Steel Force Broadheads

What Steel Force makes for bowhunters

On this site, Steel Force covers one product type: broadheads, the cutting heads that go on the front of a hunting arrow. Every head in the line is a fixed blade. There are no mechanical (expanding) heads in the maker's collection.

Around the heads, the maker sells the parts that keep them working: replacement bleeder blades in two thicknesses, a blade wrench, aluminum cap washers, and a small set of arrow-building supplies (glue, accelerator, debonder and an arrow cleaner).

The grid above shows the Steel Force listings available on Amazon right now. There aren't many, so the theme adds "Alternatives to Steel Force" below them: fixed and mechanical heads from other brands, picked by type. The grid changes as packs come and go, so I'll write about the lines and what separates them, not about what's listed this week.

One thing to know about those listings: the seller and brand names on Amazon vary from pack to pack. Read the head's name and grain weight in the title, not the store name above it.

How to read a Steel Force broadhead name

A Steel Force name usually has three parts, and each one answers a different question:

• The family: PhatHead, Sabertooth, Premium or Traditional, which tells you how the blades are built
• The grain weight: 75 to 300 grains across the whole line, per the maker
• The blade count and cut: 2 or 4 blades, and the cutting diameter in inches

Here's what actually changes. The family changes the blade. The grain weight changes how the arrow flies. The cut changes the hole. Only one of those three decides whether the head works on your arrow at all, and it's the boring one: weight.

Most Steel Force heads also share two design choices. The maker describes them as cut-on-contact, which means the tip is a sharpened blade, not a pointed chisel. And most use a big main blade plus smaller "bleeder" blades set at a right angle, which is what makes a 4-blade head.

Lineup notes: Steel Force broadheads by family

PhatHead: the thick-blade line

The PhatHead is the line most people search for. The maker's pitch is blade thickness: it gives the main blade as 0.080 inches. For scale, most of the alternative heads in the grid that list a blade thickness come in at less than half of that. Quick math: the PhatHead blade is the slab of butter, the others are the butter knife.

What separates the PhatHeads, per the maker:

• PhatHead 100: the original, a 4-blade head with a 1-inch cut
• PhatHead SS: heavier versions at 125, 145 and 180 grains
• Big PhatHead: 100 grains with a 1.5-inch cut, in 2-blade and 4-blade versions
• African PhatHead: a 145-grain, 2-inch cut, and the maker says the line tops out with a 190-grain African head
• PhatHead Feather Duster: a turkey and small-game head with forward-facing teeth

The maker says plainly that the Feather Duster is not for big game, because it's built to stop penetration rather than pass through. Take that at face value. If you're hunting deer, it's the wrong head, whatever the box art says.

The PhatHead in the grid is listed as a 125-grain fixed head with a 1.125-inch cut, values from its Amazon listing.

Sabertooth and Sabertooth HP: the serrated heads

The Sabertooth line adds serrations to the main blade. On the original Sabertooth, the maker puts them on the last forty percent of the blade, the part closest to the ferrule (the metal body the blades lock into). The maker says the serrations are there to leave a better blood trail.

• Sabertooth: 4-blade at 100 and 125 grains, plus a 2-blade 125
• Sabertooth HP: a high-profile serrated edge and a graphite-impregnated surface coating, which the maker says helps the head penetrate
• American Muscle: filed by the maker with the Sabertooth HP heads, a 100-grain head that mixes single and double bevels, with three serrations on each main blade

Sabertooth blades are individually ground and stropped, per the maker, and the heads are hand assembled. The maker also says the venting (the cut-outs in the blades) is designed for quiet flight. The Sabertooth HP in the grid is a 4-blade, 100-grain 3-pack, values from its listing.

Premium: the plain stainless heads

The Premium line is the plainest on paper, and that's the point. The maker describes non-serrated stainless steel blades, laser cut and tempered to 49–51 Rockwell hardness (HRC, a scale for how hard steel is), on a 7075 aircraft-grade aluminum ferrule. The main and bleeder blades are both replaceable, held by what the maker calls a patented blade locking system.

Premium heads come in two shapes:

• Premium 4-blade: 85, 100 and 125 grains, with cuts from just under an inch to about 1.19 inches
• Premium 2-blade double bevel: 75, 100 and 125 grains

The Premium 4 Blade in the grid is listed as a 125-grain 3-pack. Uncle Walt asked whether "Premium" meant it came with a free sharpening. It doesn't. It means non-serrated stainless, per the maker, and a laser.

Traditional: single-bevel heads for stickbows

The Traditional line is the odd one out. It's a 2-blade head where each blade has a single ground edge, sold in left or right grind. The maker says it's built for traditional archery equipment (recurves and longbows) and claims the single bevel helps flight and penetration.

The weights run heavy: 125, 145, 175, 225 and 300 grains, per the maker. Left and right grind are sold as separate options, so decide which one your setup calls for before you order, not after the box arrives. Feather and vane choices are on the fletching page.

The Traditional pages are also where the maker says it has made broadheads for more than 30 years.

How to choose within the Steel Force lineup

Pick the grain weight first

My one opinion on this page: arrow weight and broadhead weight have to match your setup, and there's no universally best grain. A 100-grain head on an arrow tuned for 100-grain field points is a different arrow than a 125 on the same shaft. The extra weight up front changes how stiff the arrow acts.

Bowhunter's broadhead prep article recommends weighing each head on a digital grain scale and comparing it to the maker's stated weight. If your arrows are built around 100 grains, start with the 100-grain heads. If you shoot a recurve with heavy arrows, the Traditional weights are there for a reason. General spine and weight advice is on the hunting arrows page.

Then decide on blade count

Two blades or four is a trade. goHUNT's explainer on broadhead design says fewer blades tend to penetrate better and more blades tend to leave more blood, while noting that design can change the result. It also says fixed blades have more surface area, so they show tuning problems more than mechanicals do.

That last point matters more than the blade count. A 4-blade head on a badly tuned bow will tell you about it, usually by hitting somewhere your field points didn't. (In practice, the arrow is always right. The archer is the variable.)

Then the cutting diameter

Across the line, the maker's cuts run from under an inch on the small Premium to 2 inches on the African PhatHead. Most of the family sits near 1 to 1.19 inches, and the wide cuts are the Big PhatHead, the American Muscle and the African head. Check your state's minimum cutting width if you go small. Fixed-blade basics across brands are on the fixed blade broadheads page.

Crossbow or vertical bow

The Steel Force specs in the grid don't list a crossbow rating. If you shoot a crossbow, your crossbow maker's manual decides the head weight, and many crossbow-rated heads are listed in the alternatives. Wisconsin DNR's safety advice is to use only the bolts the manufacturer recommends and handle them carefully. The crossbow broadheads page covers the type.

Blades, wrench and the parts that keep them running

Steel Force heads are built to be taken apart. That's handy and it means you need the right parts on hand:

• Nik Lock Wrench: the maker says it's required to remove blades on all Steel Force models
• 0.015-inch bleeder blades: fit the PhatHead models, per the maker's compatibility list
• 0.020-inch bleeder blades: fit the Sabertooth 4-blade, Sabertooth HP 4-blade and all Premium models
• Aluminum cap washers: sold in 6-packs, made to fit all Steel Force heads

The wrench, blades and washers also fit several Swhacker models, per the maker, which makes sense since both brands are sold from the same site. The Swhacker brand page has that lineup.

Buy a spare set of bleeder blades with the heads. A bent bleeder found on opening morning is a bad time to learn that the blades come in two thicknesses.

Glue and arrow cleaner

If you build your own arrows, the maker sells Beyond Bond glue with an accelerator (it says the pair bonds almost instantly), a gel debonder for pulling old vanes and wraps, and an arrow cleaner meant to strip grease and the silicone release agents used in carbon shaft making. Those are for inserts, nocks, vanes and feathers, per the maker. Nock fit is covered on the nocks page.

Getting Steel Force heads ready to hunt

Bowhunter's opening-day prep is a good order of work for any fixed head:

1. Thread each head into its insert and spin the arrow to check for wobble
2. Weigh the heads against the maker's stated grains
3. Line the blades up with your vanes if your inserts allow it
4. Check the edges on your thumbnail; a dull head stays home
5. Practice with the heads you'll hunt with, not just field points

The article suggests a dedicated set of practice heads, so your hunting heads stay sharp. It also advises against shooting fixed heads in tight groups, because a broadhead hitting another broadhead damages both.

Carry broadheads in a covered quiver, as Wisconsin DNR advises, and keep your fingers off the edges when you change blades. Use the wrench, not your hand.

Bowhunting rules on broadheads, including minimum cutting width and weight, vary by state. Check your state wildlife agency.

Buying direct: the maker's return terms

The maker's refund and return policy covers products bought on its own site that arrive damaged or defective, with a claim within 30 days and photos if asked. It says it doesn't accept returns for products bought through other retailers; those go back to the store you bought from. So a Steel Force pack bought through Amazon goes back through Amazon. The maker's site doesn't list a separate written warranty, so none is given here.

Who's behind Steel Force

The full Steel Force line is sold on the FL Outdoors site, which lists an address in Covington, Georgia, and calls itself the home of Swhacker, TAC Vanes, C'Mere Deer and Steel Force. Its about page describes the company as vertically integrated, meaning it handles each step of its products from start to finish. I couldn't verify a founding year for Steel Force or where the heads are made, so those stay out.

Weight, blade count, cut. Write all three on the case lid in that order, and your future self at the target bale will thank you.