Author Topic: Question about Hand Augers (Read 1510 times)

bngalloNHVTfish · « **on:** Oct 17, 2014, 10:43 AM »

Hello Everyone! I hope everyone is as excited as I am for the upcoming hardwater season! Hopefully it will be hear sooner rather than later.

Anyways, I was looking into upgrading a few things: One of which is a hand auger (I have a gas powered one - but its finicky and I don't like to use it early in the season). I had a flimsy strike master one but the blade recently broke so I thought I might as well look into getting a new one.

I've heard good things about Nils and such, but I would rather not break the bank. What would you guys recommend for a hand auger that costs up to $100-125?

Thank you for your input! Good luck to everyone and I hope to see many of you out there!

Ben

SALMONEMIA · « **Reply #1 on:** Oct 17, 2014, 10:48 AM »

The key to the Nils is the offset handle. Yes the blade is part of the equation but most of the power is in the handle. I highly suggest a Normark finbore it has an offset handle it will cut very well better than all hand augers except nils and almost as good a Nils. Its cheaper and almost as good. Fish 307 sells them I belive though there not in stock yet. Other benefit is the blades are less expspensive and its the same blade as a strikemaster lazer hand auger. My 2 cents. Or you can just buy the offset handle and new blades. The handle is where you get the power. IMO

Chris338378 · « **Reply #2 on:** Oct 17, 2014, 11:43 AM »

I have a Mora and as long as the blades are sharp it cuts the ice real well and won't put you in the poor house.

stripernut · « **Reply #3 on:** Oct 17, 2014, 11:45 AM »

As I have said before;
I have cut a Nils and a Fin-Bore side by side and the Fin-Bore cuts just as easy/fast, but the Fin-Bore is less expensive to buy, less expensive to maintain and arguable less delicate... It is cheaper to get blades, to sharpen the blades and easy to carry spares.

And SALMONEMIA is right, most of it is about the off set handle...

jellyroll44 · « **Reply #4 on:** Oct 17, 2014, 12:30 PM »

My hand auger is turning 13 this year! Lol

SALMONEMIA · « **Reply #5 on:** Oct 17, 2014, 12:44 PM »

x2 striper nut. FYI I called fish 307 they will have some finbores in dec. There 100$. I wrote of this before at end of last season. I gave
( regret this now) a friend and old fashioned mora with an offset handle, he put new blades on it. I tried it out and could not believe how much easier it cut than the regular mora and almost as fast as my nils. I called strikemaster about it and they no longer sell the offset handle in this country. I think its crazy because alot of people are missing out especially people who dont want to spend alot of cash. I think they do this on purpose. My rational is that people will get fed up with the standard handle and just brake down and buy a gas powered auger. If they sold the augers with the offset handle I think gas auger sales would be affected. Im a minimalist so a hand auger works well for me. I know there are alot of people who need gas augers and wont go without one but Im betting if strikemaster sold augers with offset handle, more people would be happy with just that. Good luck

stripernut · « **Reply #6 on:** Oct 17, 2014, 12:48 PM »

I bet it has more to do with pattens for off set handles that a want to sell power augers...

JIGGIN- · « **Reply #7 on:** Oct 17, 2014, 01:13 PM »

Although I have an 8" Nils, I tend to use my chisel during early ice season and then switch over to my gas or propane auger once the ice gets too thick.

I use my smaller (4.5") Nils to cut my tie down holes for my bob house.

PoolGuy · « **Reply #8 on:** Oct 17, 2014, 02:46 PM »

Couple of years ago I picked up the Nils convertible auger...I've seen them advertised for about $139.00...
You can either use the handle it comes with or attach it to 18V drill.

800stealth · « **Reply #9 on:** Oct 17, 2014, 06:05 PM »

I just got back into ice fishing a couple years ago and needed to buy everything to get started so the budget was tight. I picked up a 6" Bass Pro branded auger (I've been told its an Eskimo) on sale for 30 bucks and a couple extra sets of blades for 10 a pair with the intention of upgrading the next year... I'm now on my 3rd season with this auger and still have my 2 extra sets of blades in their packages. I don't drill a bunch of holes when I go out (maybe 12-15 per outing) but it cuts like a champ still, even through last years 2 plus feet. Lots of options and price ranges out there.

OldCaveman · « **Reply #10 on:** Oct 18, 2014, 01:09 PM »

Quote from: stripernut on Oct 17, 2014, 11:45 AM

As I have said before;
I have cut a Nils and a Fin-Bore side by side and the Fin-Bore cuts just as easy/fast, but the Fin-Bore is less expensive to buy, less expensive to maintain and arguable less delicate... It is cheaper to get blades, to sharpen the blades and easy to carry spares.

And SALMONEMIA is right, most of it is about the off set handle...

I bought a 8" finbore last Nov. and it was the best money I ever spent on ice fishing equipment. It was all I used until the ice was over a foot thick. Good luck with your search.

boss j · « **Reply #11 on:** Oct 18, 2014, 03:46 PM »

for ice up to 6 to 8 inches thick i use either a 6 or 8 inch Mora. i make sure i have the blades that are made in Sweden and they cut great! my friend has a nils and i cut faster with my Mora than he does with the nils! i drill anywhere from 30 to 100 holes per trip and the blades from Sweden dont give up!!!

bngalloNHVTfish · « **Reply #12 on:** Oct 18, 2014, 06:27 PM »

Thank you for all the advice everyone! I appreciate your input!!

Ben

800stealth · « **Reply #13 on:** Oct 20, 2014, 05:03 PM »

I just saw on the Dick's website that HT sells a hand auger with offset handle like Nils and Finbore too. I don't know if its new or if they have always sold them but for 60 bucks it looks ok. I didn't research to see if others sold multiple sizes, Dicks just shows an 8". Might be worth a look...

tafts ta · « **Reply #14 on:** Oct 20, 2014, 05:36 PM »

A little off the topic here but not really.

One nice thing about a nils auger is the blades with the power point. If you buy a nils power auger (admittedly expensive) it comes with not only a power point head, but also a handle to use it as a hand auger killing two birds with one stone. Also the Nils blades can be resharpened professionally for about $20 and they cut just as fast each time! I have had a nils auger for 7 seasons and it still cuts like a dream.

fishermantim · « **Reply #15 on:** Oct 23, 2014, 11:25 AM »

Remember....You get what you pay for.

If you want to "cut corners" on price, don't expect a Rolls Royce if you paid for a Gremlin.

Now if you are panning on keeping it "forever", keeping it sharp and taken care of will go a long way to meeting that goal.

I have an Eskimo Barracude 10" power auger (not used at all last season), an 8" Eskimo hand auger (with new blades) and a Bass Pro 6" hand auger.

Last season I only used the 2 hand augers and got quite proficient at cutting thru 2+ feet of ice by the end of the season.

Reel trouble · « **Reply #16 on:** Oct 23, 2014, 04:05 PM »

Whatever you get make sure it has the offset handle like mentioned above would of difference, I have two nils augers and a Eskimo barracuda i converted the handle to offset and it made a world of difference. The fin bore is in your budget and best bang for the buck

SALMONEMIA · « **Reply #17 on:** Oct 23, 2014, 05:01 PM »

Where can you buy just an offset handle? Ive been looking for one for a strikemaster lazer auger.

PoolGuy · « **Reply #18 on:** Oct 23, 2014, 06:32 PM »

Quote from: SALMONEMIA on Oct 23, 2014, 05:01 PM

Where can you buy just an offset handle? Ive been looking for one for a strikemaster lazer auger.

Check out FishUSA.com. Had a friend buy one from there

SALMONEMIA · « **Reply #19 on:** Oct 23, 2014, 06:37 PM »

Thank you

haightdaddy · « **Reply #20 on:** Oct 23, 2014, 08:38 PM »

i enjoyed the nils but didn't enjoy babying the blades. used it about half the season and when ice got above a foot i ended up investing in the strikemaster lazer mag 2.5hp gas job and was very happy. but dont get me wrong the nils was great for early ice and long walks

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Author Topic: Question about Hand Augers (Read 1510 times)