went about 60 yds.

I like the high carbon steel because it is easier to sharpen. -I haven’t tried the Abowyer SS, so this opinion is general to SS, not specific to Abowyer…

I think I heard somewhere that the crystalline structure of the high carbon steel is such that it can take a keener edge than stainless is capable of taking.

The carbon steel heads are cheaper.

I have repeatedly shot the high carbon Abowyer heads through deer and had them remain shaving sharp after pulling them out of the dirt.

I had one get a bent tip after hitting a rock on the other side of a beaver. That’s been the only “failure” I’ve had with them. I have 1 head that’s been through 5 deer and it still looks new.

I like ’em!

[aablades]

#44297

440C is an excellent choice of stainless. Good edge retention and fairly easy to sharpen. I’ve used tons of it in my knifemaking.

[stalkin4elk]

#48098

FWIW I recovered a lost arrow tipped with a cabon steel Brown Bear a year later and it only had a couple minor rust spots and touched up in only a few minutes for re-use. I will add this head was in tall grass with alot of water at times and under snow a few months and it was the older pre teflon coated head…darn good!

[Stephen Graf]

#48682

That’s better than I can report. My Wapiti and BB heads all get rust spots. Especially if I am out in the rain. But I found that rubbing some silicon grease on the heads works great.

I hypothesize that the silicon also helps the head slip through a deer if it gets into a rough spot… the head still has a slight coating after going through a deer.

[katman]

#49774

My carbon brown bears also show rust easily

[Steve Sr.]

#50302

High Carbon Stainless 😀 The 420HC stuff.

>>>>>>>Aka “Tuffhead”<<<<<<<

If you haven’t sharpened 420HC steel before….you are in for a TREAT!

While not a big deal to ME, I have heard of some talking about “shaving sharp right out of the package”.

A Tuffhead IS….Ive done it now three times and I really think I can make them the tiniest bit (ok, fine, maybe just my ego, but hey its MY ego 😆 ) SHARPER.

No one is more discomboobulated about me not sticking something this year (dang it was a poor season) than I am.

Next season, Joe. NEXT SEASON!

God Bless

Steve

[Author]

Posts