Strikemaster Lazer Blades (Reconditioned yes/no)

[Big Buck Buster]

Called my local hardware store to see if they carried replacement blades for my 7" Lazer. They said that they had reconditioned ones.

Would this be a wise investment, or should I buy new?

[honkerhunter64]

My buddy just got some reconditioned blades yesterday and went fishing last night they wouldn't cut a thing. I told him maybe his pitch was off from redrilling old holes, but I don't know where to get that checked.

[jimmyjames76]

Everything I've ever read is pretty mixed, and I would think it's a gamble. If they weren't significantly cheaper I think I'd just buy new ones. It seems like the blades can be resharpened effectively, but very few people are actually good at it.

[deadeye]

I have always had really good luck with them. Once in a while you can get a bad pair, but usually you can shim them and they will work ok. If they are really that bad, take em back and get a different set. The place just sharpens them, and doesnt check if people banged them on a rock or something. Bad ones happen, but not often.

[Steve Foss]

I have an 8-inch hand Lazer that I've used for many years and only ever get the reconditioned blades (very inexpensive with the blade exchange program). Did the same the whole time (12 years) I had my Strikemaster XL-3000. I get a new set every season, so that's nearly 25 sets, and I've never had a single issue with the recon blades.

Just check them for nicks. The tapered Lazer blades don't cut well at all if they are nicked, and rough handling by the retailer can turn excellent factory recon blades into butter knives.

If you're unfamiliar with the blade exchange program, you bring in your old blades and exchange them for a set of blades resharpened to factory specs that come taped together in padded envelopes. Way cheaper than buying new blades. Not all stores have the exchange program, though. I'm pretty sure it's offered by specific tackle wholesalers, and if the store doesn't buy tackle from that wholesaler, they can't be on the exchange program.

[PolarBond]

I have a Strikemaster with the Lazer blades that was having trouble punching holes. I bought a couple sets of "resharpened" blades, they seemed to sorta work - for a while.

I took the augur into the Strikemaster's Big Lake facility. Here is what I was told:

- My (original) blades were fine

- The Lazer blades cannot be resharpened correctly with a grinder

- Strikemaster does not attempt to resharpen them

- They recommend only new blades

- You should never need new blades

They fixed my augur by bending one side of the bottom part of the augur, using a jig to obtain the correct alignment, such that the two halves dug into the ice together. I had banged it out of alignment, probably trying to knock ice off it.

I put my original blades back on, and it has worked fine since.

[Steve Foss]

PB, interesting. Sounds like your cutting problem was a pitch issue.

Just to be clear, I did the blade exchange not because I felt I needed new blades but because I want really sharp blades, and my Lazer blades (even the new ones) did lose sharpness and cutting speed over time. I noticed that at the end of a season, after several hundred holes drilled, they cut slower. My exchange blades didn't dull any faster than the new ones. They both took a LOT of cutting before slowing down. And there are those times you might hit a piece of wood embedded in the ice or hit a pocket of grit. Those times were BAD for Lazer blades.

If there had been somebody local to resharpen my original blades to factory specs, I'd never have bothered with the blade exchange but would have just bought a second set as a backup and kept them both sharp.

That was the one problem I had with Strikemaster Lazer blades: I could never find anyone who had a machine that would sharpen them right. Maybe that's changed now, but these days, while I still have my Lazer hand auger, I have a power auger with a chipper blade. Not quite as fast drilling, but I'm past the point of caring about that, and they are more durable than the tapered blades, not to mention I can sharpen them myself with a couple licks from a whetstone.

[Big Buck Buster]

The hardware store that has the blade exchange in my town has them for ($21.95 exchange) and ($23.95 w/no exchange). They had one set of new ones left for $24.95 plus tax. I purchased the new ones after they told me the price on the next order of blades will go up to $42.95. I will be getting the reconditioned ones from now on, unless I can find a good deal like that again.