Ice Auger Blade Sharpness

[FishingFrenzy]

Hey Guys,

Here it is, the question of the day: When is it time to replace ice auger blades?

I have an oldish hand auger (i THINK its a mora, its blue with red handle pieces) i picked up at a garage sale or some-such place a few years ago and this is the first year i have really gotten into icefishing, Now yesterday i was out at coal and thinking my auger blades were sharp i told my buddy we would just take my auger. WHAT A MISTAKE! It literally took 5 minutes and two people to drill a hole in 13ish inches of ice, Now obviously the blades are "dull" but when i actully felt the blades they seemed quite sharp, at least as sharp as the average kitchen knife. Why was it so hard to cut the holes????

Now im not sure how sharp the blades are supposed to be, but if they didnt work well yesterday i would imagine they must have to be almost razor sharp??

Also can hand auger blades be easily sharpened non-professionally? I sharpen my own bush knives as a bit of a hobby so i have a whet stone, ceramic sharpener, and strops.

Does anyone with some hand auger experience have any input??
Also does anyone know how i can tell what type of auger i have? i can post some pictures, but its got a blue bottom part with a bare steel handle and red handle fittings, it doesnt collapse but the two pieces screw apart. I would like to buy some blades if i cant sharpen the ones ive got.

[chubbdarter]

the little hand sharpeners do a pretty good job. the angle of the cutting point is critical. they can be razor sharp but if the camber is wrong it wont cut

adding the shims helps

[lifesaflyin]

replacements are 20 bucks and they last at least 2 seasons. no need to sharpen. as for sharpness though they are crazy insane sharp. one small wrong move and your looking at having a zipper installed. i serously think they are sharper than my bark river fillet knife, and i strop that with the mildest abrasive compound.

[JSMPP]

loosen the screws for the blades, cut an old credit card/tim hortons card into a thin strip and put it between the blade and the auger (same side as the sharp side of the blade) to put the blade at a sharper angle. Do the same thing if you decide to buy new blades but i would be willing to bet this will make a huge difference without new blades, i have an old hand auger currently with two strips of plastic angling each blade, and they havent been changed in a few years now. If i remember right its swede bore blades for these guys. your description sounds exactly like mine, not sure if there was much selection back when i got mine, all blue with the red handle

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

Thats a manual ice auger for you . If you think its gonna be fast better get an electric of gas one . Also it could take a longer time if your auger is 8 or 10 inches , your cutting threw alot of ice . Now if there was water and slush frozen to the bottom of your blades that will slow it down to .

I have a 10 inch manual auger and its a real work out to drill holes .I keep it as a just in case but prefer the gas power myself . Might give more thought to an ice gator though .

[FishingFrenzy]

Thanks Guys! BBJ, I know what your saying but this thing is SLOW, my friends hand auger is MUCH MUCH faster..

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

Thanks Guys! BBJ, I know what your saying but this thing is SLOW, my friends hand auger is MUCH MUCH faster..

Must be a smaller diameter auger . Like I said I can drill a 6 inch hole like butter but get me behind a 10 inch hand auger your sweating like a pig in heat with 3 guys making it work . And Both were brand new augers .

[DeanP]

Just to give you a guideline for sharpness. I ran a sharpener over mine last night and used it today. 8" hole thru 10" of ice took about 3 min.
I bought this sharpener at the Fishin Hole years ago. I don't see it advertised but they might still have it.

[Big Red 250]

Before I bought my power auger, I used a 8 inch manual auger for many years. If the blades are sharp, it don't take long to go thru a foot or 2 of ice. Did you try putting a shim under the blades.

[FishingFrenzy]

I'll try using a shim and see if it makes a difference. Its a 7 inch auger i believe, thats what my buddy told me anyway :D

I might take the blades off and give em a few strokes on the whetstone.

Thanks for the help everyone!

[Big Red 250]

I'll try using a shim and see if it makes a difference. Its a 7 inch auger i believe, thats what my buddy told me anyway :D

I might take the blades off and give em a few strokes on the whetstone.

Thanks for the help everyone!

Make sure you put them back on the right way.

[FishingFrenzy]

Update:
I took a better look at the auger today and the blades are actully VERY SHARP, sharper than most of my knives, thats sayin something. The brand is Mora? it says Mora Sweden on it, its a 7 inch. I put a couple of shims under the inside end of the blade, im assuming this is what everyone meant??? I will give it a try on a farmer dugout when im terrorizing the farmers field on my snowmobile. I'll let you know if it works any better. if it doesnt does anyone have anymore advice?

[Big Red 250]

Maybe that's why it was sold, whoever owned it before, couldn't get it to cut either. Maybe the blades are on backwards or upside down. Thinking back to when I used to own one, even if you think the blades are sharp, their still not sharp enough. Back when I lived in Manitoba, there was a fishing tackle store that would take your dull blades on trade for a set of sharpened ones + $5.00. Can't remember if it was the fishin hole or not. Was a long time ago. I was in The Fishin Hole in Edmonton yesterday, and they had an Eskimo 8 inch hand auger on for $34.95. I'm hoping the shims fix your auger up. My shims I always put between the bolt holes. Just a little strip of tin about 1/4 in wide. It don't take much to change the angle of the blades.

[FishingFrenzy]

Well... I shimmed the blades, buffed the blades up and took it out and gave it a whirl today. It works exactly the same as before. :mad0030: Now, my blades are SHARP, i could spend 23 bucks to get new blades for it which may or may not solve my problem.. or i could buy a new auger... How sure is anyone that new blades will solve my problem?
I was talking to a freind of my dads today and he is somewhat of a fishing guru, he said that some augers need blades, some augers have a "tip" that need the nicks filed out of them, and some never work at all. This: http://ca.wholesalesports.com/storefront/ice-fishing/augers-tools/swede-bore-telescopic-brace-bit-handle-auger/prod109564.html
(http://ca.wholesalesports.com/storefront/ice-fishing/augers-tools/swede-bore-telescopic-brace-bit-handle-auger/prod109564.html) is my auger. Does anyone have any experience with these specific augers?
Again, i appreciate all the help, ALOT!!

[Big Red 250]

I have no idea what your friend is talking about. I've seen guy's use these auger's B4 and they cut good. A little off topic but I saw a couple of guy's using this exact auger and when they got thru the ice, instead of pushing and lifting the auger to clean the hole and removing the auger, they were turning it backwards, so that it would come up out of the ice. Well, all they succeeded in doing was unscrewing the upper handle part from the bottom and when it came apart the bottom part went to the lake bottom. I still laugh when I think about it.

[chubbdarter]

Well... I shimmed the blades, buffed the blades up and took it out and gave it a whirl today. It works exactly the same as before. :mad0030: Now, my blades are SHARP, i could spend 23 bucks to get new blades for it which may or may not solve my problem.. or i could buy a new auger... How sure is anyone that new blades will solve my problem?
I was talking to a freind of my dads today and he is somewhat of a fishing guru, he said that some augers need blades, some augers have a "tip" that need the nicks filed out of them, and some never work at all. This: http://ca.wholesalesports.com/storefront/ice-fishing/augers-tools/swede-bore-telescopic-brace-bit-handle-auger/prod109564.html
(http://ca.wholesalesports.com/storefront/ice-fishing/augers-tools/swede-bore-telescopic-brace-bit-handle-auger/prod109564.html) is my auger. Does anyone have any experience with these specific augers?
Again, i appreciate all the help, ALOT!!

im not arguing with you they are sharp.....but is the camber/angle correct on the blade? if you notice on a blade touch up sharpener-it only sharpens 1 edge. touching the bottom edge is playing with fire.

[bloopbloob]

I agree with whats been said also. you can make them razor sharp again, but the angle is critical. I've tried myself, to no success. just bought new blades and it made a huge difference. (for both my 6" and 8" hand augers, which are probably what you have, normark/mora/swedebore)

[Willowtrail]

I would take your auger and all spare parts in to the fishin hole and ask them whats wrong with it. Have them check the angle or camber of the blades.

[FishingFrenzy]

I didnt actully sharpen the auger blades, i just cleaned off the oxidization with my dremel, they were sharp before. I cant see these augurs not working at all, my freind didnt say these specific but there are augers which never work well.

Im not sure how to change the camber/angle on the blade except with shims... i shimmed it and it did not work :(

Willowtrail, i did not know the fishing hole does auger maintanance, do all locations do it or????

thanks guys!

[dragon]

I bought new blades for my hand auger this year and I went through 12" of ice in about 30 seconds... I had sharpened the old ones first adn even though they were razor sharp they weren't biting.

Manager at fishign hole south told me that for 10 bucks you can get the old ones sharpened at the northside fishing hoke by a guy that comes by once a week. The key is the angle/Camber and shape of cutting edge concave/convex straight...

[Willowtrail]

Willowtrail, i did not know the fishing hole does auger maintanance, do all locations do it or????

thanks guys![/QUOTE]

I`m not saying they do maintenance on them but they have a vast knowledge on them and can point you in the right direction.

They did have a sweet deal on an Eskimo 8 inch manual for $35 but I think the sale ended today. Maybe it will carry over to Boxing day.

I`ve used mine over 7 times now drilling multiple holes per day and still cutting great.

[MeYammy]

Just buy new blades. Save you the hassle of running all over the place. When mine get dull, I toss em. Life's too short to spend it stressing over how hard it is to drill fishing holes in ice. More time fishing, less time stressing is my philosophy.

[FishingFrenzy]

Just buy new blades. Save you the hassle of running all over the place. When mine get dull, I toss em. Life's too short to spend it stressing over how hard it is to drill fishing holes in ice. More time fishing, less time stressing is my philosophy.

I like this :sHa_shakeshout:, Blades are 22 for my auger, wholesale is having a sale on Lazers and i believe they are way down to 30 bucks.. I'm gonna try and pick something up tommorow weather its blades or an auger.

Thanks for all the help everyone!!!

[sharrozap]

After 10 years drilling holes with 6" Swede-bore, I bought new blades. Big difference - 30 sec to drill 10" ice. The old blades are still sharp and I don't know the reason why they don't cut. Maybe last year some of my friends was using it. I got new blades from WSS for $25.