How long does your SM Lazer blades last you?

[fisherman-andy]

Here is a comparison detail pictures of my lazer blades. 1 week old blades that did cut like butter but now dont cut properly without minimal down pressure after 50+ cut holes to the left side of picture. To the right side 3 year old blades that did cut with minimal down pressure but wont cut at all after being manually sharpen with the blue sharpening tool. Without any sort of down pressure both blades will just spin on the ice without cutting. Be advise the scuff marks you see are not from drilling damage but from me sharpening the blades with the sharpening tool. Click on pic thumb to enlarge detail.

Sharpening tool

Here are the blades again from the side view:

1 week old blades

3 year blades that was manually sharpen Scuff marks you see are from using the sharpening tool, not drilling damage.

[Lawrence Luoma]

I really think it's hard to dull any blades no matter what brand it is on clean ice. Have clean ice and they'll last for years. This season is going to take a toll on any blades because people are able to drive their trucks all over the ice. Therefore, there are pieces of sand everywhere that will dull a blade the first time you use it. This year you must have spares or you are going to find yourself without an auger.

Andy, I think you just ran into a piece of sand right away with your blades as far as I can tell from your pics.

[brian6715]

I dont know how some of you can claim 5 to 10 years let alone the single season without dulling the blades. I just dont see it plausible. If they dont cut without you having to use any sort of down pressure there consider dull to me.

I am on year 5 with my Lazer and haven't changed the blades yet. I fish more than the average guy, and all I do is hole hop. Last year I had a stretch where I fished 23 straight days. I NEVER drill a hole unless I can tell it's good clean ice with no sand on it. I easily drill 500+ holes a season.

[OnAFly]

I've had the same lazer blades on mine for the last 4 years. I bought new ones last year for insurance during an Ely trip, but never put them on.

I'll probably throw them on cause it feels like I'm needing more down pressure to get my auger to cut well and it seems to be cutting slower. 4 years on a set of $40 blades? That's less than I spend on skate sharpening.

[fisherman-andy]

Andy, I think you just ran into a piece of sand right away with your blades as far as I can tell from your pics.

[fsnrod]

Love how so many people bag on lazer augers being no good.

Don't buy them if you don't like them.

I've had my lazer bit for 5 years here and am just now looking to replace the blades.

I don't drill a lot of holes when I go out so I'd say it depends on how much you use the auger.

If you drill 20 holes a day you will prob need blades twice a year I drill 30-50 a year and would say you should be able to get 1 year out of a set of blades minimum. scooper

If you drill 20 holes a day get a chipper blade because they last forever and cut even being off pitch.

Or go Nils I guess they are worth the cost of being double of a lazer bit.

One thing I won't do is try and redrill holes with a lazer that fails and screws your pitch making your auger worthless until you bring it to D Rock to fix the pitch which is what I'm going todo when I get my blades replaced it still cuts nice but not as nice as new.

U nils fans are funny I may get one because you are so convincing there are no other options.

You better get yourself a good ice scooper to because you won't be able to drill a nice clean hole like you can with that lazer with a nils.

[magicstix]

I've personally never had any success with the sharpening tool, I threw mine away along time ago. Anyone else have any success with that tool?

Has anybody had good luck with resharpened lazer blades? Haven't seen any myself.

[harvey lee]

If you did not hit something in the ice, then the auger cutting head could be out of pitch.

You should not be going through blades that fast.

Might be worth a call to StrikeMaster as they could maybe help with this.

Anyone I know that has a Lazer has had very good luck with the blades.

[broman]

I've personally never had any success with the sharpening tool, I threw mine away along time ago. Anyone else have any success with that tool?

Has anybody had good luck with resharpened lazer blades? Haven't seen any myself.

Tried it this weekend on my Lazer. Didn't help.

[Steve Foss]

I cut for 10 years with a Strikemaster XL-3000 10 inch with Lazer blades and center point.

If I didn't accidentally hit a sand/dirt pocket or something like that, one set of blades would last me through a full season. Hundreds and hundreds of holes. And still cutting fast in March.

I always had a backup set along just in case (using the blade exchange to get factory resharpened blades). And then at the end of the year, when I summerized the auger, I'd put on the new blades and trade in the old blades for a new set of exchange blades.

A person also needs to use the blade cover religiously and be very careful with the blades when the cover is off. A nick or two and you'll be switching blades.

Don't know how the Strikemasters have been doing lately, since I haven't had that auger since about 2008 and have been running other augers, but I was mightly happy with mine.

[dan z]

Since new (2006) I think I've replaced them 3 times (224) 8" And I drill a lot of holes.

[slipperybob]

Going on five years, but I usually drill only about a dozen to two dozen holes most of the time. Rarely do I drill more than 100 holes, only when I'm looking for fish.

[FISHINGURU]

Blades last a long time if you don't hit sand or make your auger go out of pitch. If your auger is out of pitch it won't cut worth a [PoorWordUsage] even with blades straight out of a package.

I had a lazer for about 4-5 years until it wouldn't cut anymore so I bought new blades. I put those on and it cut the same as the blades I took off. Brought it in and got the pitch fixed and put the original blades back on because they said they were still nice and sharp. Sold that auger to a buddy and as far as I know he still hasn't changed blades. He don't fish nearly as much as me but he's going on a few yrs now with that auger.

I just owned a Nils and that head lasted me 2 seasons until I had to send it off to Frank.

I was always told that the lazer blades couldn't be sharpened correctly with them little hand sharpeners.