Hand Auger Blades - Can I sharpen myself?
 

Not much of an ice fisher but was thinking of taking the family snowshoeing and ice fishing to Spray this weekend if the wind behaves.

I have a hand auger and was wondering if I'm really careful, is it possible to sharpen the blades with my bench grinder or will I do more harm than good? The auger isn't dull, but isn't sharp either.

Or, any other suggestions for DIY sharpening?

I my self wouldn't use a grinder i would use ether a good file or a stone. I always use a file on my power auger i find the cutting edge has to be just right or they won't cut good.

strikemaster puts out a sharpener made for doing all smooth style auger blades. the fishing hole handles them for less than ten bucks. i'd go that route.

http://strikemaster.com/store/icefis...sharpener.html

Dace

X2 I bought one a couple years ago and it works great, you need the proper angle or you may as well use the auger to beat a hole in the ice.

Thanks guys. Point taken! I'm in cowtown tomorrow for work so I may just have to saunter over to the FH. The only problem with going into that store is it's never just $10 :)

i think new blades are only around 30 bucks that's another option

Canadian Tire has em for $25.99 for 8" replacement blades.

Go with new blades if it fits in the budget. You won't regret it when your drilling multiple holes. The faster your fishing the happier the kids will be, plus your shoulder and arms.

HAHAHA. I just pictured you in my head whaling a hand auger against the ice trying to make a hole. Hows the ice at lake X?

Key on a hand auger blade is that there has to be a "BURR" on the ice side so that it catches the ice. In other words, you sharpen from the top side only. You can use a sharpening stone with oil, or a very light touch on an angle grinder with a fine stone. you will need a spare set anyway, so buy a new set and sharpen the old. Keep the old set taped up on the cutting edge so you don't do any damage with the blades flopping around in your tackle box. No fun reaching in and rummaging around and getting a surprise the hard way.

Drewski

It's about Y inches but not everywhere :)

Sorry, couldn't resist...

To all anglers that have augers just take your blades to anyone who does sharpen ice skates and get them sharpened there cost 5-10 bucks if that sometimes they throw in for free if you get skates sharpened there

Food for Thought
David

David the question asked by the OP and the title of the thread is "Hand Auger Blades - Can I sharpen myself?" i take our skates to the same guys every couple of weeks. it's out of my way, but they do the best job. i would never ask or consider them as "skate guys" to do auger blades. they're trained to grind a hollow on a skate blade, not experiment on auger blades with their equipment. granted, maybe some skate shops would do it. how good, i dunno. other commercial sharpening shops will and do sharpen auger blades depending on the style, and do a fine job. then again, i've been turned away by these shops as well. it all depends on the blade you bring in and the equipment in their shop. but that's been discussed in other threads. Spidey is interested in doing it himself.

Dace

Thanks for your opinion Dace i was giving mine as i have taken mine to the local skate sharpner for 30 years and because others will read these post i gave my opinion.. i also have tryed to sharpen ice auger blades and have ruined a few that were brought back to life by the sharpner.. and i do not accept the bait .

Ice Fishing North American World Record Holder Northern Pike 1985 to 2006
David Robson

No reason a skate sharpening outfit couldn't sharpen your auger blades if they have the jig set up for it. If you are in Calgary go to the best. Bowness Saw Sharpening Service in Bowness. 15 bucks for my curved strike-master blades and he coats the edges in wax. My blades are 45 bucks plus tax for a new set. That said I have heard good things about the Jiffy sharpener which has a set angle. Often times it's just the edge that needs to be reset for a blade to cut like butter. You could cut your arm off with some blades that wouldn't drill a hole if your life depended on it. The edge is everything.

Tip:

If your auger is going dull while out drilling holes and you have no files or stones nearby....

you can take your pocket knife and run the knife blade down the topside of the auger blade. Your knife blade should be in a position like a scraper. Like you were trying to scrape off the edge. One or two strokes will sharpen the auger enough for a few more holes.