I decided this year to go pretty heavy into archery after having a bow for last 10 years and only killing one deer and a couple pigs. Sooo, bought a Mathew’s, researched all the best arrows, heads, sights, etc. have a elk hunt coming up in September.
I settled on Magnus stinger 2 blade heads. I have no idea how to sharpen the blades before the hunt or going forward so looking for a semi dummy proof sharpening tool/process people recommend. For reference I carry a $30 knife daily that doubles as a pry bar, screwdriver etc so I’ve never had one last long enough to really sharpen that either. So be a complete newb to the process.
thanks for any tips/suggestions
Sharpening is a rabbit hole you can go down that has no end to it. I've spent a fortune on snake oil and magic beans technologies trying to get a sharper edge on blades and I endorse none of them. Anytime you adjust your bevel by the stroke of your hand you're creating a secondary bevel. In time, under a microscope what it looks like is a barn's gable roof. It's sharp for a fleeting second, but not that sharp. One sloppy stroke and ten minutes of work can be unraveled by a bad angle as well.
What I figured out as a sharpening imbecile with very high standards of sharp is that I can get anything with a single bevel razor sharp by stropping. Instead of guessing on angles or working with expensive tools and jigs, you just strop away from you with the bevel sitting flat against the strop. You can feel the bevel and you can see the results of the polished angle.
A good strop bat will have four leather pieces on four sides of the bat. Three sides get three different grades of stropping compound applied and the final side is natural for final touch up. It takes longer to get the edge going because the compounds are very fine, but the results are razor, razor sharp. It will especially take a long time on a magnus stinger that has lots of tooling marks on the blades edge you can see and feel.
Magnus stingers are "entry level" mass manufactured broadheads. They are excellent, the very best you can buy at that pricepoint, but they are crude. Stropping them for ten minutes or more each while watching TV will get them wicked sharp. You'll need to redo the stropping for about 5 minutes each at the beginning of each season because they do chemically dull just sitting in the quiver in normal atmosphere each year.
It's the very best $30 you'll ever spend.
Our main business is Leather Sheaths. We also have sharpening items and other accessories for your outdoor needs.
jreindustries.com
Sidenote: If you enjoy the results with your broad heads, Scandi Bevel hunting knives are equally easy to strop to razor sharpness and you may find you no longer wish to own any knife with a secondary bevel.
@Von Gruff on this forum makes extraordinary quality knives and offers several with scandi bevels.