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Why sharp matters
Mesophilic:
A while back I started a thread asking which was better a better edge on a broadhead, a polished edge or a toothy edge. Rather than dig up an old thread I figured I'd start a new one
I stumbled upon the answer in a paper done by Dr. Ed Ashby. Makes alot of sense.
For the Cliff Notes: A clean cut takes longer to clot.
--- Quote ---When all else is equal there's absolutely no question which type of edge finish makes a cut that bleeds the longest and most freely; it's the one made by the thinnest, sharpest, smoothest edge. That's a medical and physiological fact. Why? Because the thinner, sharper and smoother the cutting edge the less disruption there is to the cells lining the inner wall of each blood vessel cut. What does disruption of the blood vessel's inner cell-lining have to do with the rate and degree of bleeding from a cut?
Disruption of these cells is what initiates the blood's clotting process, known as coagulation. Each vessel-lining cell that's disrupted releases the protein prothrombin. As prothrombin comes into contact with the blood's plasma it is converted the enzyme thrombin. Thrombin acts as a catalyst, converting fibrinogen in the blood into fibrin; the final chemical reaction required for blood coagulation.
Coagulation stops or retards the rate of
hemorrhaging - exactly what the bowhunter does not want to
happen.
The 'rougher' a cutting edge is the more it mangles the
tissues, tearing rather than slicing cleanly. That means more
vessel-lining cells will be damaged, and the amount of
disruption to each damaged cell will be greater. The more cells damaged, and the greater the damage to each cell, the greater the amount of prothrombin released. The more prothrombin released, the more thrombin produced. The more thrombin there is, the more fibrinogen converted to fibrin. The more fibrin produced the shorter the clotting time. The shorter the clotting time, the sooner blood loss decreases and/or stops. The sooner the bleeding subsides, the less the total blood loss.
--- End quote ---
JW_Halverson:
Three days and no replies? Well....shows you just can't argue with these facts!
Ryan Jacob:
Well I’m not gonna argue but I’m just going to add, what about stone points?
burchett.donald:
Dieselcheese,
That is correct in my findings...I'm not bragging here when I say this but I have been shooting deer with bows over 30 years and have killed quite a few...So, from a guy in the trenches I agree with a smooth stropped razor edge on a steel head gives a wonderful blood trail...
Ryan Jacob,
They say under a microscope that obsidian is sharper than a steel scalpel...This deer traveled 60 yards after hit with a stone point...When both lungs are penetrated the deer suffocates before bleeding to death IMO...Most double lung hits for me are dead under 100 yds...A single lung angle shot is a whole different story...
Hope I didn't get to far off topic, but you are correct in IMO dieselcheese...
Comalforge:
He might be a doctor but I have to disagree with this one. Having cut myself on many objects over the years, I always found that a cut from a sharp edge heals better - I've slashed myself with razor edges and simply closed the cut to seal. Conversely a ragged cut takes forever and hurts like hell while recovering.
I killed a hog and a deer a few years apart; while skinning, we found each had a steel broadhead left inside their bodies that had healed over. Both points were just under the skin on the opposite side of where the arrow had entered - neither had exited but the entry scar was visible on the far side. Both animals were healthy and appeared no worse for wear.
For the purposes of killing an animal humanely, I should think proper placement is more important than the edge characteristics, i.e., razor sharp broadhead in the hams vs. a stone point in the heart.
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