Nils not cutting right.

[perchpounder97]

Ahh good point adker......maybe due to the increase in popularity and demand they have started going faster is the sharpening process leading to less quality....

[wipike]

...When I ran a Lazer I was lucky to get a seaon on a set of blades...

Weird - going on 3 seasons with my Lazer, still plenty sharp. 

[Chris Raymond]

I've watched this thread with sincere interest as I'm a long-time Nils evangelist (6" manual and 8" power) and truly have not had any issues with my augers.  I have not babied my drills and I do not live in an area where there is much if any wind blown grit within the ice.  It's disappointing to hear and see the responses offered by Nils staff in attempting to resolve what is looking like wide spread complaints.  This is not what one expects in the terms of either quality control or customer service for a cadillac product that has received considerable positive commentary and has seemingly achieved significant sales increases over the last three or four years largely seemingly without much marketing and advertising.   So much goodwill and benefit squandered.  I hope it's something that can be addressed as when they work, as mine have and do, there's isn't a better auger out there. 

[esox_magnum]

Weird - going on 3 seasons with my Lazer, still plenty sharp.

 None of my fishing friends get much more than a season on their Lazer blades, a couple go though at least 1 set a season some 2 sets...My best friends on his 2nd set already this year...We are using 8" power augers to, we dont use hand augers...

[kennyd]

After the issue I had using it for the first time I sent in my head to frank deluca like nils instructed me to do. He said the blade was dull and burred. No clue how that would happen since I only cut 1 hole and then it wouldn't work!! Seems like some dull blades coming from the factory. He sharpened it and I got it back in one day. I got the same story from nils customer service. Hopefully the newly sharpened head works!!

[Riffle]

After the issue I had using it for the first time I sent in my head to frank deluca like nils instructed me to do. He said the blade was dull and burred. No clue how that would happen since I only cut 1 hole and then it wouldn't work!! Seems like some dull blades coming from the factory. He sharpened it and I got it back in one day. I got the same story from nils customer service. Hopefully the newly sharpened head works!!

That sounds like you got a reconditioned head, or even a used one if it was that bad after 1 hole.

The Nils guy I talked to at the VT center said that if I send it out it will come back better than factory, but one hole!!!

That is nuts!!  LOL! 

[phishn704]

Fish USA has come through and will send me a replacement head........as soon as they get one in.  After talking with 4 different people finally got a solution I can live with.  Hope the replacement head is awesome.  Although I am still very disappointed with NILS USA customer service. I am a person who may be unhappy with certain products or situations, but will never complain about service.....this may be the first.

[kennyd]

That sounds like you got a reconditioned head, or even a used one if it was that bad after 1 hole.

The Nils guy I talked to at the VT center said that if I send it out it will come back better than factory, but one hole!!!

That is nuts!!  LOL! 

Factory sealed box!, brand new from reeds. I was shocked too. My other head cuts amazing and I picked up a 6 in too from cabelas bargain cave for 50 bones and it cuts amazing too. Who knows!!!

[MT-Ed]

Nils USA had better be careful....the internet is international, and just as word of mouth made their sales explode, it can demolish them as well. Likewise, because there are SO many of us on here that are having this problem, the phrase "class action suit" comes to mind! I must say that the "sharpening job" on my original blades DID NOT look like a professional job. It appeared as though it was sharpened by a technician with poor hand/eye coordination. I haven't seen one that has been "resharpened" yet. I'm taking the replacement head, and the back up head out as much as possible for the remainder of the season to see how they perform, and after the season, I'll send both heads for sharpening (which think really really sucks). I'm dying to see what a resharpened blade looks like!!!! I find it hard to believe that ALL of us are using their augers in substandard quality ice. I have always pampered my hand augers, and NEVER had this kind of problem. I'm sure doesn't want to admit it, but I KNOW they know why this is happening, and it has nothing to do with how we are using our augers!!! Like suggested elsewhere, it wouldn't surprise me if they changed where the heads are being made, the steel being used, who is now sharpening them, etc.  Think about it, WHY would they tell us IF we send the heads to a third party to get them resharpened, THEY'LL COME BACK BETTER THAN NEW!!!  Why wouldn't they want the original product to hit the market with the sharpest possible blades.....that tells me that even though they may make the things, THEY don't know the best way to sharpen their own products, and make the customer cough up another $25 just to get the augers to work the way they're advertised, and supposed to? I think their comments about a "resharpened" blade will but better than new is going to come back to haunt them down the road!!!

[HUNTnFISHSD]

 Sounds like time to by a StrikeMaster Lazer.

[perchpounder97]

Just got a Magnum and a Lazer(Hand) today due to a killer deal....2 for the price of one.

[HUNTnFISHSD]

 Nice.

[HUNTnFISHSD]

 K.

[perchpounder97]

Ya I'm hoping these blades last a little longer than the Nils!

[dsp2]

I had a drunk buddy take my nils and start cutting a hole, was not watching him and it did not cut after that. I bought a second head and sent out the first one. It came back better than new. I will not let anyone use it now. Lesson learned, I take care when using it and it still works great after 4 years. They are great augers, you just need to treat them right.

[Eaglecrg]

Its my guess that the steel in the blades has been changed and I would bet that they are either being manufactured elsewhere (China) and assembled at Nils or that Nils changed the hardness of the steel being used to save money.  No way all this just happened by accident to a product with such a good reputation.  I was looking at getting a Nils but not now.

[HUNTnFISHSD]

Ya I'm hoping these blades last a little longer than the Nils!

 I have had no problems with them so far.

 The only problem is during the mid ice season. Our lake has over 2 feet of ice and we only have a hand auger.

[ADKer]

Its my guess that the steel in the blades has been changed and I would bet that they are either being manufactured elsewhere (China) and assembled at Nils or that Nils changed the hardness of the steel being used to save money.  No way all this just happened by accident to a product with such a good reputation.  I was looking at getting a Nils but not now.

But that wouldn't explain why when Frank sharpens them they cut great & stay sharp. I'm leaning towards a factory sharpening process not quite right.

[Riffle]

These heads always seem to be out of stock too, so it could be that demand is high and Nils hs been forced to cut corners in the production process to meet deliveries and backlog.

Maybe they changed factories, maybe they fired the quality control guy! 

When I talked to Nils a few days ago the exact words related to sending it out to Frank or the guy in MA was "most times the blade will come back better than factory."

Something is absolutely wrong when a factory blade is inferior right out of the gate--it's like selling a Ferrari with a governor on it.

Doesn't Nils have a few in-house "Franks", master sharpeners that make sure the product going out the door is the best it possibly can be?

They need to explain what is going on here.

Can you imagine buying a Leech Lake fillet knife for $99, that then needed to be sent out to a "certified service" center in order to cut properly, or how about a Gransfor Bruks axe (scary sharp tools) that was used to split one piece of wood, dulled, was sent for sharpening and then came back with a note that said "blade was dull and burred, but now it's good, that will be $25 plus shipping please."

Nils better start listening, because as pointed out above, it doesn't take long to go from the most loved, to the most hated.

[harrops26]

I tried to find some contact info for the Finland headquarters but i couldn't. My Europeans dont believe in customer services. I just got my 6" and compared it with the new 8". There is a noticeable difference. The cutting edge on the 6" is polished like glass but not on the the new blade. It still has the lines like it came of a grinder.  This angers me even more.

[Riffle]

You should take some photos and post them here.

I have a new 6" head coming in the mail today and I'm going to put that thing under a microscope when I get it.

If you have grinding marks on your blade, that is really not good and is a different issue then just blades wearing down fast or not holding up, that is a "we don't care, get it out the door, approach" the ensures customer are not going to be happy.

[thehackleguy]

Who is Frank and how do I get ahold of him ??

[fishlessman]

Who is Frank and how do I get ahold of him ??

Nils Master Authorized Sharpening Service

Contact Info:

Frank DeLuca
5382 Jentoft Road
Saginaw, MN  55779

[email protected]

218.729.7941

[Riffle]

"I tried to find some contact info for the Finland headquarters but i couldn't. My Europeans dont believe in customer services. I just got my 6" and compared it with the new 8". There is a noticeable difference. The cutting edge on the 6" is polished like glass but not on the the new blade. It still has the lines like it came of a grinder.  This angers me even more."


Just got the new 6" head from teh Fedex man.

Upon inspection, the blade is very sharp. I gave it a paper test and both blades sliced through the paper cleanly and easily.

As for the polish, it does look like a very poor job, and there are definitely rough grinding marks on the majority of the blade face (it's not uniform) and one spot that is very close to the blade edge. 

I will upload a photo later, but I would love to see a factory photo next to a blade that has been sent out for sharpening, just to see the difference.

I would  have expected the entire face of the blade to be a high polish mirror like finish, but that isn't the case at all. 

I don't have my 1 year old head here with me, so I can't compare the two until later.

Also, the edge of one of the blades does not look uniform in a few spots, probably off a few mm, but visible to the nakes eye--in other words not perfectly straight.

I have an uncle that is a machinist and he does a lot of specialized industrial sharpening jobs in his home shop for very expensive, high tolerance, machin tools, so I'm going to see what he says.

Given all these crap blades out there, he could probably make a fortune.

[bee]

From my experiance the edge on a new blade is not shiny as glass. It will look couarse to the eye. When it gets resharpened it is done different than the factory grind and looks smooth but only about a 1/8 in. on the edge. Just because its not shiny doesn' mean it isn't sharp.

[Polarised]

Just because its not shiny doesn't mean it isn't sharp.

This

[harrops26]

Well i just did a side by side comparison and the older blade had a 1/4" edge of polished metal and ive had no issues with it. It has cut great from the day i took it out of the box.

[Riffle]

From my experiance the edge on a new blade is not shiny as glass. It will look couarse to the eye. When it gets resharpened it is done different than the factory grind and looks smooth but only about a 1/8 in. on the edge. Just because its not shiny doesn' mean it isn't sharp.

There are several spots on my new blade where the polish look is less than an 1/8, but like I said the blade is sharp.

The test will be when I bring it out on the ice tomorrow in the AM.

[Sharp Nils]

 From my observation,  Nils does not have an issue with quality control.   I new blade will look like its been painted over chipped paint.
If you get a blade back from me and the blade was bent you'll see bare metal where the paint flaked off from being reshaped.   I don't like any blades spending the night waiting for paint to dry so it is rare I'd paint one.  Why they come like that new would be a guess on my part but I'd have to think the blade was painted and fine tuned after.
 
  Most new blades gone dull that I see aren't from being abused.   It is what would seem like sand on the ice.  If that sand if fine enough to get blown onto the ice chances are your not going to see it.   
 I know its frustrating to take out a expensive,  shiny new piece of equipment and have it not work after one hole.   You can't blame Nils because of it nor am I'm not going to offend the user and suggest its their fault.    Stuff happens and you drilled in a bad spot that dulled the blade.    What happens is the sand creates a burr on the bottom of the blade.  The blade is still sharp enough to slice your finger off but won't cut a hole. The blade isn't designed to slice, it has to shave the ice.    If you drag your finger nail along the length of the edge it should be smooth.  If there are burrs you'll feel them.    If there was a way for you to do a quick fix I'd tell.  You could try the StrikeMaster sharpener.  This looks like a knife sharpen but it has one cutting edge instead of two. The cutting edge would situated to take material off the top(beveled side) of the blade. If you put a bevel on the bottom you've just taken years of service off the blade if not ruined it for good.  That bevel would be ground off giving the bottom a flat side again. You can only do this so much till the blade is no good.
   I live in Northern MN surrounded by forest so blowing dirt and sand isn't a problem. My blades will cut 1000s of holes and I also use my Nils to open old holes in my perm. 
 One benefit of a Nils blade that hasn't been mentioned is the head is the mount and blades and can be reshaped.  Any other brand auger with a bent mount would require you to bring in the auger to a service center which are getting more scarce.
 My number and email have been posted and I'm happy to answer any questions or talk Nils.

Frank

[hippiemick]

Franks knows , i've sent my heads to him and they come back better than new . Here in new england i get a few years before i need a resharpening . The shipping =s what he charges but i know what i get back is good to go .