Reshaping Broadheads into Single Bevel

[David Coulter]

#3917

Has anyone resharpening their double bevels, such as Eskimos, into single bevels. The tips still have mostly a double bevel, but the rest is single bevel. Any thoughts on reusing old broadheads with this updated sharpening trend? Thanks.

[David Petersen]

#25006

I would think you’d have to take so much metal off the edges to completely eliminate the bevel on one side, that the head would become extremely, overly narrow and the weight drop unacceptably? dp

[Polar Bear]

#25024

Seems to me that with so much metal being removed that you would have to start with a much heavier head than you want and not work past that weight. Easier to just go ahead and get the single bevel of your choice in the weight you want.

I like grizzlies myself. I have had some for so long and sharpened them so much that what was once 190 grns is now 153 grns. That is one bad thing about sharpening broadheads. They eventually loose weight. Oh if it was that easy for me.

[David Coulter]

#25288

The heads I filed down lost a little width, but not a lot. I only went to the bottom edge of the other side. Not a true single bevel. The do fly straight and they did spin in a foam block. That’s the extent of my experience so far.

[sharpster]

#26063

Yes, it can be done but the question is- is it really worth the time/effort when there are so many single bevel BHDs readily available? I customized some STOS blanks a couple years back for our friend David Petersen and although it turned out to be more work than I anticipated, the final product was pretty cool. There are a couple of issues to consider when attempting to convert a BHD that was designed to be double beveled into a single bevel.

The reason single bevels rotate as they penetrate is the huge difference in surface area between the beveled and unbeveled sides of each cutting edge. To develop a good wide bevel generally requires starting with a fairly thick blade. I prefer .050 or thicker although it can be done with blades as thin as .035. Ideally, the entire length of the blade is of consistent thickness. With laminated tip BHDs most of the rotational effect comes from the thicker tip area as the main blade are much thinner.

Here’s a side view of a 160 gr. STOS unground blank, note the 3 individual layers of steel-

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The other issue is that a true single should be perfectly flat on the unbeveled side from tip to heel. When converting a laminated tip, double bevel BHD into a single, the first thing we need to do is to remove a portion of the lamination from what will be the unbeveled side of each blade. This is the hardest aspect of the process because we need to file completely though the outermost layer in order to expose the main blade beneath it-

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Once this step is accomplished it’s pretty easy to finish up, just file your bevel on the opposite side of the blade till you can feel just a hint of a burr running continuously from tip to heel. Next, polish the bevel through as many stone grits as you like and then strop off the burr. I like to add a Tanto tip too. Dave’s STOS finished up around 145 gr.

[/img]

Ron

[David Coulter]

#26559

I ended up with one that looks similar to your bottom photo. There’s still a bit of an bevel left on the opposite side, but not much at all. I was thinking that even if it is not a total single bevel it would be an improvement. I lost a few grains in weight also, but not much. One of my heads actually weighs 128 now. It was probably a tad high and now has some glue in it.
I appreciate your comments and photos. It would be easy to buy a new set of heads, but this is interesting and I’m always game to save a few bucks if it works. thanks, d

[Homer]

#28606

Hi Sharpster. Great info and photos, thanks. I for one always really appreciate “hearing it from the horse’s mouth,” in order to improve my own jackass knowledge. 😆 Homer

[sharpster]

#28676

No problem guys, Homer, we all start life with basically no knowlege what so ever. I had to learn all this stuff the hard way just like anyone else (trial and error), and I have a strong appreciation the tinkerer’s spirit. Yea, we can buy very good single bevel BHDs right off the shelf but sometimes it’s just more fun to put the time and effort into projects like this! Thanks,

Ron

[Author]

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