Have Ion-Want k Drill

[leech~~]

1 hour ago, Duffman said:

I was all smiles on the ice over Christmas weekend. No more gas augers or gas lanterns for this guy.

Dang, I knew it drilled holes and all but where does the light come out of?

[nofishfisherman]

9 hours ago, leech~~ said:

Dang, I knew it drilled holes and all but where does the light come out of?

Thats a silly question, the drill has an led light just above the trigger.

[Duffman]

9 hours ago, leech~~ said:

Dang, I knew it drilled holes and all but where does the light come out of?

I'm just saying besides propane, I'm done with fuel on the ice, no more possibility of getting gas or white gas on the hands.

But you knew that.

[Big Dave2]

11 hours ago, Duffman said:

I was all smiles on the ice over Christmas weekend. No more gas augers or gas lanterns for this guy.

What is this set-up?

 

[Duffman]

18 minutes ago, Big Dave2 said:

What is this set-up?

 

Nils 8" with drill plate.

Milwaukee M18 drill with 5.0 battery. (Plus spare battery)

Cold Snap blade cover............new this year after cussing out the factory cover for the last 15+ years.  

[Big Dave2]

29 minutes ago, Duffman said:

Nils 8" with drill plate.

Milwaukee M18 drill with 5.0 battery. (Plus spare battery)

Cold Snap blade cover............new this year after cussing out the factory cover for the last 15+ years.  

Have you tried it yet?

[Duffman]

8 minutes ago, Big Dave2 said:

Have you tried it yet?

Yep 

Cuts through the ice "Like butta".

Less than 10 holes, spot on the spot type of situation.

Don't know if and when I will actually test how long the battery lasts with the way I fish these days.

Oh,,,,,Big Dave, quit dissing the Lazermag until I get around to selling mine.  LOL

 

[leech~~]

1 hour ago, nofishfisherman said:

Thats a silly question, the drill has an led light just above the trigger.

I did remember that right after I posted!  Duff, going Green!

[Getanet]

I love my Nils but have to admit the K-drill looks like a nice set-up too. There was just a story about the K-drill in the Star Tribune. Seems to me these light weight augers that connect to a cordless drill are one of the most important ice fishing inventions in recent memory. No gas or oil to deal with, super portable, cut holes really fast and no engine parts that need to be serviced. While they can't cut as many holes as a gas auger, they'll cut as many as most anglers need.

They are the perfect set-up for people who don't have space to store a gas auger year-round, who don't have a truck and don't want the smell of gas/oil stinking up their car or SUV, or who want to pack light.

While I enjoyed the gas auger I owned in the past, I'm never going back. 

[Hawg]

I did find a K drill to borrow for a day. The mind game continues......

[Big Dave2]

4 hours ago, Duffman said:

Yep 

Cuts through the ice "Like butta".

Less than 10 holes, spot on the spot type of situation.

Don't know if and when I will actually test how long the battery lasts with the way I fish these days.

How does the Nils work for sharpening? Are there even replaceable blades on that thing? Sorry, I haven't kept up on the auger wars as of late. The last time I was in the market, the strikemaster Lazer was all the rage so I sold my Jiffy. 

4 hours ago, Duffman said:

Oh,,,,,Big Dave, quit dissing the Lazermag until I get around to selling mine.  LOL

Lazers are great if you keep them sharp. I know a guy who may be in the market, how much do you want and how old is it?

 

Oh, one more question. Any particular reason you chose the Nils over the Kdrill?

[leech~~]

22 minutes ago, Big Dave2 said:

How does the Nils work for sharpening? Are there even replaceable blades on that thing? Sorry, I haven't kept up on the auger wars as of late. The last time I was in the market, the strikemaster Lazer was all the rage so I sold my Jiffy. 

Lazers are great if you keep them sharp. I know a guy who may be in the market, how much do you want and how old is it?

Oh, one more question. Any particular reason you chose the Nils over the Kdrill?

Enter: Surface Tension.  Nils blade sharpener and Nils spokesman! 

[Agronomist_at_IA]

On January 4, 2018 at 9:50 PM, Duffman said:

I was all smiles on the ice over Christmas weekend. No more gas augers or gas lanterns for this guy.

This is a sweet setup.....I actually got the drill disc adaptor for mine......I do love my clam plate.........but with the disc I can put on or take off the drill to raise lower my wheel house. Just a question how wide a hole does your nils cut? 

[Duffman]

20 hours ago, Big Dave2 said:

How does the Nils work for sharpening? Are there even replaceable blades on that thing? Sorry, I haven't kept up on the auger wars as of late. The last time I was in the market, the strikemaster Lazer was all the rage so I sold my Jiffy. 

Lazers are great if you keep them sharp. I know a guy who may be in the market, how much do you want and how old is it?

 

Oh, one more question. Any particular reason you chose the Nils over the Kdrill?

I've sent my blade head up to Surface Tension to be sharpened and he gets it back to you in a jiffy. (Pun intended)

And I've had the Nils hand auger for a long time, so I just needed to remove the handle and add the drill plate. I would have considered the k drill if that wasn't already the case.

I'll send ya a PM soon on the Lazermag details.

9 hours ago, Agronomist_at_IA said:

Just a question how wide a hole does your nils cut? 

I'm guessing it's the Finnish metric conversion of 8".

[swamptiger]

Here's my setup:

 

 

Auger is a 7" Mora Strikemaster, and the drill plate has a 2 to 1 reduction in it (built by a guy in Pennsylvania).  The drill is a Metabo with 4ah batteries.

 

Already had the auger, so the rest of the setup cost me about $200.  Works fine.

 

 

 

 

[Jim Almquist]

4 hours ago, Duffman said:

I've sent my blade head up to Surface Tension to be sharpened and he gets it back to you in a jiffy. (Pun intended)

And I've had the Nils hand auger for a long time, so I just needed to remove the handle and add the drill plate. I would have considered the k drill if that wasn't already the case.

I'll send ya a PM soon on the Lazermag details.

I'm guessing it's the Finnish metric conversion of 8".

 

 

My guess would be 20.32cm 

[Agronomist_at_IA]

On January 6, 2018 at 3:33 PM, Jim Almquist said:

 

 

My guess would be 20.32cm 

 

I'm trying to be smart or anything.....my power point head cuts at 8.5in..... I'm just wondering if my cutting head is an odd ball.

[vtx1029]

Having had the nils for 3 seasons I just bought a k-drill for opening holes and its much cheaper to buy extensions. Well I'm not very impressed with the k-drill. Thinking of selling it and buying a spare head and extension for the Nils.

My impression is the K-drill cuts a smaller hole and takes more torque to turn than my nills. K-drill is maybe 3 lbs lighter. K-drill also ices up much worse than my Nils...

[Hawg]

I tried the borrowed KDrill yesterday for the first time and like VTX I was less than impressed. First off the weight was incredibly light and I thought I was going to go buy one when I picked it up for the first time but glad I didn't. If you believe the commercial about you young kids or wife using this thing you better have a wrist brace on them or be close to a doctor. The blades are VERY aggressive in the hard clear 14 inch ice I was on. The drill had to be lifted and cleared multiple times to get through and stuck in every hole I drilled, new or reopening. It did ok reopening holes but its a chipper so it should. The hole is smaller than my Ion and I could tell because regardless of having reverse I still use a slush copter that eliminates skimming totally and the copter barely went down the hole. I had to force it in most holes. It's a very small difference but when 8 inches is no longer 8, but 7 3/4 inches, it was noticeable. My Ion has flat blades that shaves ice into fine snow cone consistency and never jams and seldom has to be lifted up. Ion goes straight through better also without jerking or stopping at the bottom like K Drill did.I think the K Drill would probably do better on a Clam plate or similar handle style outfit that would not torgue your wrist as much as a drill with a handle. I was using a Milwaukee Fuel drill like recommended with a full charge. If I was starting over, had a GOOD drill, then maybe a $200 drill would look better to me than a $600 Ion but no way will I be getting rid of the Ion to get a K Drill. I would love to see this K Drill with an Ion/Eskimo style blade system, that would be a winner and could be the reason that the Nils people are so happy. Bottom line is I think the blades are just a little too aggressive. I'm sure not bashing K Drill, just sharing my experience on a single days try. Plus an extension is almost $60.

Edited January 8, 2018 by Hawg

[Hawg]

 

Sorry, the submit button didn't work and all of a sudden there were 3 posts.

Edited January 8, 2018 by Hawg

[Hawg]

Sorry, the submit button didn't work and all of a sudden there were 3 posts.

Edited January 8, 2018 by Hawg

[Hawg]

 

Sorry, the submit button didn't work and all of a sudden there were 3 posts.

Edited January 8, 2018 by Hawg

[Jim Almquist]

Hawg my brother had the same complaint about too much torque with the KDrill but kept it for his wheel house.  I love my Nils and  I have always been a fan. Won't sell my Tanaka motor but love the option I have now. I bought a 6" and have it and my 8" setup right now for the Dewalt but either can be setup in no time to run on gas. Lightweight and minimal torque have always been the best selling points.

[Big Dave2]

So you have to send the Nils in somewhere when it needs to be sharpened?

[BRULEDRIFTER]

Yes, you do. It’s a top secret club of like 2 people in the USA that do it and we’re lucky ST does it, does a great job, with a good turn around time. As long as you don’t cut through dirty ice and take care to keep your blades covered at all times when not in use, you can go years in between sharpening. Get a Nils, you won’t regret it!

I got the orange Nils made for the drill and a Dewalt 20v hammer drill. All total, $400

Edited January 9, 2018 by BRULEDRIFTER