Nils velocity

[TRT]

I have a 10 inch Eskimo and having its issues. I am doing more an more perch fishing with a retired buddy.
Considering a 6 inch Nils, I like enjoy cutting holes but looking for something easier than my 8 inch hand auger. 

Thoughts on the Nils?
 

[RStock521]

Nils is the easiest cutting auger out there.  Are you turning it by hand, or with a drill/powerhead?  I use my 8" Nils on my Milwaukee 2704 drill and it's the best cutting setup I've ever had.  Been using this setup for 4 or so years, and haven't had to resharpen yet.  Only "issue" with Nils is that if you hit something and dull the cutting head, you have to send it to Frank DeLuca to get it sharpened and the cutting heads are bulky (and expensive) to carry one around as a spare.

[lefty2053]

Don't know anything about the Nil's but I know the Russian Mini Nero is also so easy to turn you won't believe it. I hand turned my 7" through 12" of ice and it was effortless. I also have a 6" and will be using it mainly this year without a drill.

[hardwater diehard]

Dont Know much about the Nils other then what was stated above ..but if plans for the future include using a cordless drill ... a drill auger unit with a center point is good advice.

[bart]

I'm getting old, overweight, health issues and the Nils cuts like a hot knife through butter. Best hand auger I've ever owned and haven't tried any other auger that I thought was better.

[filetandrelease]

 I have 2 tanakas  long before they were nils and  I’m still using the 4.5” the old 6” developed a cracked flight that I had fixed , the older models are unable to attach a drill so a few years ago I purchased a nils 6 and an 8” I’m still using the original heads from the 80s on the 6 and  4.5 , the original 4.5” head back then was blue ,
Not everyone likes them , lots of choices out there , and I’ve used most brands and they cut just Fine,, not a fan of 1 hand drilling and pushing down with the other hand , drilling with 2 hands is much easier Just my .02

[chilly-willy]

Love my 6 inch nils.. I used it all season long on erie perch fishing at St clair perch fishing


Tell ya right now if you do buy one get a spare blade for it for when your one that came with it needs sharpening you can throw the spare on till frank sharp nIlls  can get it back too ya ..


As a side note you can get a 6 inch mora auger and converter it to a lazer style blade this blade is easier on drill and is a littlw tricky to do you buy the adaptor off ebay and rework them the aluminum threads tear out on the adaptors if you don't rework them .. I drilled my threads out and recessed pocketed the screw heads and used nylock nuts and new grade 8 bolts to do this two different metric sizes  any how the laser is a more readliy sharpenable blade nills take a few weeks when sent out to get back  but blades cost a arm and a leg same with the nils drill it's self..   if you would like a link to the adaptor plates pm me I can even get ya a few pictures of my auger I got the 7 inch and run it with a ridgid octane it cut like butter same with my 6 and 8 inch nils ..

[filetandrelease]

 
 I get about a week turn around from frank
 And CW is right spare blades or heads are a must just Incase the bad happens , I have 2 nils heads that are now 35 years

[Royalwapiti]

I have the Nils 6" orange one, works beautiful with my Milwaukee drill.  It comes with a handle so you can use it by hand as well.  I bought an extra cutting edge so I would have a spare.  At the end of every season I put a sharp edge on and send the other to Frank Deluca.  He gets it back in a few weeks but one year mine needed sharpened before the end of the season hence I bought the spare cutting edge.

A friend has a Nils 4.5" and he uses that to hole hop, if the hole looks good they move there and use larger holes to fish out of.

[hole_hopper454]

I bought a Nils 6" a few years ago. Used it for two seasons and sold it last year to buy a K drill. Didn't like how sensitive the drill heads are on the Nils. Cut great at first but I could tell it needed to be sharpened by year two. What a pain having to send it away and the replacement heads aren't cheap. I was always worried about the auger getting banged around in my sled. Very happy with the K drill so far...

[Papa Sly]

I bought a Nils 6" a few years ago. Used it for two seasons and sold it last year to buy a K drill. Didn't like how sensitive the drill heads are on the Nils. Cut great at first but I could tell it needed to be sharpened by year two. What a pain having to send it away and the replacement heads aren't cheap. I was always worried about the auger getting banged around in my sled. Very happy with the K drill so far...

Im not sure what you mean replace the heads? Cant you just replace the blades? These cant be sharpened anywhere? Where can I get spare blades?

[Royalwapiti]

Im not sure what you mean replace the heads? Cant you just replace the blades? These cant be sharpened anywhere? Where can I get spare blades?

The whole end of the auger is one piece and you pop it off to send in for sharpening. There are not separate little blades for each side of the auger.   I like the setup, I just put the cutting edge in the box my spare edge came in when shipping to Frank and when it is sitting waiting for use.  Note the black part at the bottom of auger
in the photo. 

[glenwyo]

Im not sure what you mean replace the heads? Cant you just replace the blades? These cant be sharpened anywhere? Where can I get spare blades?

The blades and head are one piece. You can't simply put new blades on like people do with mora or lazer blades. The whole assembly needs to be sent in to be sharpened.

[bart]

I bought a Nils 6" a few years ago. Used it for two seasons and sold it last year to buy a K drill. Didn't like how sensitive the drill heads are on the Nils. Cut great at first but I could tell it needed to be sharpened by year two. What a pain having to send it away and the replacement heads aren't cheap. I was always worried about the auger getting banged around in my sled. Very happy with the K drill so far...

Had me Nils 12 years or so, sharpened it only once about 4 years ago and it is still sharp as all get out!

[skifisher]

I agree with bart...I’ve had my Nils for several years as well with no issues. Still as sharp as it was new.
Most all auger problems can be attributed to “operator error” to include things like drilling dirty ice, banging the auger down on the ice, not replacing the cover after drilling a hole, poor transporting etc. Sure the extra head is expensive, and sending it out for service is inconvenient, but so is an auger that you need to constantly sharpen or replace the blades on because it doesn’t cut well.
I definitely recommend a Nils over many of the less expensive, more popular augers out there. Ski

[chilly-willy]

What about that new clam plate with "gear box" and a laser auger or a mora auger? Those or a nils have my vote.. lol's

[hole_hopper454]

Had me Nils 12 years or so, sharpened it only once about 4 years ago and it is still sharp as all get out!

I fish the backwaters of the Mississippi River so the ice has more sediment/ silt in it that most places. Probably why it dulled faster. Nils are more sensitive than other augers if they get banged around. To access my spots I have to climb steep hills up and down the side of the road and hike through islands/ woods. Some spots are so steep you can only make it with a rope to repel up/ down. The sled gets banged around and I always worried the Nils head would get bumped. The cover on the K drill is basically a bucket that fits over the blades and protects it better than the Nils cover. K drill blades are cheap and there is free sharpening. Like I said before the Nils does cut amazing when sharp.

[hole_hopper454]

I agree with bart...I’ve had my Nils for several years as well with no issues. Still as sharp as it was new.
Most all auger problems can be attributed to “operator error” to include things like drilling dirty ice, banging the auger down on the ice, not replacing the cover after drilling a hole, poor transporting etc. Sure the extra head is expensive, and sending it out for service is inconvenient, but so is an auger that you need to constantly sharpen or replace the blades on because it doesn’t cut well.
I definitely recommend a Nils over many of the less expensive, more popular augers out there. Ski

Chipper blades last much longer than a shaver type blade and are much more durable. They don't cut as fast and you can't get as many holes per battery charge which is the trade off.

[hardwater diehard]

With the weather I have been having in my area the last several seasons..dirty ice has become more and more of a factor ..less snow ..so any vehicles ATV and snowmobiles are dragging sand and dirt onto the ice ..and when it does snow ..its heavy ..atop the limited ice 6-10 inches ..so when you do drill its like a geyser ..bringing up some silty water that lays atop the ice . Not certain a Nils would fair to good in my area . Chipper blades are hardier but the slowest . Followed by Mora/Shaver blades ...then Lazer and Nils