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As I mentioned in my reply to the ice on Jordanelle question, I really dinged up my blades today. If I were to take them to a knife sharpening place, could they get them to work again? Normally I would just shell out the $15 for new blades, but these only have 2 trips on them. Any suggestions?
It's amazing how useless an auger becomes when there are a couple of dings in the blades!
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I tried to sharpen my old blades on my auger and was able to sharpen them to a razor sharp edge.. but when I tried them out on Lost Creek they wouldnt cut, so I think the angle of the blade was the problem.
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[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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i've seen hand held blade sharpeners at sporting good stores around town i know for sure hooked ( plug ! ) has them go see janes he'll hook you up not sure of the price
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If you have sharp blades dont let anyone bang your auger on the ice to clean it off!! My buddys kid did that and his is junk now!!M.H.
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Having been down the dull blade road - just shell out the $$$ and then in the springtime - when they are clearing out those ice auger blades for $7 to $8 per set - stock up. I now always have a spare set since Echo and the 3' of concrete we couldn't drill though even after the sharpening at the Coalville gas station....
Good luck and be sure and carry the Alan wretch to replace the blades...
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I've got two sets of 8" blades for my Mora auger and have had them for over 10 years. I rotate the sets and send in the dull blades to StrikeKing back in Minnesota to get reharpened. Not sure of the address, but look them up on the net. They harge around $5.00 to resharpen them and they are (I think) better than new.
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Just spend the money and get new ones you will be much happier
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Tube Dude,
You've hit the nail on the head again. I can't tell ya how ticked off I get when I see people testing the thickness of the ice by throwing rocks out onto it. Unless the rock weighs as much as a person, and can walk like a person, it doesn't tell you if the ice is thick enough to hold a person. And then the rock absorbs the heat from the sun and melts into the ice. When it gets covered with snow, it's a blade buster waiting for the next auger.
I know a guy who had a machine shop weld a lag bolt onto the center shaft of his auger. It is supposed to help him start the hole. One day he couldn't get his auger to start a hole, and commented that I must have worked very hard to get the 4 or 5 holes that I had cut. I said, "No, just sharp blades". He asked to borrow my auger, and I agreed. He walked a few yards away and banged the blades down onto the ice. I can't repeat what I said to him, but I jumped up off my bucket and had ahold of the auger before he could do it again. I told him that I knew why he thought he needed the lag bolt and taught him how to gently place the auger on the ice and begin turning the auger.
Those blades are now ten years old, and have never been sharpened. One trick that an old timer taught me is to spray the blades with WD40 after a day's use.
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[cool][size 1]Hey, Fishrmn, sounds like we went to different schools together. That WD40...or any rust preventative...is a good idea. Even a tiny film of rust on the sharp blade edge is the same as running a file blade across it. It takes off that ultrafine cutting edge so critical to easy drillin'.[/size]
[size 1]I am a sharing kinda guy, but there are several things I do not believe in sharing with ANYONE. After a couple of bad experiences, a good ice auger is definitely something you keep close to you and do not let even your best friend touch it (kinda like a sweetheart).[/size]
[size 1]Back on the subject of rocks, I once saw a guy get thrown across the ice when the blade on his power auger found a "test" rock in the ice. Kinda reminded me of the first time I tried to operate a big floor buffing machine. And you wouldn't believe the noise. That guy was screaming for 10 minutes.[/size]
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