Sharpen Your Auger Blades!

[Walleye One]

Do people not understand that using an auger with a sharp blade on would safe alot of time, effort and NOISE. When it takes you over 3 minute to drill one hole its time to sharpen or get a new blade for the auger! The last couple weekends I've seen guys take literally 3-4 minutes to drill one hole and it looks like there wrestling with their auger. Leaning on it, jumping on it and this one guy was pounding the auger into the ice like a jack hammer. It's comical at first but when they have to drill 6 holes it get annoying, especially when there setting up at 4:30 in the afternoon.

If it take longer than 20 seconds to drill one hole, it's time to get a new blade.

[Nels]

I hope you are talking about power augers. Now that the ice is more than a foot, it takes me longer than 20 seconds with my hand auger. (Actually, I save a lot of time by finding holes that were previously drilled that day.)

[gill man]

Very good point. Most people don't think much about the blades on their power augers. They all know a hand auger needs good blades, but forget the rule when they have a power auger. I noticed that I had to push much harder on my auger than I should have to, and found a small lip on my blades. I filed it off, keeping the same angle as the Jiffy blades and was amazed at the difference! I could cut a hole with about half the effort.

gill man

[Guest]

20 seconds for one hole in how much ice? How hard is the ice? power or hand auger? Lots of variables here.A dull auger is definately no fun anytime let alone at 4:00 pm but 20 seconds is pretty quick in a foot & 1/2 of ice for my Laser mag which is sharp.

[Guest]

you should buy a jiffy. only kidding . good fishing

[Havin' Fun]

Your auger should cut in 20 seconds. Infact, it should be less. One more thing to look at. I just replaced one of my blades because it fell off!!! I was really [PoorWordUsage]ed. Look to tighten your blades to make sure they are tight. Not only will a loose blade cut poorly due to poor angle, but could cost you quite a bit of money!!!

[icemaster]

Hammer em, 20 seconds in any ice? Come on,I gotta get an auger like yours. My blades are sharp and are not falling off,trust me. My 2 hp strikemaster cuts good but theres a lot of difference in ice hardness and thickness that makes it take more than 20 seconds at times.

[rap]

there was a guy drilling holes the slowest i have ever seen a power auger go a few weeks ago, it probably took 3 minutes for him to get through, my friend took his auger over to him after his second hole to drill some for him and he found out the guy was using a fencepost auger with ground blades.... about sharpening augers.. it can make all the difference in the world to sharpen a blade

[Walleye One]

Hammer em is right, it shouldn't take more than 20 seconds to drill a hole. Your auger may look and feel sharp but it does't take much to make it dull as far as cutting through ice is concerned.

[Pannyraid]

Icemaster - try using the other end of the auger.

[Havin' Fun]

Icemaster, no bull on the 20 second thing, infact that's probably a little conservative. I have a 2 hp strikemaster lazer mag. IIt could either be dull blades or perhaps your machine is running at too low of rpms. Strikemaster is a great company. They are replacing my blade for me. Now that is great customer service!!!!

[This message has been edited by Hammer em' (edited 02-08-2002).]

[icemaster]

You mean the pointed end pannyraid? Again I ask,how much ice in 20 seconds? Maybe it's not the auger but my watch thats not up to snuff. Hammer em,whats wrong with the blade they're replacing for you.How long have you had the auger?

[Steve Foss]

Hammer em:

I've found that the faster my Strikemaster XL-3000 3 hp spins, the slower it cuts. I think the blades don't get quite as good a bit when it spins fast, and tend to just skid across the ice instead of shaving. I once changed the fuel mixture so it'd run faster, only to find it was taking longer to drill. Changed it back to factory setting and now it's all fine. In fact, I find myself backing off the throttle now and then.

And there's no magic in this 20-second thing. I've had to drill through 3 feet of ice with the extension on, and you're not likely to get through it in 20 seconds. Thickness and hardness vary a lot. My rule is, if I have to wrestle it, something's wrong.

Strikemaster's been good to me, too. Had the old sytle auger tip on the XL-3000, the one with no center chisel, and the inner teeth on the blades dulled quickly. I got their new style auger last year at a discount, the one with the center diamond-shaped cutter. Now the auger doesn't walk around at all (try putting a round Frabill insulated 10-inch tip-up on top of a hole made by a 10-inch auger that walks out on you; darn tip-up floats on the hole), nor do the main blades get dull.

One thing I've noticed is that the auger kicks butt on the first two holes when I'm drilling a big series of them right at the start of each trip, but then cuts harder after that. It seems like there's ice buildup somehow on the auger, and I have to carefull clear it before it'll cut fast again.

Oh well, nothing's perfect.

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Steve ([email protected])

[Guest]

20 seconds! What's taking you so long? I can go through two feet of ice with my hand Mora in less than 20. Granted I can only do this once or twice and then I'm huffing and puffing. A good sharp set of blades is all you need for fast cutting. I'm a Jiffy man when it comes to power augers. I have a 3hp with an 8" bit and I have to hold up on the thing as its drilling to prevent it from digging in to fast and bogging down. This auger will practically pull you through the ice if your not careful. Anyone else have this "problem"?

Toad

[Guest]

Drilling at 4:30! Blasphemy........ I might "OFFER" to drill their holes?

[Guest]

toad, i think it's because the ice is so soft.i've had my jiffy for 3 years and this is the first year it has done it. i wouldn't use anything but a jiffy

[Walleye One]

Was out this weekend and it took 8-9 seconds to cut through 15 inches of ice with brand new blades on the auger!

[Havin' Fun]

Hey, there is no magic, nor any reward for cutting in 20 seconds. Darn, wish I could get a paid advertisement. I just say this because if it's taking too much time or like stfcatfish said, you have to wrestle with it, something is wrong. I did time myself last night, 24" of clear hard ice, in 15 seconds. Now mind you, these are brand new blades, 1st cut. And after all, that's what this post was about, not whose machine is best. Sharp blades do matter, no matter what brand or whose cutting.

[Guest]

Yep less than 20 seconds I'd say...leaning on an auger? Why even bother having the auger? If you can't drill a hole in less than 20 seconds...effortlessly, it's time to sharpen or buy a new one!!

[Guest]

Would the horsepower of the auger make a difference here? Are these -20 times with a 2 or 3 h.p.engine? How about hole diameter?

[Guest]

Saturday 19" good solid ice 3hp. Jiffy legend 10" 11-12 seconds average on the 20 holes I drilled. New blades were put on at the beginning of the ice season(my first day out was dec.8th.) probably 200-250 holes.

Good Fishing To All !!!!!!!

[rap]

i use an older jiffy 8 inch auger and just got it sharpened last week. it took me about 10-15 seconds to drill through 2 feet of ice. a sharpened blade makes a ton of difference

[Guest]

What is the angle on an auger blade,20,30 degrees? Do any of you guys sharpen them yourselves or do you send them out to someone?

[Beerbatter]

When the blade gets dull its time for a whole new auger. HA. I have my father sharpen them with his diamond hone. He is a cabinet maker and has learned the art of sharpening. Something I seem to be lacking.

[Guest]

My father-in-law had any old, auger style, 8" hand auger. He gave it to me a last year because it never seemed to work right for him. He uses the spoon style auger. He is about the onle person I know that has one of these.

Anyway, I finally got a fish house this year. I bought new blades for this old auger he gave me. We went out fishing together last month. We both started drilling holes, and he kinda snickered at me when he seen that old auger. He stopped after I beet him through the ice. He started to scowl when I finished my second hole as he was breaking through his first.

When I finally told him I bought new blades he didn't mind so much, but I think he wanted his old auger back.

It may be a hand auger, but I had a couple trips on early ice where I was setting up at the same time a some others. I was in my Fish Trap, lines wet, fishing and they were still trying to get their power augers through the ice. They didn't bother getting the auger running before coming out onto the lake.

Kevin