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Well I received an HT Polar 8" hand auger from my son for Christmas and tried it out yesterday. This is the worst auger I have ever used. I don't want to throw it away because it is a gift from my son so is there any way to improve the cutting performance on this brand? The blades on it seem to be razor sharp but it just doesn't bite into the ice like others I have used. Is there maybe a different brand or style of blade that can be swapped out from the original that might be a better choice? Thanks in advance!
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When you get some blades they come with little shims .
I used some years ago that were very thin metal. Worked well the time I tried them years back. Heard people back in the day used match sticks for shims. Take some different shim items and hit the ice close to home don't forget allen wrench. Do some testing with patience.
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I bought one that was funky right out of the box, wouldn't cut. Took it back and exchanged for another and it cut great. Sometimes something is just not right, gets bent, wrong angle on blades, who knows.
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If it's having issues cutting out of the box I would say it needs shimmed. I just bought a strikemaster mora 8" and it would barely cut the first time out. I took an old credit card and sliced it and used it for a shim and the performance increased by at least 50% so I know I'm heading in the right direction. A little thicker shim and I should hit pay dirt.
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Just my 2 cents worth BEEFDOG. The last time I drilled through 11 inches of ice with a hand auger, I told myself thats it. The next day I bought a power auger. I know times are tough though, but if you can its worth the investment. Even 5 inches of ice with a hand auger just makes me mad. Good luck with the fix.
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I know it was a gift, so then what? I'm not sure what to tell you about that.
I do know that I personally don't recommend a hand auger bigger than 7 inches.
Could you go exchange it for a 6 or 7? Or even better yet, exchange it toward a better brand? My first pick would be a Strike Master Mora or Laser, followed by a Nil's as a 2nd choice.
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Exchange it towards a Nils auger. You wouldn't regret it. And if you let your son drill a hole with the current one before then he will thank you too.
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+2 on the Nils. You wont even need a power auger.
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I have an 8" Nills and love it, however I believe a 6" would be just fine almost all the time. Also if you have a quality cordless drill Nills makes a 4 & 6" convertable that would be sweet. Also visiting with some people that have the propane augers I would lean more towards them now if I needed a power auger.
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I got a eskimo 8" for what type of money I had on the table but drills great. Just have too sharpen them here and there especially if you ice fish a lot like I do for this season. I'm pretty sure in the past 2 months I've made at least 20+ trips.
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If you think the Eskimo drills great, you would be blown away by the Nils. There is no comparison - it is easily 3-4 times faster than the Eskimos, Strikemasters and HTs.
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Within every brand there are good ones and bad ones, for sure.
I've used all those brands you just mentioned and I have to say, my SM Mora works just as good as any of those other brands I've used, including three different Nil's, and better than most brands other than Nil's. I'd say the Nil's is comparable to my SM. The key thing with a hand auger is to keep the blades sharp. If you get a bad one, well, sorry. I think I'd take it back.
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Thanks for all of the responses. I tried the shims and it made no difference. So just out of desperation I went to the sporting goods store and picked up a package of HT Polar replacement blades. WOW! What a difference! Went to the lake with a foot of ice and punched two holes, each took less than a minute. Life is now good.
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