12-30-2003, 01:29 AM
[cool][size 1]You have learned one of the lessons all auger twisters have to learn. You must take good care of your blades or they will not take care of you.[/size]
[size 1]Unless your "knife sharpener" is familiar with working on ice augers, you are likely to not be happy with the results. A sharp edge...free of dings...is only the beginning. The most critical part is the cutting point itself. Banging the point on a parking lot...or even on hard ice...will bend the angle ever so slightly, so that it will not dig into the ice when rotated.[/size]
[size 1]Through a lot of trial and error...mostly the latter...I discovered the little differences in angle that made all the difference in performance. I worked on my blades before every trip, and always carried both a good rattail file and a small diamond sharpener. It was surprising what just a couple of light strokes on the point would do for cutting if it had been slowing down.[/size]
[size 1]I will never forget the one (and only) time I let an unknown newbie borrow my auger. He carried it off a few yards and proceded to jam the point down several times on the ice...to get it started. When he finally started rotating the auger it just spun in place...with no ice shavings. He insisted I had a bad auger. I showed him the holes I had drilled without trouble and suggested he learn how to use an auger before he ruined anybody elses.[/size]
[size 1]I suggest picking up the second set. Keep a set of backup blades sharp and ready to replace. It is not uncommon to drill down into a rock someone has tossed on the ice to check the thickness...and then it gets frozen in the ice.[/size]
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[size 1]Unless your "knife sharpener" is familiar with working on ice augers, you are likely to not be happy with the results. A sharp edge...free of dings...is only the beginning. The most critical part is the cutting point itself. Banging the point on a parking lot...or even on hard ice...will bend the angle ever so slightly, so that it will not dig into the ice when rotated.[/size]
[size 1]Through a lot of trial and error...mostly the latter...I discovered the little differences in angle that made all the difference in performance. I worked on my blades before every trip, and always carried both a good rattail file and a small diamond sharpener. It was surprising what just a couple of light strokes on the point would do for cutting if it had been slowing down.[/size]
[size 1]I will never forget the one (and only) time I let an unknown newbie borrow my auger. He carried it off a few yards and proceded to jam the point down several times on the ice...to get it started. When he finally started rotating the auger it just spun in place...with no ice shavings. He insisted I had a bad auger. I showed him the holes I had drilled without trouble and suggested he learn how to use an auger before he ruined anybody elses.[/size]
[size 1]I suggest picking up the second set. Keep a set of backup blades sharp and ready to replace. It is not uncommon to drill down into a rock someone has tossed on the ice to check the thickness...and then it gets frozen in the ice.[/size]
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