IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
IceShanty Main => General Ice Fishing Chit Chat => Topic started by: hardwater diehard on Sep 13, 2019, 12:57 PM
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Looks like Chipper ...Shaver...Lazer blades .
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chippers will always be slower out of the box. for us on 10" of ice its literally a second or 2 longer at the beginning of the season (6" kdrill/6"pistol bit). However as the season wore on, it was very clear the the shaver blades had lost their edge a bit and it became almost identical time wise.
the versatility and guide bit for the kdrill, we kept the kdrill. if we didn't mind sharpening mid season and got 24+" of ice we'd of probably kept the pistol bit.
i'm certainly not going to take at face value a video put out by strikemaster thats for sure.
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They weren't even drilling straight with the other two? Also, which one runs the longest on a battery and is easiest on my drill? They all cut fast!
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But I still got my original 8" Strike Lite auger bit... ;D
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I’ve got a kdrill and like it for the most part but i am seriously thinking of getting one of the new pistol bits or possibly the lite flite. I just hate the idea of buying a first year product though, could end up dealing with what all the pistol owners are dealing with now.
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I’ve got a kdrill and like it for the most part but i am seriously thinking of getting one of the new pistol bits or possibly the lite flite. I just hate the idea of buying a first year product though, could end up dealing with what all the pistol owners are dealing with now.
Should be a non issue. Strikemaster put the guide point on the auger right away
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chippers will always be slower out of the box. for us on 10" of ice its literally a second or 2 longer at the beginning of the season (6" kdrill/6"pistol bit). However as the season wore on, it was very clear the the shaver blades had lost their edge a bit and it became almost identical time wise.
the versatility and guide bit for the kdrill, we kept the kdrill. if we didn't mind sharpening mid season and got 24+" of ice we'd of probably kept the pistol bit.
i'm certainly not going to take at face value a video put out by strikemaster thats for sure.
All are good augers.
I've been running a nils 8in power point. I'm thinking I will try to sell it. Works great, and keeps sharp. Just looking at getting a flat blade shaver so I can sharpen my own blades.
If I do, I plan on going to the 8in pistol bit with the power point on it. Then I will be able to sharpen my own blades with the $15 auger sharpener kit. Might wait untill cold snap gets a snap cover for it though.
All the hand augers work just fine and all are light enough on the drill setups. The only reason to really go with any of these over the normal hand augers is to get the guide point. Which IMO is really only needed when needing to place holes in wheel houses.
I will admit the industry has really played up and marketed the new drill augers well. They've convinced a lot of people to spend $200 on them vs $40 for the normal hand auger.....the weight savings is so negligible I can't see $160 worth of value.
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All are good augers.
I've been running a nils 8in power point. I'm thinking I will try to sell it. Works great, and keeps sharp. Just looking at getting a flat blade shaver so I can sharpen my own blades.
If I do, I plan on going to the 8in pistol bit with the power point on it. Then I will be able to sharpen my own blades with the $15 auger sharpener kit. Might wait untill cold snap gets a snap cover for it though.
All the hand augers work just fine and all are light enough on the drill setups. The only reason to really go with any of these over the normal hand augers is to get the guide point. Which IMO is really only needed when needing to place holes in wheel houses.
I will admit the industry has really played up and marketed the new drill augers well. They've convinced a lot of people to spend $200 on them vs $40 for the normal hand auger.....the weight savings is so negligible I can't see $160 worth of value.
You’re gonna get rid of your nils for a pistol bit?!? I’d suggest holding onto that nils first and seeing how you like the pistol bit. Sounds like quite the downgrade to me.
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I was one of the very first to buy into the Russian Auger Mini Nero and I own both a 6" and 8" and have never even tried the 6" out. The Nero flies through the ice with a 700 Inch pound Ridgid. Never really had a problem with it walking all over but I also am very carefull starting out. I can't imagine those coming out with the point on them but would think they would give anything a run for the money. This year I plan on using the 6" mostly until deeper ice. THen it is back to my recently bought M51 Eskimo Gas auger which I bought at the end of last season. I sold my old Z51 and loved it but THe M51 is just as good and was very cheap. I figure I am only 66 and that weight isn't nothing that bothers me yet. Maybe when I am 76.
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lefty,
I have the 6” Mini Nero as well, and have yet to run it with the drill attachment. I can hand auger a hole through 10” of ice in no time, and I’m 70! I agree there’s no problem starting a hole if you just start slowly, so a point on the Nero is irrelevant.
I think a lot of the issues with placement comes more from “operator error“ or dull blades, and isn’t a point or no point problem. I’ll go to my Strikemaster 4-stroke when the ice starts getting thicker. Ski
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Seems to me that we’re to concerned with speed of cut, doesn’t seem to be that much difference in times. I guess for me if it was a tourney I get it. I’m more concerned about which gives better battery life and the most amount of ice drilled per battery? I run a kdrill 6” and am very happy with performance , it may not be the fastest but I’m usually out all day looking to relax. Just my thoughts.
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shaver always win unless in dirty ice , then itll win once... lol chipper slower but handles dirty ice
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Yes BUT- in a permanent house speed also means water flying all over at break thru, makes a sloppy mess. AND- lazer blades do not like to reopen holes and go worthlessly dull. I like my slow Ion, maybe a pistol but if I can get over Eskimo screwing all the guys that bought them last year. Eskimo shaver blades outlast lasers, I got two years of heavy use and still sharp as when new. Lazers, been there done that, never again.
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I've never been real concerned with speed................. ..............but weight. I have an 8" Mora with an extension on my Milwaukee Fuel. Would be nice if it was a little lighter, but like Agronomist says.................. ....................is it really worth $199 for less than 3 lbs difference?! ??? Right now I say no. May change as I get older................. ...
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Ok so I thought I had a 6" and an 8" Mini nero but they don't make an 8" so it is the 7" I have. I am going to have to check my bits because the 6" I bought might be 5" by mistake as well. OK just checked. It sure looks like a big difference in the 7" and 6". But that is what they are. I will use the 6" this year by hand until I can't get through fast enough. Then it is the old tried and true Gas auger for me.
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;D What a junk of an experiment. Is that supposed to be the official Strike master promo?? The other two guys almost always start a notch later and don't seem to push, where the guy holding their drill is always pushing and working it hard........
That said, they should just focus on their own without trying to compare themselves to other. They have the center point, which Eskimo screwed us all with last year. K-drill isn't the size advertised as far as I know.....
I guess ultimate lesson is be careful when being an early adopter. Used to be that in Ice Fishing the manufacturers were honest and hard trying, but like everything it became a fairly large market and it is about profits......I almost wonder if Eskimo always knew they'll put a center point into their drill when they upgrade it.....honestly it is right out of the apple playbook.......why sell you something complete, when they can sell it to you piece by piece over long period of time....in this case Eskimo didn't even bother upgrading the name or model.
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FWIW its not a true apples to apples to apples comparison ...more an apple to orange to banana comparison ..common features the same drills were used.. the center point ..and the composite lightweight flighting ..after that its about the blades ..all have pros and cons..Kdril/chipper blade con not as fast/sharpen at home not so much pro good for "dirty ice"..Eskimo/shaver blade con not the fastest/ok in dirty ice..pro can be hand sharpened with minimal skill set ..StrikeMaster/ lazer blades con no no for dirty ice/difficult to master home sharpening .. pro fastest . I have the Kdrill ..it is slow compared to a lazer but for my average ice thickness of 12-15 inches does me just fine ..I also fish off some beaches ..road blown sandy areas and some brackish/muddy/silty waters) . Its great to have options ..one could get a Mora style shaver bladed steel auger and save some money and still have quite a great set up ...just be cognizant of the skipping on bare/uneven ice.
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Ok so I thought I had a 6" and an 8" Mini nero but they don't make an 8" so it is the 7" I have. I am going to have to check my bits because the 6" I bought might be 5" by mistake as well. OK just checked. It sure looks like a big difference in the 7" and 6". But that is what they are. I will use the 6" this year by hand until I can't get through fast enough. Then it is the old tried and true Gas auger for me.
Put the Nero on a good drill like the Milwaukee fuel 1200in/lb with a 9ah battery you won't need a gas auger anymore. I kept my jiffy model 30 for 2-3yrs. I ended up selling it because the drill setup with a 9ah batter turns my nils 8in through 30in of ice no problem. It even turns a 10in mora, but works the drill pretty good. I only cut holes in the ice castle with it though......so it cuts 9holes then sits till we move the ice castle.
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You’re gonna get rid of your nils for a pistol bit?!? I’d suggest holding onto that nils first and seeing how you like the pistol bit. Sounds like quite the downgrade to me.
Yeah I'm thinking about it. If I can get a decent price for all the nils items I have. The nils has been absolutley great. I have never had a problem with it. I've never seen the cutting head be touchy either like others have claimed.
The reason why I'm thinking about switching is more due to convenience. I bought a jig and stone auger blade sharpening kit off of amazon last year so I can sharpen my 10in mora shaver blades. Figured with the center point on the new Eskimo it would work great for centering holes in the shack, and I could sharpen my own blades then. I'm kinda one of those do it yourself type of guys if you can do it.......
With that being said, I've own and ran my nils for around 5-7years. I've only ever sent one head in for sharpening in all that time, and drilled quite a few holes.....so it's not a big deal really.....
I mean has far as a downgrade.....I don't really get caught up in all the auger hype. We basicly have 3 styles of blades. Chipper, curved shaver, and shaver blades. They each do the job and have pluses and minuses. After playing around with all the styles over the years......I've found they all work pretty good. Gas...electric.....all work fine. I'm just an electric guy since they are so light and work so well.
The one thing I did learn is I'm not a fan of the lazer augers. The 6in ones are ok, but the larger sized 7in & 8in augers just seemed to give me issues. The 2 issues I had with them were when you broke though at the end of drilling a hole. One is the auger would have a violent jerk when breaking through, the other was sometimes it cut through the bottom but left a chunk that would grab the flighting an pull you down. Why the lazer curved blades do this and not the nils curved blade I have no idea. The 6in lazer is fine....but 7in & 8in. Jolt.
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Put the Nero on a good drill like the Milwaukee fuel 1200in/lb with a 9ah battery you won't need a gas auger anymore. I kept my jiffy model 30 for 2-3yrs. I ended up selling it because the drill setup with a 9ah batter turns my nils 8in through 30in of ice no problem. It even turns a 10in mora, but works the drill pretty good. I only cut holes in the ice castle with it though......so it cuts 9holes then sits till we move the ice castle.
I've used the 7" on my Ridgid 700 Inch pound drill and it does fine up until the ice is over 12". If I use the 6" Auger this year as planned I should be able to go up to 20" with no problems. It all depends on the ice conditions. Or if there is a lot of slush. I don't have any problems with the new 8" M51 Eskimo gas.I don't run and gun like a lot of others. Just getting out on the ice is enough to satisfy me. I only chase Trout and they are always easy to find.
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Put the Nero on a good drill like the Milwaukee fuel 1200in/lb with a 9ah battery you won't need a gas auger anymore. I kept my jiffy model 30 for 2-3yrs. I ended up selling it because the drill setup with a 9ah batter turns my nils 8in through 30in of ice no problem. It even turns a 10in mora, but works the drill pretty good. I only cut holes in the ice castle with it though......so it cuts 9holes then sits till we move the ice castle.
I'm a big fan of electric augers but when you get up into Canada with 4-5 feet of ice the drill powered augers are not going to cut it. I think the Strikemaster 40v is the only electric that could. There's a time and place for everything... Keep your Nils, I love mine like you said they are great up to 2.5-3' of ice Ive only sharpened mine once as well over 4 seasons with thousands of holes drilled.
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What is the weight difference between a metal 6 inch lazer compared to the new lite flight?
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What is the weight difference between a metal 6 inch lazer compared to the new lite flight?
I believe 9lbs vs 3 lbs
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Thanks!!
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Actual numbers
LD-6 is 6.5 lbs and LFLD-6 6" 4.4 lbs.
https://www.rapala.com/strikemaster/hand-ice-augers/lazer/Lazer.html?cgid=strikemaster-hand&taglist=StrikeMaster%7CHand%20Ice%20Augers#start=1&cgid=strikemaster-hand
https://www.rapala.com/strikemaster/lite-flite-lazer-drill/lite-flite-lazer-drill/Lite-Flite+Lazer+Drill.html?cgid=strikemaster-liteFliteLazerDrill&taglist=StrikeMaster%7CLite-Flite%20Lazer%20Drill#start=1&cgid=strikemaster-liteFliteLazerDrill
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What is the weight difference between a metal 6 inch lazer compared to the new lite flight?
The weight savings is minimal. The thing about the light flite is the center point. With a lazer, the blades usually grab really good so a center point isn't near has big a deal on them. However, when you beak through the ice a lazer jolts pretty good.
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The weight savings is minimal. The thing about the light flite is the center point. With a lazer, the blades usually grab really good so a center point isn't near has big a deal on them. However, when you beak through the ice a lazer jolts pretty good.
Your comment interest's me. I have had two lazer 6 inch augers and have never had the jolt you are referring to. That being said, I do have an 8 inch auger that jolts me good that looks like a Strikemaster but isn't.
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Your comment interest's me. I have had two lazer 6 inch augers and have never had the jolt you are referring to. That being said, I do have an 8 inch auger that jolts me good that looks like a Strikemaster but isn't.
I have experienced the jolt on break through on my SM 6 in Lazer ..I believe it may have been caused by one or more factors ..the support bar on the last part of the flite design ..an underpowered drill and/or batteries and operator error ..most of mine were corrected by a new drill and higher amp hour batteries ..as well as an addition of a Clam Plate..and the learning curve of the technique of lifting up some before break through and then follow through/running the drill unit down past the bottom edge of the hole to insure that the lipped portion of augered ice is removed ..sounds complicated but after running the auger 6-8 holes it becomes instilled muscle memory .
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Your comment interest's me. I have had two lazer 6 inch augers and have never had the jolt you are referring to. That being said, I do have an 8 inch auger that jolts me good that looks like a Strikemaster but isn't.
On my 6in lazer it doesn't jolt much. However on the 8in lazer it can be pretty bad. When I ran it with my 1200in/lb drill and 9ah battery with a clam plate it was a terrible jolt. I don't know why either....my 8in curved bladed nils doesn't. So......I don't run 8in Lazers anymore. I've heard some are bad at the jolt and others are almost no jolt at all so it might be a luck or unlucky draw when getting one.
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Few Factors to be considered and can actually be determined by knowing the drill(s) very well.
A)
2 of those are newer with plenty more torque (*Hammer Drill Handle is attached to Drill with Longer 'C' like clamps)
1 drill has a hammer drill handle attachment is only 1/2" gripped onto the drill, older drill and less torque.
B)
They don't show the batteries:
5ah xc is basic and can do the job for an entire day.
6ah xc is basic with a little long day run time.
6ah HO "High Output" upto 50% more power out to the drill (Milwaukee Drills Specialty)
9ah HD "High Demand" longer day use but not the 50% power boost
C)
Different Thickness of ICE where each Drill is stationed as only the people shifted and not the drills.
I'm a big believer in the StrikeMaster Lite Flite, but I did notice not same drills in the video.
Cheers,
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I was one of the very first to buy into the Russian Auger Mini Nero and I own both a 6" and 8" and have never even tried the 6" out. The Nero flies through the ice with a 700 Inch pound Ridgid. Never really had a problem with it walking all over but I also am very carefull starting out. I can't imagine those coming out with the point on them but would think they would give anything a run for the money. This year I plan on using the 6" mostly until deeper ice. THen it is back to my recently bought M51 Eskimo Gas auger which I bought at the end of last season. I sold my old Z51 and loved it but THe M51 is just as good and was very cheap. I figure I am only 66 and that weight isn't nothing that bothers me yet. Maybe when I am 76.
Lefty I picked up a nero last year because of your reviews, love it! Now that Im using it with the drill attachment the auger has a TON of wobble. The two fully threaded bolts that hold the auger to the bit dont securely hold the assembly together. Do you use shims? I removed the handle on the nero because its useless, but would really like to eliminate the wobble as it causes lots of issues. Any tips?
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Lefty I picked up a nero last year because of your reviews, love it! Now that Im using it with the drill attachment the auger has a TON of wobble. The two fully threaded bolts that hold the auger to the bit dont securely hold the assembly together. Do you use shims? I removed the handle on the nero because its useless, but would really like to eliminate the wobble as it causes lots of issues. Any tips?
Try some tape and Loctite ..would be my solution.
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Good info
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Lefty I picked up a nero last year because of your reviews, love it! Now that Im using it with the drill attachment the auger has a TON of wobble. The two fully threaded bolts that hold the auger to the bit dont securely hold the assembly together. Do you use shims? I removed the handle on the nero because its useless, but would really like to eliminate the wobble as it causes lots of issues. Any tips?
Try some tape and Loctite ..would be my solution.
My buddy did this to his HT E-Drill (cousin to the Nero) works fine..on a Clam Plate …also I am not familiar with the Nero two bolt system but adding a nylon nut could elevate some issues ..but this may require a longer bolt/screw.
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Just picked up the 8in Strikemaster Lite Flite as a potential replacement for my 8in ION X, going to try out the Lite Flight this weekend and if all goes well, the ION X may be up for sale
Also have the 6in K-drill that I like, got the 8in Lite Flite for $50 less that the 8in K-Drill