Sharpening the Howard Hill Broadhead

 I see this question often.  I can't seem to sharpen these Howard Hill Heads.  Well, here is an old article penned by Craig Ekin from the old Longbow Shooters Digest.  

The first thing to consider is do you really need a razor?  Hill did not, and he killed a mighty lot of game.  The finely serrated edge like a soup can is deadly and holds an edge very well.  The other issue with the Hill head is the ferrule can get in the way of a good low bevel. 

A good way to set the initial bevel is with a round chainsaw file.  The round file can get that little convex dip area of the blade without gouging the sides of the ferrule as with a flat file.  

Once set though I use the flat file to create the serrations the same way Hill did as shown in this old photo: by pulling the corners of the file down, and across, the blade from back to tip.

Here is a photo of the last buck I killed using a serrated Hill head.  You can see the head all the way through passing through both shoulders and the chest cavity.  The deer was down for good in about 50 yards. 

Here is the entry hole:

Those old Hill Heads work if you do it the correct way.  If it is all too much trouble or not sharp "enough", feel free to send them my way.