G5 montec
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: Buckiller
27-Jul-20
I switched to these heads a few years ago because I wanted a sturdy one piece design that would be relatively easy to sharpen. Killed several animals with them now and have no complaints other than I cannot get them sharp at all. The edge I'm getting looks good just not sharp. I've tried several stones and using super fine sandpaper. Wondering if it's just my lack of sharpening skills or if there a cheap metal that's hard to get that sticky sharpness. Anyone else try sharpening these heads?
From: Buglmin
27-Jul-20
I shoot the Montecs all the time and have no issues getting them sharp. I like running a file across them then finishing them off with a fine flat stone. I've shot through a lot of deer, bear and elk with them and have yet to bend one. My stickbows love them..
From: LKH
27-Jul-20
I use them. Use Zwickey too. The Montec has a relatively steep angle and the sensation of sharpness is you're feeling for it isn't as great as the Zwickey.
Use a flat diamond stone.
From: 12yards
28-Jul-20
I'd rather use similar Hellrazors, VPAs or Magnus heads.
From: milnrick
28-Jul-20
Eric
Montecs are sharp out of the package (I'veseen their process) and can be sharpened very easily.
Try this method.
You'll need a sharpee marking pen and flat sharpening steel or stone (I use an old Uncle Henry's steel) and piece of leather.
1 - Use the sharpee to color the edges of each blade.
2 - Lay the blade flat on the steel and sharpen using a side to side motion (right-left-right) using a light downward pressure until the ink is gone. Rotate and repeat until all blades have been touched.
3 - Lay the leather on a flat surface. Lay the blade flat on the leather and again using light down pressure pull the blade toward you (tip facing away).
4 - Test sharpness by touching the blade to a tightly stretched rubber band. If the band bursts apart you're RAZOR SHARP.
Hope this helped.
From: Grey Ghost
28-Jul-20
You’ll never get a Montec G5 razor sharp due to the geometry of the edges. They are 30 degrees per side, or a total of 60 degrees. A common knife edge will be a total of 40 degrees or less. Edges with steeper angles are designed to punch or chop thru material ( think of an axe blade). Edges with shallower angles are designed to slice thru material ( think of a razor blade).
The steep angle of the G5’s is what makes them so effective and durable. People who complain about their sharpness don’t understand edge geometry and functionality.
Matt
From: LBshooter
28-Jul-20
Remember if your comparing sharpness of your montefeltro vs replaceable blade sharpness you'll never get there. Three bladed fixed heads have different angles so you get them sharp enough, and run them over some leather after the stone and they should do the job. Byron Ferguson talks about sharpness, and said that he talked with a surgeon and asked the question, why are scalpels so sharp? Paraphrasing , and he said that a sharp edge heals quicker than a ragged edge. So get them sharp enough and if your not confident in them try the wensel woodsman.
From: Nick Muche
28-Jul-20
They are terrible to sharpen, the angle on them is strange. Much better resharpenable (is that even a word?) options out there.
From: Buckiller
28-Jul-20
Thanks for the input guys! I'm definitely not against trying something else. A few already gave some other recommendations but willing to hear more.
Milnrick, I did use the sharpie trick but still doesn't seem to be very sharp to the touch. I could try the rubber band test tho.
From: Grey Ghost
28-Jul-20
Again, they will never feel sharp to the touch, like a razor blade, due to the steep edge angle. They aren't designed to be hair-popping sharp. They are designed to punch thru hair, hide, ribs, and internal organs, not slice thru them. Look at the edge angle on an axe. It's not a skinny razor-like edge, because that would fold over, or break on the first swing into hard wood. It's a steep angled edge with a lot of "meat" to it, so it's durable and can chop thru hard materials. The G5s are designed the same way.
Matt
From: Buckiller
28-Jul-20
Thanks ghost, I do understand it was just expecting more of a "sharp feel" after working on one head for a while even with the big blade angle
From: Ucsdryder
28-Jul-20
I gave up on them 12-15 years ago for the same reason. They don’t feel sharp because they aren’t sharp. There’s a reason surgeons use scalpel blades and not axes. I want something that easily slices every vessel it touches.
From: 12yards
28-Jul-20
12yards's Link
Here's a video. He gets them hair shaving sharp.
From: wyobullshooter
28-Jul-20
I moved on from them 11 years ago for the exact reasons that Ucsdryder points out.
From: Buckiller
28-Jul-20
12yards, that's a vpa not montec, sure it should have a similar blade angle but could be different steel. If I remember right jack Harris shoots/shot vpa and said he was able to get them razor sharp.
From: Grey Ghost
28-Jul-20
A surgeon doesn't cut thru ribs with a scalpel. I want a blade that punches 2 holes thru the rib cage of an animal, regardless of what it hits along the way, and is ready to kill again, afterwards. That's why I've been using carbon steel G5s for 20 years, and have no reason to change.
Matt
From: PECO
28-Jul-20
My wife and I have killed plenty of deer with them, and Hell Razors, and VPAs. Guess I get them sharp enough.
From: soccern23ny
28-Jul-20
The surgeon scaple vs axe is kind of a poor analogy.
A broad head needs to be both incredibly sharp and durable. I shot a buck with montec G5 at 20 yards. Went in one side, out the other side of the deer, and got stuck in a root ball.
Next year that same broad head went in an out another deer.
From: Thunderhawk
28-Jul-20
I can not sharpen ??so i shoot ram cats
From: soccern23ny
28-Jul-20
The surgeon scaple vs axe is kind of a poor analogy.
A broad head needs to be both incredibly sharp and durable. I shot a buck with montec G5 at 20 yards. Went in one side, out the other side of the deer, and got stuck in a root ball.
Next year that same broad head went in an out another deer.
From: Pop-r
28-Jul-20
Grey Ghost hit the nail on the head here. They're sharp enough out of the package. One slide in to a quiver will not damage that beyond it being sufficient or ethical to shoot an animal with. The one you slide in and out of the quiver often will need touched up. On a several day hunt one can rotate this head so he knows he's always sharp at the moment until he's back at a convenient spot to touch them up.
From: Duke
30-Jul-20
I touch mine up out of the package, but nothing crazy. I’ve never had any issue with penetration or breaking through a rib or shoulder... I had one do a crazy deflection off a rib two years ago that brought me on an insane one lung blood trail on a deer I’d have put $ on would maybe go 75 yards. Nothing is perfect or a given when bow hunting.
From: Bowfinatic
31-Jul-20
I like the idea of the durability on the g5 however I always had very poor blood trails and same "sharpening" issues so I stopped using them
From: sundowner
31-Jul-20
A 60 degree angle will never be shaving sharp. Sure, you can hone or strop until you have a slick, smooth surface that may occasionally hang a wet hair, but you will never get the kind of shaving edge that's possible with a much lower angle......30 to 40 degrees measured from one side to the other. That's just how it is.
From: Jack Whitmrie jr
31-Jul-20
I can get them sharp !
From: sundowner
31-Jul-20
Montecs have a "sharp" point, but the "blades", and I use the term loosely, cannot be razor sharp due to the angle on which they are "sharpened". An extremely dull Thunderhead will most likely pass thru a whitetail deer when shot double lung, 25-30 yards, attached to a 425-plus grain arrow from a 70/30 compound bow. And, most likely produce a massive blood trail. It doesn't take a razor sharp broadhead to kill when everything else is perfect. But when real world issues occur......a less than perfect hit, shooting too far, misjudging distance, buck fever, etc, a razor sharp, shaving sharp broadhead can make a difference. Montecs, and other broadheads that have 60 degree edges, are going to kill in perfect conditions. But probably not when reality sets in. A razor sharp broadhead of any brand or design is always best. If some manufacturer would simply hollow-grind these Montecs, Hellrazors, etc, thereby reducing the edge angle to +/- 30 degrees, they would sell like a Corona vaccine....
From: Jack Whitmrie jr
31-Jul-20
They are harder to sharpen than a lot of other heads, but once you get them sharp they are great heads. I love sharpening my own broadheads, it is part of the hunt. They will shave ,how much sharper do you want them?
From: wildwilderness
01-Aug-20
I never liked G5 quality control but maybe it’s improved? VPA makes awesome solid heads that are easier to sharpen. That’s what I use on my trad arrows
From: BO-N-ARO
01-Aug-20
Are yours stainless or the blue steel? Been shooting them since they hit the market but the best thing they did is offer them in blue steel. Much easier to sharpen and I can get them sharper easier.
From: W8N4RUT
01-Aug-20
They wont be sharp to the touch like you might expect but Ive been using that head style for quite a few years with great results on both sharpening them (flat diamond stone) and clean pass-thru’s. Really great head.
Scott
