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Added bonus, if ya ding up or bend the metal auger, it can be filed out or carefully bent/tooled back into shape. (Depending on yer skill level) Ya bust a composite....well, it's busted.
Thanks for the feedback gents. So in short- save a couple pounds- centering pointOtherwise not much difference....Appreciate it!
That centering point is a big deal ...can overlap holes and reopen old holes ...in my area late season it is good to be on old/productive holes
Also don't forget that your Drill/Battery will also appreciate a lighter item to turn.
Very true, very good point. The power drive grearbox doubled my battery life...I suppose cutting down a few pounds would add even more run time to the battery.
On a Lazer style hand auger, I have found zero need for a center point. The blades are aggressive enough that they don’t seem to skate on the ice. I dislike them due to the jolt they give during break through….the strike master synthetic has the center point which isn’t a big deal on the auger….but still jolts like the normal had one at break through.To me Strikemaster missed the boat on the synthetic auger. It’s far from light also.The company that did get it right after messing it up the first year was eskimo…..well half right since the 6in doesn’t have a center point.If I do move off of my straight blade hand auger…it will be to an eskimo pistol bit.Here is why.#1 The center point to keep the auger from skating.#2 Ring cutting head blade mount. It keeps the auger from jerking at break through. Is made from a polymer, so it doesn’t get bent like metal causing the blades to go out of pitch.#3 Uses easy to find flat shaver blades that can be found everywhere. Are also cheap to replace or sharpen by yourself.The poly flights…light weight stuff is basicly no advantage to the aluminum hand augers. The cutting head mount and center point is the upgrade. At $150 I though….thought about maybe switching….at $239……I can’t bring myself to do it.
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I did. I want the eskimo with the center point. Last year plenty of sales and could get them for $150. I won’t go higher then that….I think sales will come. That and having 4 augers. One being a nils 8in power point keeps the high priced pistol bit from my group. Lol. When I do pick up the pistol I plan to sell the nils and mora augers to offset the cost.Love the nils….just to long to shove under the table in the ice castle with out it sticking out.
Ok ..I was able to score an Eskimo 8" Pistol w/center point ..$130 on Amazon Warehouse over the summer ..almost scored its ION cousin with similar pricing ..but that turned out to be steel auger ..picture and description were totally off . If I recall correctly Blaines or Mills had tons of them toward the end of last season ..for under $150 maybe less but it was an instore purchase only .Good luck on your quest.
One thing I did not expect with the composite flites was the lack of grab and jamming in the thick, layered slush we get in late season. I used a 5 inch Lazer for years, and got a 6 inch pistol last year, and it was really nice not to have all the jerking and jamming in the hole. I assume the jerking is due to the inflexible steel flites engaging the sides of the hole and jamming the bit downward into the ice, but the resultant torque shocks made the drill hard to hold on to. The pistol has none of this. There is also less ice on the drill throughout the day, because plastic sheds water, and the flex breaks some of the ice off.
It's not the flights.....it is the cutting head/blades. Curved blades vs Flat blades.......
Hard to say, but I think it is both. With the steel flights I can get around the problem by lifting up frequently and clearing the "slushie" that fills the hole. In that type of ice, neither auger clears the chips out like with hard ice. If you let the slush build, eventually the auger jams and sticks, and it can be a bear to get out of the hole. Zero issues with the pistol bit.
Just wanted to update this thread. Noticed a lot of guys were saying a centering point was a selling point for eskimo/strike master augers. So found one on amazon for 9$ and taped the hole in my 6" auger with a m10 x 1.5. Will give it a whirl this ice season and see if it improved punching holes or re punching old holes.