The Iceshanty Ice Auger Board is sponsored by
Nils Master Authorized Sharpening Service

Author Topic: Sharpening auger blades yourself  (Read 48769 times)

Offline Colt

  • IceShanty Rookie
  • **
  • Posts: 60
Sharpening auger blades yourself
« on: Jan 15, 2005, 06:57 AM »
Anyone sharpen their auger blades themselves and how have them come out?  I've got a dremel with a sharpening stone but wonder if I'll be able to get a good edge on the blades without messing up the blades.

Any tips or tricks you can share?

Offline RIVERRAT2

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 2,901
  • try to fish over 200 days a year,have cut back now
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #1 on: Jan 15, 2005, 07:13 AM »
colt
i have tryed a lot of times,with no luck,all i have be able to do is mess up my
fishing and that pi;; me off, for the $10.00 i the MAN sharpen them
hope this helps
rat ;D ;D ;D
I LOVE FISHING.IT IS A FULLTIME JOB

Offline iceguy

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 290
  • nothin like hard h2o
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #2 on: Jan 15, 2005, 07:15 AM »
Colt, Do you have a hand or power auger.  I'm not sure about a power one but on a hand auger it's not how sharp it is. It's the angle of the cutting edge that makes the biggest difference. I have  had it done for a long time by Bay Bridge tackle shop on Sodus Bay because Bill does such a good job. Years ago I had it done by others and it was sharp enough to shave with but it wouldn't cut any ice because the angle wasn't right.  For $5.00-10.00 it sure is worth it!!!!!
guy

Offline taz54868

  • IceShanty Rookie
  • **
  • Posts: 86
  • Hardwater Nut!
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #3 on: Jan 15, 2005, 10:12 AM »
in the past i have sharpend blades and had them sharpend  at a place that sharpens them. i feel its best to go with new blades instead of sharpening them. just an opinion

Offline IceGeek

  • Team IceShanty Addict
  • *
  • Posts: 784
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #4 on: Jan 15, 2005, 10:33 AM »
Colt,
  If you have a dremel, here is how you can make your auger razor sharp.  Get some chrome polish (I use simichrome I think it's called)  and put some of that on a small fabric buffing wheel.  Then use your dremel and the buffing wheel should turn so that it is turning away from the auger blade.  Simply run this off and along the top of the auger blade (only do the top side, NOT the bottom as you don't want to alter the cutting angle any)  This will make your blades razor sharp.  I have a cheap mora 8 inch hand auger and it just rips through the ice.  I've used other augers with brand new blades and nothing comes close to this.  I just use the polish to take the oxidation off of the blades every other trip or so.  If your blades are already dull, it might be best to start with a new set and then do this as maintenance.  Hope this helps
-IceGeek

Offline wkules

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 181
  • Lookin' for EYES!!!
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #5 on: Jan 15, 2005, 11:15 AM »
Colt,
Icegeek's method of polishing the blades is absolutely right. If you use this same principle you can also sharpen dull blades. The main point being to do all of the sharpening on the top of the blade. Just a light buff across the bottom to finish it off, but only if you absolutely have to. Doing any work to the bottom of the blade removes material and lifts the cutting egde away from the area you are trying to cut. This is what causes what you heard about folks having razor sharp blades that won't cut anything. This is quite simplified but I'm sure you'll get the idea:

Bobbers Down and Flags Up !!!

Offline IceGeek

  • Team IceShanty Addict
  • *
  • Posts: 784
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #6 on: Jan 15, 2005, 02:41 PM »
Thanks Wkules,
  A picture is worth a thousand words.....hopefully we'll be getting some ice here in WNY so we can use our augers!

Offline Colt

  • IceShanty Rookie
  • **
  • Posts: 60
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #7 on: Jan 15, 2005, 07:11 PM »
Thanks for the replies.  To answer iceguy's question, I have both a 6" hand auger and a 8" gas auger.

I will try taking the dremel to the top of the blades and clean them off.  The hand auger was new last year and maybe the blades just need to be cleaned up.  If I can't get this to work I'll try to find someone in my area that either can sharpen them or show me how.

Thanks again.

Offline Gamalot

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 2,775
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #8 on: Feb 06, 2005, 08:25 AM »
I have had little or no luck doing it myself. The single blade chipper style blade are fairly straight forward and I can get them cutting fine. My double blade lazers are an entirely different matter. I suggest you send them out or replace them because each must be a mirror image of the other and this is extremely hard to do by eye.
Just my 2c.
If I agreed with you we would both be wrong!

Offline Gamalot

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 2,775
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #9 on: Feb 10, 2005, 09:19 AM »
I have to ammend my above post, thanks to ICEGEEK.
I followed his instructions, got out the dremel and semi chrome and went to work.
At first I was discouraged because I had a set of new blades handy and I just could not get the same sharp feel on the old ones. After many attempts, I gave up and put it all away.
Went fishing yesterday with the new blades on. I switched over to the ones I dremel sharpened to see how bad it cut. Much to my surprise it ate ice like there was no tomarrow. Might even be faster then the brand new blades.
Thanks Icegeek, you renewed my faith & my blades.
Gary
If I agreed with you we would both be wrong!

Offline seayaknh

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 290
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #10 on: Feb 16, 2010, 09:00 PM »
thanks Ice Geek!   I used your method and my auger cuts great.  The metal polish on new blades really worked great. The auger does cut better than new after honing them up with the dremel.   I was also able to restore two sets of blades I had badly messed up.  I used an adjustable carpenters square to get the blade angle on a new set of blades.  Then I used the dremel and a round grind stone to hone the blades back to the original blade angle, checking the blade angle with the square often until they were perfect.  Then used the metal polish and buffing tip to hone the blades razor sharp.  They cut like new blades.

Offline Pike Fisher

  • IceShanty Rookie
  • **
  • Posts: 17
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #11 on: Feb 17, 2010, 10:18 PM »
I have used a Dremel for a while now and agree.  As long as you don't mess with the bottom of the blade and follow the angle of the top of the blade you should have many seasons of use from one set of blades.  The first time I tried my newly sharpened blades I couldn't believe how they cut through the ice.  If you are using a power auger don't neglect sharpening the ice spud between the blades.

Offline lakeman

  • IceShanty Rookie
  • **
  • Posts: 6
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #12 on: Dec 15, 2010, 08:09 PM »
Hi guys, I know it's an old post but I just joined and was looking for tips on sharpening the blades of an old mora 8" hand auger. I'll try icegeek's method but I'm not sure
which is the top of the edge which you polish with the dremel... the side that lies on the ice which has a more gradual angle or the opposite beveled side . Do you remove the blades to do that? Thanks.

Offline Indiananimal

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 296
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #13 on: Dec 17, 2010, 11:08 AM »
Hi guys, I know it's an old post but I just joined and was looking for tips on sharpening the blades of an old mora 8" hand auger. I'll try icegeek's method but I'm not sure
which is the top of the edge which you polish with the dremel... the side that lies on the ice which has a more gradual angle or the opposite beveled side . Do you remove the blades to do that? Thanks.
      The bottom side that touches the ice is the side you dont wanna touch really. the top is where you sharpen. Just the cutting edge tho.They have a coating on the rest of the blade. if you take the coating off they will just rust. found that out the hard way. But nothin a little oil cant fix. my mora has blades that say "made in Sweden". I know that they make good tools and its a good hard steel.  And they still cut great.

Offline 5watchman5

  • Team IceShanty Addict
  • *
  • Posts: 642
  • Whose idea was this anyway?
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #14 on: Mar 11, 2011, 10:00 PM »
Thanks Icegeek.  Great tips.  Love the fiberglass mount of your 17 inch Perch.

Offline sincityrednek

  • Team IceShanty Addict
  • *
  • Posts: 566
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #15 on: Mar 12, 2011, 10:24 PM »
I have always sharpened mine, I use a Smith's sharpening steel.
I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.

Nemo me impune lacessit


Offline Yukoner

  • Team IceShanty Addict
  • *
  • Posts: 595
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #16 on: Mar 12, 2011, 10:34 PM »
Through a few trial and error attempts, I discovered the same "secret": to barely touch the underside of the blade edge.  

I have sharpened both hand and power augers, using stones, files and even steels.  All work IF I leave the underside alone.  The most recent job was done using a small, fine, hook sharpening file.  It was an old Eskimo power auger that wasn't cutting worth a hoot, just bouncing around in the hole, with the guy leaning hard on the auger.  That little file had it biting like crazy in about ten minutes.

Ted

Offline 5watchman5

  • Team IceShanty Addict
  • *
  • Posts: 642
  • Whose idea was this anyway?
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #17 on: Mar 14, 2011, 08:06 AM »
Haven't tried it yet.  But is sounds like there are burrs (maybe even hard to see) that affect the cutting power on the upperside.  Is that safe to assume.  Going to have to try sharpening my finbore.

Offline bearnoob

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 387
Re: Sharpening auger blades yourself
« Reply #18 on: Jan 04, 2018, 10:37 PM »
Colt,
  If you have a dremel, here is how you can make your auger razor sharp.  Get some chrome polish (I use simichrome I think it's called)  and put some of that on a small fabric buffing wheel.  Then use your dremel and the buffing wheel should turn so that it is turning away from the auger blade.  Simply run this off and along the top of the auger blade (only do the top side, NOT the bottom as you don't want to alter the cutting angle any)  This will make your blades razor sharp.  I have a cheap mora 8 inch hand auger and it just rips through the ice.  I've used other augers with brand new blades and nothing comes close to this.  I just use the polish to take the oxidation off of the blades every other trip or so.  If your blades are already dull, it might be best to start with a new set and then do this as maintenance.  Hope this helps
-IceGeek

Sorry to resurrect a long-dead topic, but I just have to say for anybody who does this later, that this worked like a charm.

My buddy slammed my mora on the ice Saturday and severely beat up my blades. I bought another set in case I screwed this up but the new ones are getting returned.

I bought the polishing attachment kit for my Dremel for $12.99 and it had everything I needed. I used the included jewelers rouge, which is probably not the ideal buffing compound for stainless steel, but the results were perfect. I just cut through 2+ ft of ice like it was butter.
Hardwater fisherman since 2014. All opinions subject to change as experience increases.

 



Iceshanty | MyFishFinder | MyHuntingForum
Contact | Disclaimer | Privacypolicy | Sponsor
© 1996- Iceshanty.com
All Rights Reserved.