# Simmons Sharpening Tutorial



## ChrisSpikes (Jul 3, 2008)

Here’s a little tutorial on how to sharpen two-blade broadheads.  I would put the edge attained from this method of sharpening up against any other.  Since there seem to be a lot of folks who struggle with the Simmons heads, we’ll use an Interceptor for this demo.

There are two important factors in sharpening.  The first is grinding a burr, or wire edge, on each side of the blade.  The second is grinding this burr off.  If you do not achieve a razor sharp edge, you have failed to do one of these steps completely.

Here are the items we will be using.  First is a standard bench grinder with a waxed grinding wheel.









Next, I always use a Razor Edge Arrowhead Guide.  








And, of course, our hone.  With the Simmons heads, you must use a hone with a round or convex surface to accommodate the concave edge.  This is a Hewlett Jewel Stik 3 in 1.  It works extremely well with any two-blade broadhead or knife I have tried.  It will even work for bleeder blades.  It has a coarse grit for grinding your burr, and a medium and fine grit for burr removal.  (NOTE:  The finer grit you use to remove the burr, the finer your edge will be.)









One of the main reasons people have trouble with Simmons heads, aside from the concave edge, is they lack sufficient relief in the factory grind.  (This can also be the case with other brands of heads.)  As you can see from this photo, the grind angle is much too steep.  










What we want to do is grind relief in the blade at a much shallower angle.  This will allow us to immediately begin “working” the edge of the blade.  We want to take the grind to somewhere near this point.  (Please note you will only have to grind relief into the head the first time you sharpen it.)

NOTE:  Even if you want to sharpen your heads with a Simmons Wheelie Sharpener or
             Accu-sharp, if you grind more relief into the head, you will get a sharper edge 
             quicker.









There are several ways to do this, but I have found a bench grinder to be the most efficient way to remove this much metal.  This is a standard medium grit wheel.  To prevent heat build up, I apply wax to the wheel.  (You'll want to do this frequently.)








Mount your broadhead on a shaft, or piece of shaft, to give you better control.








Begin grinding at an extreme angle.  This will take you a few tries to get a feel for it.  I try to grind as close to the ferrule as possible without hitting it.








As you can see, we now have a good bit of relief ground on this edge.  Now just repeat on the other side.









Once we have our relief ground, it’s time to begin grinding a burr.  Place the head in the guide with approximately 1/8” gap between the guide and the ferrule.  This will allow us to slide the head further into the guide later, effectively increasing our grind angle.  It should look like this.








Begin grinding your burr.  You will only grind on this side for now.  Your burr will come up on the top side of the blade.








Since we reground the head, we will immediately begin working on the very outer edge of the blade.  The shiny part of the blade shows where we have been grinding.  (You have probably seen this demonstrated using a Sharpie marker.)   I am using the coarse grit because I need a heavy burr that will show up for the camera.  With a proper relief angle ground, I would normally just use the medium grit.  As soon as you get a burr the full length of the blade, STOP grinding.  (NOTE:  I don’t usually grind a burr until I can see it.  This is mainly for demonstration purposes.  I usually feel for the burr with my finger.) 








Hopefully you can see the burr starting to come up in this photo.  If you notice any stubborn spots where there is no burr, concentrate your grinding on those areas of the blade.








Now that we have a full length burr on this side of the blade, we can grind one on the other side.








Here is the burr on the other side of the blade.  Hopefully you can see it a little better in this photo.


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## ChrisSpikes (Jul 3, 2008)

Now it’s time to start taking that burr off!  First thing we want to do is slide our broadhead approximately 1/8” deeper into the guide.  This will increase our grind angle and help us get rid of that burr.

It should look something like this.









Once again, go back to your hone.  The only difference now is we are going to alternate strokes from one side to another.  What grit you use will determine how many strokes it will take to remove the burr.  A more aggressive grit will remove it faster, but remember, the finer grit will give you a finer edge.  It may take 60-80 strokes to remove the burr with a ceramic rod, but I guarantee you will be pleased with the edge.  What I did here was begin removing the burr with approximately 10 strokes with the medium grit and then I finished up with 20-30 strokes on the fine grit.  








Here is the result.  When I say shaving sharp, I mean SHAVING SHARP!













Now let’s go kill something!

Chris


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## Al33 (Jul 3, 2008)

Very well done Chris!


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## ky_longbow (Jul 3, 2008)

Chris- thats great stuff----- i truley appreciate it---
i will get my supplies ordered------ and im sure ill have questions along the way-------you Georgia guys are great---- thats why i visit this site------good people sharing good stuff ! 


hey how can i get honorary Ga. citizenship ? LOL !!!!


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## hogdgz (Jul 3, 2008)

Amazing, I could never remember all the steps. 

- Oh and by the way, Can I borrow one of those to shave with?


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## ChrisSpikes (Jul 3, 2008)

Chase, there's really not that much to it.  I just tried to break it down and explain it as best I could.  I haven't timed myself, but once the relief is ground in, I can grind a burr and have it shaving sharp in probably 3 minutes per blade.


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## OconeeDan (Jul 3, 2008)

Very good tutorial Chris.  
I have never seen anyone wax a grinding wheel before.  What is the purpose?
That jig you have, it is hardened steel that just glides on the hone?  Looks like a diamond hone?
Dan


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## ChrisSpikes (Jul 3, 2008)

OconeeDan said:


> Very good tutorial Chris.
> I have never seen anyone wax a grinding wheel before.  What is the purpose?
> That jig you have, it is hardened steel that just glides on the hone?  Looks like a diamond hone?
> Dan



Dan, the wax prevents heat build up during the grinding process.  The wax actually melts and cools the blade.  It also reduces the abrasiveness of the grinding wheel to some extent.

Yes, the guide rides on the hone.  It will wear over time, but if you grind your relief on the bench grinder, you will save a lot of wear and tear on your guide.  Before I started using the grinder, I ground relief just using the guide and a coarse grit hone, but it would wear down the guide pretty quickly.

And yes, it is a diamond hone.

Here's a link to the arrowhead guide:

http://razoredgesystems.com/index.php/Products/Guides/1_Arrowhead_Guide.html

Here is a link to the diamond hone I use.  This is the cheapest place I have found it:

http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=HW123K

You could use any steel or diamond hone, as long as it has a round or convex shape.  This is just my favorite.


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## OconeeDan (Jul 5, 2008)

Thanks Chris.


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## Buck111 (Jul 5, 2008)

Good tutorial, thanks for posting it.


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## ScottGray (Jul 6, 2008)

Man I was all fired up after seeing this. I got an old bench grinder from my Dads and had a couple of 190 grain interceptors laying around. I plugged the grinder up and went to work....well for about 3 minutes that is. The danged grinder locked up I guess that is why it was free


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## stevetarget (Jul 6, 2008)

Very good tips and nice pics.  I don't have any broadheads like that to sharpen. How about showing us (me) how you sharpen a knife. was the wax you used bees wax or something else?


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## ChrisSpikes (Nov 7, 2008)

TTT for some of the Horse Creek guys.


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## ky_longbow (Apr 24, 2009)

Ttt


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## Night Wing (Apr 27, 2009)

Great tutorial.


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## DAGATOR16 (May 27, 2009)

Ttt


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## ky_longbow (Oct 12, 2009)

UP ---------still trying to get my 165 interceptors the way i want them........


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## fountain (Oct 12, 2009)

there baaaaaaaaaaaack.......  glad to hear the company wil be back and going with the same great heads and hopefully some new stuff

chris since you like to video stuff, go ahead and make us a video tutorial of a head from start to finish--a fresh virgin head at that--for us "not in the know" to see exactly how its done in real life.  besides, its supposed to rain the next 2 days. 
btw--i got some fresh ones to work on if you dont--like 5


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## Necedah (Oct 12, 2009)

Thanks for the great tutorial Chris! I never understood the burr thing, and I have had a terrible time getting an edge on my three bladed woodsman broadheads. After reading your tutorial, I went back and stroked each edge 80 times with my ceramic hone, and they are shaving sharp now.
Thanks again! 

Dave


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## Rare Breed (Oct 15, 2009)

Did you finish shaving your legs, you might have just started a new trend for fall fashion on the deer stand Thanks for the info I ordered my razor edge and hones yesterday. I am currently shooting the Phantoms and plan on shooting them until they are gone, then I may be open to new broad heads any idea how much relief to grind into them to get them that sharp.


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## fountain (Oct 15, 2009)

Rare Breed said:


> Did you finish shaving your legs, you might have just started a new trend for fall fashion on the deer stand Thanks for the info I ordered my razor edge and hones yesterday. I am currently shooting the Phantoms and plan on shooting them until they are gone, then I may be open to new broad heads any idea how much relief to grind into them to get them that sharp.



i did the "leg" test on some heads i sharpened after seeing chris check some knives he sharpened for me.  they definately shaved hair, but apparently leg hair does not come back very fast.  i have two big spots of hair missing on both legs from the knee to ankle.  its been like this since bow season started.  glad cooler weather is coming


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