Here we go again....best auger out there?

[NoWiser]

Good luck with the Solo Pro. Biggest piece of dump of anything I've ever owned. I put up with mine for 3 years and recently sold it. I got home and told my wife it was the happiest day of my life (we got married 3 months ago.)  I'm still not sure I was kidding.

Seriously, I hope you have better luck then my family had. We had 3 Solo Pros and have all dumped them. If it gives you any trouble while it's still under warranty, I'd return it and not look back. 

I got a Tanaka power head (the bigger one) and put it on my Lazer auger. It's not perfect but at least I'm confident that I'll actually be able to drill a hole when I go fishing finally. 

[Jmnhunter]

I upgraded from my old 2hp Tecumseh lazer to the 2.5 solo lazer and so far I love it starts in the cold and it's fast. I really wanted a nils with the tanaka head but they're dam near impossible to find

[lungdeflator]

Well I ended up with the Strikemaster Lazer Mag.  2.5hp head on a 10" bit.  It spent 2.5 hard days up on cold Lake Winnipeg, and it performed well.  It was about -25 in the mornings, so to get it to start easier, there was a little throttle involved.  Letting it warm up 1-2 minutes was also good.  It is a fast and powerful auger.  Now just hoping all the plastic holds up over the years!

[Neighbor_guy]

I have had several augers over the years. My jiffy model 30 with the Tecumseh engine was a beast and ran for 20years. Had a couple of magnums before that(pre strike master) think grumpy old men.  

I now have a pair of augers. An 8" ion that gets used in the wheel house, and a 6" nils for everything else. And in all honesty I just ordered an additional 6" nils convertible that can be used with or without a drill. 

It's like everything else. You get what you pay for. If you go cheap you will spend more in the long run. And everyone who has ever used my nils ends up buying one. 

[liptickler]

icegator. nuff said

[FISHINGURU]

I went from a Strikemaster to a Nils right back to a Strikemaster and couldn't be happier. The guys I spoke with at Nils are a bunch of tools.

All brands make some good augers with lemons mixed in.

[bigwalleye30]

Agreed, all brands make pretty good auger.  There will be some lemons and I think a lot of the "issues" are due to operator error.  My Solo Lazer Pro is going on 3 years and couldn't be more happy.  Follow what the manufacturer says to do and you'll be alright.

[FISHINGURU]

Same here, 3 years on my 3hp 10" Solo Lazer Pro. Has started every time no problems and has drilled through all ice conditions.  My only issue with 10" augers in the past is if you keep trying to cut with dull blades and apply to much pressure the pitch goes off then it won't even cut with brand new blades.

NoWiser - What was the issue with you and your buddies augers? Was it a starting/running problem or the way it drilled?

 

[RebelSS]

You should never push down on your auger while drilling. I just don't understand why people can't take the 3 minutes at the end of the day after every use to run a stone/oil/hone across those blades and keep them razor sharp. I can still shave with mine.

[thatoneguy]

I'm thinking about getting a propane-powered auger. Anyone have insight on Eskimo vs Jiffy?

[cam white]

Tanaka. 7 year warranty, all steel contruction. Your choice of flytes. 

[Billy G]

20 hours ago, thatoneguy said:

I'm thinking about getting a propane-powered auger. Anyone have insight on Eskimo vs Jiffy?

I have a jiffy pro 4 lite I got at the start of the year and I like it alot. Always starts on 1st or 2nd pull and has plenty of power to get the job done . As far as the Eskimo I have yet to see their propane auger being used while out on the lake and it weighs I belive 4 pounds more than the jiffy 

[walleye44]

On ‎2‎/‎3‎/‎2016 at 9:28 AM, FISHINGURU said:

I went from a Strikemaster to a Nils right back to a Strikemaster and couldn't be happier. The guys I spoke with at Nils are a bunch of tools.

All brands make some good augers with lemons mixed in.

Sorry to hear about your experience. I talked them at the ice fishing show a couple of years ago & they were great to talk with. Love the Nils auger by the way. Best auger ever!

[FISHINGURU]

On 2/5/2016 at 9:01 AM, RebelSS said:

You should never push down on your auger while drilling. I just don't understand why people can't take the 3 minutes at the end of the day after every use to run a stone/oil/hone across those blades and keep them razor sharp. I can still shave with mine.

Well when your buddies don't own augers and yours turns into a community auger you don't have much choice lol. That's why I said in the past, now I try not to let anyone use my auger except me then I know how it's being treated.

What do you mean by stone/oil/hone? Can you demonstrate what you are talking about?

Sometimes you can have razor sharp blades but hit some dirty ice and chip your blade and it's game over no matter how sharp your blade is.

[RebelSS]

Just like you would a knife..it's detailed, but in a nutshell, get a good honing stone ( a white hard Arkansas) and some honing oil, and hone/swipe the blades as you would a good knife blade, after every use. If you don't know how to do this, or have never hand honed your blades, probably best just to have them sent in and sharpened/exchanged. It's something that you have to learn over time. The correct angle of attack must be kept, proper stone used, and the proper honing motion . I can post a vid for you if you're still interested.

[huntercj]

I got a new jiffy propane auger last winter and had nothing but problems with it. I finally brought it in under warranty late spring and they replaced every thing except the power head. I only used it one more time after repairs and it seemed to work good. Now this winter it has worked great starts on two pulls runs good. Even after sitting all summer it started on two pulls. Hopefully I don't have any  more problems.  I have the ten inch bit so its heavy.

 

[riffraff]

On 2/6/2016 at 0:46 PM, thatoneguy said:

I'm thinking about getting a propane-powered auger. Anyone have insight on Eskimo vs Jiffy?

I bought the Eskimo HC40 this season and absolutely love it, One or two pull starts, fast cut and no more mixing. It had a dent in the auger bit from shipping and I called Eskimo on a Friday and had a new bottom by Monday! Great service. The motor was actually designed for propane instead of being adapted for it. Metal gears in the transmission. The 8" weighs 30lbs compared to 28 for the Jiffy LITE 8". If you are looking at a propane auger definitely check the Eskimo out!

[Billy G]

How are the Eskimos actually designed for propane, I've read it but never really seen or read how. Had the jiffy pro 4 lite out last night in about negative 2 and started on 2nd pull, still very impressed with mine 

[RebelSS]

Different comp ratio, timing, and head.

[thatoneguy]

Thanks for the feedback, all. I am leaning Eskimo based on a couple local guys I talked to as well. Should be able to get a good deal on one this time of year

[Billy G]

Let us know how you like it, my buddy was thinking about one to but decided on the jiffy seeing mine in action vrs something he hadn't gotten to see yet.

[FISHINGURU]

On 2/10/2016 at 8:43 AM, RebelSS said:

I can post a vid for you if you're still interested.

Yeah I'm interested, I'm sure others out there are too.

I've always done the blade exchange or just buy new but I'd like to learn and I also have a decent knife collection that I never sharpen but I should.

I've looked on Youtube but there isn't very much on auger sharpening on there...especially not Lazer Blades.

[RebelSS]

I'll see if I can find mine...give me a while, it was made a few years ago. It's just that every time you post the correct way to do it with a stone and properly hone a blade, some ____  jumps in and yaps that you don't need to do that; just grab a file, etc. Ya, right. Would you take a file to a 100 buck knife blade? Don't think so. People don't realize these are no different than a good knife blade, and need to be treated the same way. I'll see if I can find my directions.......

Edited February 13, 2016 by RebelSS

[RebelSS]

Can't find the vid or the pics. So, here's the way I've done it for years, and mine are razor sharp. Auger is 10 years old, still original blades. (Much better ones back then, than the junk chinese blades now..all of them are) Here's the page from my instructions...

Note: These are for Quantum style (Eskimo blades) or the straight "knife-edge" type blade. Chipper tooth style is a whole 'nother ball game..I'd do the exchange on those.

Here's how I've done mine from day one...Get a hard (white) Arkansas 4" stone and some good honing oil. (Gun oil works too) You can lay your auger on a work bench and do the blades right on it, as I do, but for your first couple times, take them off and put them on a flat surface, table top, etc.  The small 4" Arkansas stone makes this easy; that's why I use this small one. Take a Magic Marker, and run over both sides of the blade edge, leaving a thin line. This will tell you if you've hit that area squarely when "sweeping." As you get better, you can skip doing this. Oil both sides of blade. Lay stone on  flat side of blade first. "Sweep" stone lightly from front of cutting edge to back of blade in a semi-circular motion. An "arc"  ( I have chipper style, Quantum's), two or three times, then check blades for any burrs, etc. repeating as necessary. ONLY do this VERY lightly; you do NOT want to change the flat side of the blade, or you're screwed. Now do this on the angled part of the blade, following the angle EXACTLY.  Lightly sweep across the blade from inner to outer edge. This is where it's dicey; unless you've sharpened a lot of blades/knives, you can fudge things up fast.  You do this from day one with new blades, you'll maintain proper angle and edge. Impossible to re-set angle this way if your blades are really dull or chewed up, get a new set, then follow the procedure. I know a lot of us do it this way... and it helps if you've been doing it for 30 years with knives too.  Take your time, and swipe those blades after EVERY use; usually just one or two swipes on either side is necessary. Keep them oiled when not in use, too. Good luck!
 

I use a Smith's stone; had it for over 20 years. Can find them at good sporting goods stores. DON'T buy one of those "diamond" stones, this is what you want. Don't forget the oil....

Edited February 13, 2016 by RebelSS

[Sarcastic Jack]

If i would buy another auger i would get a jiffy pro 4 propane powered one, but my clam drill auger works great for now. As for gas powered auger i'd get a strikemaster honda lite.