# Hand Auger Blades?



## tye dye twins (Mar 8, 2011)

My auger blades are dull. My auger is a eskimo brand. I think it is a Barracuda.

Should I buy new blades or try to get them sharpened by a pro?


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## Ton_Def (Dec 23, 2008)

Buy NEW!

Some say that sharpening can work... but the angle is sooo precise. If it is off just a few degrees, it may drill, but will take considerable effort and will be hopping as it tries to cut. 
Save yourself the headache and spend a little more on new ones...

Also, when drilling a hole *DON'T SLAM IT* onto the ice! I have seen far too many people try to start a hole this way! It will ruin your blades faster than years of drilling normally. Just place it where you would like the hole, and begin the turns. It will grab naturally... let it work for you, not against you.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

My blades on my eskimo power auger are 8'ish years old now. Its drilled hundreds of holes and yet I cut myself on it checking blade sharpness last year. I cant imagine how people can dull a hand auger blade but I guess it happens.


-DallanC


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## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

There is a guy in Layton that can sharpen blades.
His phone number is 1-801-546-1347.
He has the proper equipment to do the job right and his prices are very reasonable.


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## Tylert (Aug 6, 2008)

Try not to smack the blades on the ice when you get them sharpened. That will dull your blades faster then anything.


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## JWM (May 20, 2012)

how well does the hand auger work? I am getting into ice fishing for the first time this winter and was told hand augers are useless most of the time.

I would much rather get a hand auger than an expensive gas one.


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## Tylert (Aug 6, 2008)

I have used a hand auger for 20 years now..so useless is the person using it.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

JWM said:


> how well does the hand auger work? I am getting into ice fishing for the first time this winter and was told hand augers are useless most of the time.
> 
> I would much rather get a hand auger than an expensive gas one.


Works great... if the ice isnt thick. I've drilled through +40" to get to open water at strawberry before. Multiply that by X number of holes... you will be too tired to move from your first holes. Power Auger IMO is the #2 ice fishing equiptment upgrade to get.

-DallanC


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

How many holes do you plan on drilling in a day of ice fishing? Also how young are you? I found that if you plan on drilling multiple holes on a outing or if you are getting old and decrypted like a few of us you will love the power auger, but if you are young and don't mind the workout a hand auger works just fine.


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## tye dye twins (Mar 8, 2011)

JWM said:


> how well does the hand auger work? I am getting into ice fishing for the first time this winter and was told hand augers are useless most of the time.
> 
> I would much rather get a hand auger than an expensive gas one.


Hand augers are great!

I have drilled multipul holes in ice that is 5 feet 7.5 inches thick. Yes it did take a while but I had a great day. Sure does make you laugh after drilling ice like that when you hear someone complain about going through 6 inches of ice. Perspective and all.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Just buy some new ones at SW or the like. Be sure to carefully examine the way the bolts are mounted before removing the old blades. That can turn into a real hassle if you forget to look first.



DallanC said:


> I cant imagine how people can dull a hand auger blade but I guess it happens.


It's easy when you volunteer to drill holes for a group of kids and then let them try. :lol:


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

LOAH said:


> It's easy when you volunteer to drill holes for a group of kids and then let them try. :lol:


Ah ha! Good point. Kids can figure out a way to break an anvil.

-DallanC


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Windy reservoirs like Flaming Gorge, Birch Creek, Boysen, Fontennelle, others, have dirty ice. The wind blows dirt sand, layers of shale onto the ice. It snows, then melts, then that freezes, then it snows again; over and over. The west side of the Gorge can be bad for dirty ice. (Although it hasn't been froze very long for several winters.)

Then there's stupid. Once we snowmobiled out to the inlet at Viva Naughton. I drilled a hole over 36" deep and gravel started coming up the hole! There was no water, I was drilling the gravel lakebed.  

The newer notched blades are easier to sharpen, or should I say are a little less forgiving on how they are sharpened vs the flat blades. Boy, you can't touch the off side of a flat blade without screwing it up. Same goes for bending the auger like Jason said. Just a little bend in the auger where the blade is attached and it's history. Just use a large flat stone, preferably a diamond one. The big ones for sharpening archery blades work good. We had honing tables at work, used for sharpening natural gas meter stainless steel orifice plates. They worked great. 

I'm using hand augers more these days. I'll do the power auger thing at first and after there's a bajillion holes in the ice I'll use a little Nils or a spud. I walk and I'm getting tired of dragging a power auger around. And I'm using spuds more and more, like the old days.


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