Strikemaster not cutting holes well

[hanson]

The old blades worked well tonight, I think i got a poor pair of new blades.

Strange although it leads me to believe the pitch of your blades is definitely off.

My experience there are 3 issues that'll cause a Strikemaster to not cut:

1- Dull Blades

2- Blade Pitch out of adjustment

3- Ice Build-Up on Blades

Note that problem #1 leads to problem #2. If your blades are dull, you lean into the auger more and apply more pressure when cutting, this flattens the pitch angle of the blades out a little bit. When you put new blades on, the contact angle of the blades to the ice isn't correct and they won't cut right.

If the auger is bogging out at the bottom of the hole, you have a carburetor adjustment problem from my experience.

[Sandmannd]

Have you tried to call them and talk to them. Email is not always the best way to get your point accross to a company.

[Caleb S]

LakeDocktor,

I don't have any first hand dealings with SM customer service but the complaints about it seem to be slim. Maybe you just got the "wrong" person. Also, the phone and in person usually work much better for customer service. Its easier to say no through an email.

[Beege]

I called them both times i had problems. More understanding when you talk to a person. Try that route before making a special trip. I had my new handle in 2 days. And i live in Michigan

[Caleb S]

I guess Sandmannd beat me to it

[CJH]

By the way, I was referring to Katoman in reference to the handle breaking being his "fault". If the handle broke the first time you used it and you were using it properly, then absolutely I would think SM would stand behind. I would give them another try. You should fall within the one year warranty.

[EYEHUNTER10]

I have the 3 blade 9 inch worst investment i ever made, countless sets of blades, and when its cold they freeze up between the three blades super easy. I wish the auger would come unhooked sometime and fall down the hole, then i could justify buying a new chipper flighting for it. Strike master sent me out 2 sets of baldes and said my auger was bent, out of pitch, sent me out a new auger for it and still same problem the 3 blade idea was just a horrible design, I will say when you do have a new set of blades on the first 10-20 holes it will cut faster than any auger out there, but when you punch 100+ holes a season its not a good idea everything has to be just so for them to work right, but if you put the whole weight of your body on it you can drill a hole, but you'r not eager to drill any more, with my old jiffy it was no biggie to drill 50 holes a weekend heck it was kinda fun, just needed some knee high boots from all the water they spray at ya.

[Iambjm]

LakeDokter, if you are in St. Cloud you are not very far from them. By all means run it down to Strikemaster, you might be surprised. We had our 15 year old Mag III in there several times and were very pleased with the service.

[Ice chaser]

I'm suprized to here the lakedocktor's story. Last year I was having problems with my laser mag starting so I brought it up to strike master in Big Lake. I thought for sure that I would be once again dealing with a company that did not care about the customer after the product was purchased. Well I couln't have been more wrong, they kindly greeted me listend to me explain the problem and took it in back to take a look at it. He then handed it back told me what was wrong and that he had fixed it smiled and said thanks for buying strikemaster good luck fishing. Now that is what I call sevice. Thanks to Stikemaster you have earned a customer more life.

[pdk511]

auger blades are very precise so if really anything happens to them it can mess the cutting up

[Desperado]

Probably a pitch issue like mentioned. If you buy blades, get new Strikemaster blades. The re-sharpened ones don't seem to work. If they do it's only for a short time and they get dull. Re-sharpened ones are not worth the money.

If you do the "blade exchange" thing, I'd agree. You never know what blades your getting. It could be a set that someone else completely ruined to the point of not being able to be properly resharpened. It is possible to ruin a set of blades to that extreme.

HOWEVER . . . If you know someone who's good at sharpening blades and will give you your own blades back, it's WELL WORTH IT. I have a friend who does my Lazer blades and after he sharpens them, they actually work BETTER Than Brand New Blades fresh from the package.

[LakeDocktor]

I just got off the phone with Strikemaster. I guess it is a lot easier to tell someone that they are out of luck over an email than on the phone. The lady couldn't have been more helpful. All she wanted was my serial number and address. No questions asked and she said it will be in the mail today. I guess I too can confirm their great customer service, via phone. Hopefully I don't have any more problems, but its nice to know that they are actually willing to help their customers.