Eskimo Pistol Bit Auger issue

[BRsnow]

I could drill but with effort, put on the included extra blades after reading this and it is like butter now, I was impressed with the bad blades, even more so now.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Maybe I' miss understanding things.....

So Eskimo had a bad set of blades on the augers which wouldn't cut. So they put a good set of blades in each box for the customer to swap the blades out and have the áuger working like it should......

People buy the áuger and it doesn't cut.....don't put on the spare set and have Eskimo send them new blades taking days?

1st why wouldn't the customer try the other set right away?
2nd why doesn't Eskimo just tell them to use the correct set they put in the package to fix the problem?
3rd why send a 3rd set to a customer if the second set in the box is to fix the problem?
4th looks like the Customer is coming out on top....2 sets of good blades and a defective set once resharpened for $15 will get them a working pistol bit with 3 sets of good blades.......

Seems a phone call and having the customer informed to put the 2nd set on would solve the problem and downtime for all envolved.

[DTro]

Maybe I' miss understanding things.....

So Eskimo had a bad set of blades on the augers which wouldn't cut. So they put a good set of blades in each box for the customer to swap the blades out and have the áuger working like it should......

People buy the áuger and it doesn't cut.....don't put on the spare set and have Eskimo send them new blades taking days?

1st why wouldn't the customer try the other set right away?
2nd why doesn't Eskimo just tell them to use the correct set they put in the package to fix the problem?
3rd why send a 3rd set to a customer if the second set in the box is to fix the problem?
4th looks like the Customer is coming out on top....2 sets of good blades and a defective set once resharpened for $15 will get them a working pistol bit with 3 sets of good blades.......

Seems a phone call and having the customer informed to put the 2nd set on would solve the problem and downtime for all envolved.

So yeah that would make sense if there was 1 or 2 point people directing all these communications but who know how many channels these calls are being directed through distributors, and dealers and bait shops etc.   I'm also guessing maybe a few people missed the extra blades that were in the box.  It's doubtful but plausible. 
Remember a couple of the big zingers that happened to clam in the past and then they had to try and get their message out to everyone about the problem and how they were going to resolve it and do returns and all that jazz.   I wonder if Eskimo was just trying to avoid all that stuff.  Especially if it was just a small occurrence and they could contain it.  A third set of blades going out to a handful of people is much cheaper than sending a second set to everyone.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

It’s all because some people think they should get everything for nothing. Bad blades were replaced in the same box, it was explained to the guy, but he insisted on whining for so long he got the second good set for free plus the redone bad ones. Just like the other guy Sheels wouldn’t price match a particular item AND do free shipping, he hates Sheels now and badmouths them. This site is full of people that still think they’re back in the “pound of flesh” days. It’s a good thing they are still a minority. I’m so glad I’m retired now and don’t have to put up with these piss and moaners anymore.

True......but this bass pro and cabelas merger/buyout does suck.....I haven't been able to find a normal priced item on either site since.

[hardwater diehard]

My buddy who set up is a Dewalt DCD996/Clam Plate/ 8" Pistol Bit had issues cutting with the supplied blades on the auger bit..he switched them out for the "extra" set in the box today and he reports just fine..cuts like a new auger totally different.

[hardwater diehard]

Anybody try and sharpen the junk troubled blades ? wondering is it a pitch problem or a material hardness problem...not keeping an edge as the blades I believe are annealed to hold their edge longer?

Anneal : to heat and then cool (a material, such as steel or glass) usually for softening and making less brittle
Each bar, with its intricate twists, bevels and turns, had to be shaped individually. This shaping made some parts of the bars brittle … . To restore their flexibility, all the bars had to be annealed by heating, and then rapidly cooling them.

[hawg]

I actually had the sense  and courtesy to call Eskimo/Ardisan. It was a batch that came with wrong pitch. Unbelievable some freeloaders think they should get the bad ones replaced even though they got replacements in the box.

[hardwater diehard]

I actually had the sense  and courtesy to call Eskimo/Ardisan. It was a batch that came with wrong pitch. Unbelievable some freeloaders think they should get the bad ones replaced even though they got replacements in the box.

To be fair some retailers were touting the extra free set of blades ..my best guess is that Eskimo is fully aware what is going on ..and some folks may have gotten two sets of blades that work perfectly fine while others have not .. good customer service will keep the products reputation in good standing.

[Junkie4Ice]

To close this out, new blades solved issue.   Also, I noticed the new center bit is 3/16" shorter than the one that was installed when I got it. 

Noticed it when comparing everything last night.   Works now!

So is there a flaw in the centering point that they aren't acknowledging as well? This whole situation, and Eskimos lack of outright acknowledgement of it, seems a little fishy to me.

[lefty2053]

So is there a flaw in the centering point that they aren't acknowledging as well? This whole situation, and Eskimos lack of outright acknowledgement of it, seems a little fishy to me.

They knew about it they sent a good set of blades with it. They were all assembled and ready to ship figured out the blade blades and put a good set in the box. I would think if they took the time to change all the blades out they would loose more money than just sending them out with extras.  The only thing they could have done better is to put a sheet of paper in there letting people know they need to change the blades out. Perhaps they did and people ignored it. I don't know.

[Junkie4Ice]

They knew about it they sent a good set of blades with it. They were all assembled and ready to ship figured out the blade blades and put a good set in the box. I would think if they took the time to change all the blades out they would loose more money than just sending them out with extras.  The only thing they could have done better is to put a sheet of paper in there letting people know they need to change the blades out. Perhaps they did and people ignored it. I don't know.

Do they send out a new centering point as well? I don't really care how much time or money it takes a company to fix an issue, that's their problem, why force the consumer to be the one to fix their problem? Most people had to wait for new blades to ship out to them and others didn't even know this was a known problem until they were stranded on the ice without a functional auger.

When Ion had an issue with their 1st gen ION X auger bits they had a tab on their main webpage with exactly how to remedy the situation. I have yet to see anyone other than the Eskimo pro-staff army even acknowledging the issue publicly.

Again, just seems fishy.

[BRsnow]

Do they send out a new centering point as well? I don't really care how much time or money it takes a company to fix an issue, that's their problem, why force the consumer to be the one to fix their problem? Most people had to wait for new blades to ship out to them and others didn't even know this was a known problem until they were stranded on the ice without a functional auger.

When Ion had an issue with their 1st gen ION X auger bits they had a tab on their main webpage with exactly how to remedy the situation. I have yet to see anyone other than the Eskimo pro-staff army even acknowledging the issue publicly.

Again, just seems fishy.

It cut with the bad blades, just cuts way better with the new. I probably did 40-50 holes on the bad blades. No new centering point, that was fine. Took a few minutes to change out the blades. Good practice if you need to do it on the ice in the future. I bought 2 augers one had extra set, one didn’t. The one without was a gift and they haven’t had any issues. Sounds like it was isolated and addressed quickly. Hasn’t impacted me negatively or the fishing.

[fishslap]

I actually had the sense  and courtesy to call Eskimo/Ardisan. It was a batch that came with wrong pitch. Unbelievable some freeloaders think they should get the bad ones replaced even though they got replacements in the box.

I also called Eskimo/Ardisam.  She said it was bad blades and that she would send new ones and a replacement centering point even though I did say anything about the point.  I asked if she knew if the extra blades were also bad and she said she knew nothing about extra blades and said she would just send an extra set in case those were bad also.  I think there’s a lot of speculation going on in this thread.  I can only present the facts.  Some speculation by guys that don’t even have the auger!

[DTro]

I think we can all agree that there is a good reason the extra blades are in there, we just don't know what that is. 

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Piss and moan, piss and moan. It never ends.

So has anyone complained how much time it cost them to switch blades on the auger & expect reimbursement from eskimo?

[SKUNKZ]

Hi Guys,

First post here. I noticed my pistol bit started "shaving" instead of cutting recently. I bought it a couple months ago but have only drilled maybe 50 holes. I decided the blades were worn out and bought some new ones. After buying them I searched online to see if anyone else was having issues and stumbled upon this forum. When I bought my pistol (November 2020) it only came with one set of blades. I see here that it has since been sold with two sets. I did notice the new blades I bought are a smidge longer than the old ones. Below I have some pictures showing the two. The old ones on top and the new ones on bottom. The last picture shows the wear on the original blades. It was all on the outer edge. The angle of the blades appeared the same to my eyes. I'm not sure if this means anything but thought I'd share what i found. I just put the new blades on tonight so I haven't tried drilling with them. I will let you all know how they do in the next day or two. I have more pictures if there is anything in particular you guys have questions about.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

It looks more like the damage on the blade came from hitting a pocket of something in the ice like sand or something.

Just looks like it needs to be resharpened. If  it was a bad set, when resharpened they would be good.

[4Buck]

Bought my Pistol about a month ago, drill around 50 holes total. Cut great at first, Ice was soft as it was real warm out. Temps dropped down below 0 and had to lean on auger very hard to start the hole. Called Eskimo and told her what was going on and she was very nice. They are sending out new blades and center point this week.

I have a Eskimo hand auger that I have been using on a Clam plate for the last few years, I took those blades and put them on the Pistol and it cuts great. I will just save the new blades for when these old ones dull. Eskimo was very good to work with.

[badger132]

It looks more like the damage on the blade came from hitting a pocket of something in the ice like sand or something.

Just looks like it needs to be resharpened. If  it was a bad set, when resharpened they would be good.

Or dropping the blades on the ice. Once people cut a few thousand holes with a center point, it is impossible not to drop the auger on the ice to start. Those blades are damaged, like I have never seen on any blades I have had. If you can see it in a phone picture, the edge is badly damaged.

[Junkie4Ice]

Or dropping the blades on the ice. Once people cut a few thousand holes with a center point, it is impossible not to drop the auger on the ice to start. Those blades are damaged, like I have never seen on any blades I have had. If you can see it in a phone picture, the edge is badly damaged.

The pistol bit has a centering point, so dropping the auger on the ice shouldn't affect the shaver blades if the centering point hits first. I think that's the point you were making, right? It looks like it went through some dirty ice to me.

All in all it looks like eskimo's blade quality is in question this year. Fortunately their customer service makes up for it. Hopefully they make adjustments before next season, two years of bad reviews are hard to come back from.

Side note - Many phone cameras are better quality than the digital camera pictures most of us are familiar with these days. It's pretty impressive.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

So is there a flaw in the centering point that they aren't acknowledging as well? This whole situation, and Eskimos lack of outright acknowledgement of it, seems a little fishy to me.

I don’t know why there would be a flaw in the center point all it does is hold the auger from skipping. Doesn’t do any cutting really.

[Junkie4Ice]

I don’t know why there would be a flaw in the center point all it does is hold the auger from skipping. Doesn’t do any cutting really.

I agree, it's just interesting that the new one the guy was sent was a different size than the original one.

[toddme]

Got the 8" from Marine General Dec 2020. No extra set of blades. Worked like a champ right out of the box. I love it.....so do all my buddies!

[SKUNKZ]

Or dropping the blades on the ice. Once people cut a few thousand holes with a center point, it is impossible not to drop the auger on the ice to start. Those blades are damaged, like I have never seen on any blades I have had. If you can see it in a phone picture, the edge is badly damaged.

Yea I don’t recall dropping the auger at all. I should have shown both blades. They are both damaged the same way and the same distance from the edge. I suppose I may have hit some dirty ice but I don’t fish dirty ice...

[hardwater diehard]

Yea I don’t recall dropping the auger at all. I should have shown both blades. They are both damaged the same way and the same distance from the edge. I suppose I may have hit some dirty ice but I don’t fish dirty ice...

Could just be the hardening  process was flawed ..Eskimo admits to the wrong angle ..could be both.. that the ice auger community is experiencing . 

[SKUNKZ]

Hi Guys,

First post here. I noticed my pistol bit started "shaving" instead of cutting recently. I bought it a couple months ago but have only drilled maybe 50 holes. I decided the blades were worn out and bought some new ones. After buying them I searched online to see if anyone else was having issues and stumbled upon this forum. When I bought my pistol (November 2020) it only came with one set of blades. I see here that it has since been sold with two sets. I did notice the new blades I bought are a smidge longer than the old ones. Below I have some pictures showing the two. The old ones on top and the new ones on bottom. The last picture shows the wear on the original blades. It was all on the outer edge. The angle of the blades appeared the same to my eyes. I'm not sure if this means anything but thought I'd share what i found. I just put the new blades on tonight so I haven't tried drilling with them. I will let you all know how they do in the next day or two. I have more pictures if there is anything in particular you guys have questions about.

Hi Guys,

I went out today with the new blades and the pistol bit cut like a dream. I am curious why the replacement ones are a little longer. Also, I'm sure this has been posted on a different thread but I got this adapter and it's super awesome! https://www.deepfreezefishing.com/product-category/accessories/

[wygeargeek]

Having been reading the last 4 pages of complaints on the pistol bit I feel the need to comment that I purchased one of the original pistol bit without the centering point. I have now used it for two years and hundreds of holes and feel it is by far the best ice fishing purchase I ever made. All of the complaints about the lack of a centering point had me concerned but I quickly learned to start slow until it bit then hammer it. Never have even had a close call with this technique. Sand in the ice dulled my original blades and it just quit cutting. Changed to a set of Mora blades and have never looked back. Love my Pistol bit and highly recommend it.

[badger132]

Having been reading the last 4 pages of complaints on the pistol bit I feel the need to comment that I purchased one of the original pistol bit without the centering point. I have now used it for two years and hundreds of holes and feel it is by far the best ice fishing purchase I ever made. All of the complaints about the lack of a centering point had me concerned but I quickly learned to start slow until it bit then hammer it. Never have even had a close call with this technique. Sand in the ice dulled my original blades and it just quit cutting. Changed to a set of Mora blades and have never looked back. Love my Pistol bit and highly recommend it.

X2- I have been using hand auger bits on a drill for 6 years, and just got a pistol bit this year. Wish I had done it sooner! Slower than a Lazer, but so much easier to hold on to, and lighter!

[hardwater diehard]

My buddy who set up is a Dewalt DCD996/Clam Plate/ 8" Pistol Bit had issues cutting with the supplied blades on the auger bit..he switched them out for the "extra" set in the box today and he reports just fine..cuts like a new auger totally different.

I got a chance to use my buddy's set up DCD996/Clam Plate/ 8" Pistol Bit(with new/supplied blades from the box) ..with a 9ah Flexvolt battery ..I was cutting through 17-18 inches of ice/snow ..my thoughts on the set up...it is a beast ..the flighting is very similar to a power head auger so it moved the chips up an out ..its was very powerful I had to "hold" on" during the process ..it was also smooth at break through . My set up Mil 2704/Clam plate/8" HT E-Drill..has about 2 flights to every one flight of the Eskimo Pistol Bit..it seemed faster then my set up ..I also notice the Pistol Bit seemed to cut a larger then 8" hole .

[BRsnow]

Hi Guys,

I went out today with the new blades and the pistol bit cut like a dream. I am curious why the replacement ones are a little longer. Also, I'm sure this has been posted on a different thread but I got this adapter and it's super awesome! https://www.deepfreezefishing.com/product-category/accessories/

Thank you for the link, great product! Switch from auger, anchor bit, easy to pack up, actually a real difference maker. Great quality as well.