Author Topic: Eskimo or Strikemaster? (Read 9586 times)

PikeyMikey · « **on:** Dec 05, 2005, 07:09 PM »

I need some help deciding what auger i want to buy.. I'm leaning hard toward the strikemaster.. . But I got a few people around that have had bad exp with strikemasters... They went to eskimo's.. I like the Eskimo Barracuda or the shark..

Toughest decision i've made in years.... I've had a jiffy for 15 yrs now.. the same one.. I liked it now its done its time.. They are just too !@#$ heavy...They take the abuse, but in my older age i "think" I'll take care of watever i buy..

So if it were you, Wat would you buy?

tarbot · « **Reply #1 on:** Dec 05, 2005, 09:39 PM »

My buddy and I have a Strike Master Lazer Express and it's treated us great.

PIKEGUY · « **Reply #2 on:** Dec 07, 2005, 11:49 AM »

My fishin partner got an Eskimo Mako last year and we had some trouble with it. Thing is, when I called Eskimo, they treated us great. Sent us a brand new powerhead no questions and were very good to work with. Must've just been a bad unit because the new one is AWESOME. Wouldn't trade it for anything, even new.

goneballistic · « **Reply #3 on:** Jan 14, 2006, 11:10 PM »

I just got an Eskimo Mako yesterday and drilled all day with it today, it's AWESOME. Starts with a minor flick of the wrist and drills great. Plenty of power and smooth hole edges and got through quickly..
It's also surprisingly quiet for a 2 cycle. I've got a Tanaka line trimmer, a Ryobi edger and a couple of 2 cycle RC plan engines and this is MUCH quieter than any of those.

I was dreading the high pitched scream that hurts my ears but it is a pretty low exaust note and really quit.

Another VERY interesting note, SEVERAL times today I drilled a hole, used the auger and throttle to geyser the slush out of the hole, then sat down and dropped the aqua-vu through the hole and in more than half the times I did that, I had cutthroat and rainbow trout looking right at my camera and cruising around.

They were not bothered by the auger in the least.

The last fish we worked was bumping our minnow for 10 minutes and I was having a hard time keeping it on the monitor. I had my 11 year old working the jig and I ran over a few feet away and dropped another hole and dropped the camera horizontally so I had a better field of view. The trout, who'd already been frightend once by a too early hookset didn't leave when I dropped the second hole.

-love the Mako auger

alaskanate · « **Reply #4 on:** Jan 15, 2006, 04:21 AM »

FYI the strikemasters are much slower than most augers out there, i think there drill rpm is around 175. The eskimo shark is like 320, the the mako is around 266.

Fishin Fireman · « **Reply #5 on:** Jan 16, 2006, 11:49 PM »

Have an Eskimo Barracuda 8" and I love it

They are so quiet, the new muffler guard and the compression release is a God send.

The only thing I would change is to go with the Quantum blades instead of the Turbo's. I called Eskimo the other day and told them my blades were dulling up on the river, customer service said the Turbo blades dull faster than the Quantums. I am finding that very true drilling thru river and overflow ice with some tiny rocks or silt in it up here in Alaska. Turbo's are the bomb on the lake ice. I guess I'll let others cut the hole on the rivers for burbot.

My advice is to buy an extra set of blades right of way instead of wasting your time waiting for the store to open to buy more, you might want to think about buying an extra allen screw and wrench as well.

Best of Luck

FF

alaskanate · « **Reply #6 on:** Jan 17, 2006, 02:06 AM »

on my mako 10 inch i have the quantum blades, dilled about a 100 holes sence i got it for christmas. the blades are still razor sharp!

frankrizzo · « **Reply #7 on:** Jan 17, 2006, 09:25 AM »

My fishing buddy has a new 224 strikemaster and all I can say is WOW.....It cuts fast and is really smooth.....

scott14580 · « **Reply #8 on:** Jan 17, 2006, 10:08 AM »

Strikemaster (lazer series) is the fastest auger on the planet. Every year they win competitions against all the other brands. My dad has a lazer and I have the new 4 stroke. I thought that his was extremely fast until I used mine. I have half the foot pounds as his. Which means I hardly have to push down to cut a hole!

lake snake · « **Reply #9 on:** Jan 17, 2006, 10:36 AM »

If money is not an issue, get the nils-master. Only weighs about 20 lbs and cuts extremely fast.

alaskanate · « **Reply #10 on:** Jan 17, 2006, 07:06 PM »

Quote from: scott14580 on Jan 17, 2006, 10:08 AM

Strikemaster (lazer series) is the fastest auger on the planet. Every year they win competitions against all the other brands. My dad has a lazer and I have the new 4 stroke. I thought that his was extremely fast until I used mine. I have half the foot pounds as his. Which means I hardly have to push down to cut a hole!

Show me a spec sheet with some numbers!

alaskanate · « **Reply #11 on:** Jan 17, 2006, 07:07 PM »

Quote from: lake snake on Jan 17, 2006, 10:36 AM

If money is not an issue, get the nils-master. Only weighs about 20 lbs and cuts extremely fast.

yes the nils is sweet, wish they had a 10 inch!

How much is the nills with a power head?

trapperdirk · « **Reply #12 on:** Jan 18, 2006, 12:56 AM »

Quote from: alaskanate on Jan 17, 2006, 07:07 PM

yes the nils is sweet, wish they had a 10 inch!

How much is the nills with a power head?

$479-$499 .

TD

scott14580 · « **Reply #13 on:** Jan 18, 2006, 09:24 AM »

Alaska,
All you had to do was a little searching.
strikemaster.com/story.html
iceaugersdirect.com/

toothfish · « **Reply #14 on:** Jan 18, 2006, 03:53 PM »

You want to Race this thing or have years of trouble free drilling?? I like eskimo because I can call the company and get fast service and someday ALL augers need a little TLC.

alaskanate · « **Reply #15 on:** Jan 18, 2006, 05:48 PM »

Quote from: scott14580 on Jan 18, 2006, 09:24 AM

Alaska,
All you had to do was a little searching.
strikemaster.com/story.html
iceaugersdirect.com/

well sure they are going to win if every one is going to use a strikemaster

Look at this:

Stikemaster Strikelite Strikemaster - StrikeLite Synthetic - Twin Blade
1.7 HP - 4-Cycle Engine
35cc, 6100 RPM, 40:1 Gear Ratio
Synthetic with Steel Drill Assembly

Final drill speed 152.5 RPM

Strikemaster - L224 - Quad Blade
2 HP - 2 Cycle Engine
49cc, 4300 RPM, 25:1 Gear Ratio

final drill speed 172 RPM

Strikemaster Lazermag XPress Strikemaster - LazerMag xPress- Twin Blade
2 HP - 2 Cycle Engine
49cc, 4300 RPM, 25:1 Gear Ratio

final drill speed 172 RPM

Strikemaster - LazerMag 2000 - Single Blade
2 HP - 2 Cycle Engine
49cc, 4300 RPM, 25:1 Gear Ratio

final drill speed of 172.

All of that info was pulled from iceaugersdirect.com, infact if you click on the Product Specifications it tells you the max auger RPM's

Pomoxis · « **Reply #16 on:** Jan 19, 2006, 05:02 PM »

RPM means very little for speed of drilling. Two power heads with the same power and speed, but different gear ratios giving different drill RPM just means that the higher speed one can take more and smaller bites. The other can take larger but fewer bites. The necessary RPM is determined by the blade design.
The main drawback of power augers is that you still have to manually hold the d**n thing still. That requires energy from you. The more ice cut per second the more work you have to do.
The overwhelming issue with drilling ease and speed is blade sharpness and efficiency, whether it is power or not. I used a brand new strikemaster manual once and it cut so d**n easy I am pretty sure I will never consider a (correction)>power< auger ever, especially in NJ.
Only a power auger with the motor anchored stationary to the ice would require no work during drilling.

alaskanate · « **Reply #17 on:** Jan 19, 2006, 07:55 PM »

Quote from: Pomoxis on Jan 19, 2006, 05:02 PM

RPM means very little for speed of drilling. Two power heads with the same power and speed, but different gear ratios giving different drill RPM just means that the higher speed one can take more and smaller bites. The other can take larger but fewer bites. The necessary RPM is determined by the blade design.
The main drawback of power augers is that you still have to manually hold the d**n thing still. That requires energy from you. The more ice cut per second the more work you have to do.
The overwhelming issue with drilling ease and speed is blade sharpness and efficiency, whether it is power or not. I used a brand new strikemaster manual once and it cut so d**n easy I am pretty sure I will never consider a hand auger ever, especially in NJ.
Only a power auger with the motor anchored stationary to the ice would require no work during drilling.

So, what you cant handel a power auger?

I dont know were you are comming up with this RPM have very little to do with drill speed. 170 RPM's is going to cut slower than say 450 RPMs from the nils....

scott14580 · « **Reply #18 on:** Jan 19, 2006, 07:59 PM »

To each his own I guess. Their were other companies augers that placed in other years competitions. Somewhere on that page you can click on another years results. Strike-lite has 32 ft lb's compared to 64 w/ the other strikemasters. I hardly have to push down, just keep it straight. Downfall is $500.00!

Pomoxis · « **Reply #19 on:** Jan 19, 2006, 09:29 PM »

What I meant was "drilling speed THROUGH THE ICE". You can put any gear ratio you want on any engine. The more reduction you use, the lower your drill RPM, but the more torque you will get. Like I said, it depends on the blade design. One blade might have a steeper "rake" and require more torque to turn, lower RPM required, but take off more ice with each rotation, and wind up cutting THROUGH the ice just as fast as a different one with different RPM and blade.
You have to measure the actual cutting speed THROUGH the ice, model to model, for an accurate comparison. You would also have to specify a certian amount of torque supplied by the user, and downward pressure (0?), to be the same for each model in the comparison.
I'll try to find the test results / conditions on the web or something. I seriously doubt the test referred to was tightly controlled like that, but maybe it was.

jacksmelt71 · « **Reply #20 on:** Jan 23, 2006, 09:16 PM »

i have a 3 year old eskimo shark and never had a problem with it. when the blades are sharp it cuts wicked fast! and its real light. i had another eskimo auger for 12 yrs before this one. no problems. get the quantam blades . thats the way to go.

Fishin Fireman · « **Reply #21 on:** Jan 24, 2006, 02:56 PM »

I'm finding out the hard way that the "Turbo Blades"

dull faster and are not as good as the "Quantums" Calling Eskimo and telling them I 'am not

happy with my Turbo auger and see if I can exchange it for a Quantum Auger

Currently have the Barracuda in for Warranty Work, the PLASTIC rope pulley carriage does not hold up so well when trying to start it @-25 or colder. The guy at "Rod's Saw Shop" said he sees this a lot. I don't feel this is an Eskimo problem but a Techumseh one.

FF

J_MAKI · « **Reply #22 on:** Jan 24, 2006, 05:21 PM »

Quote from: Fishin Fireman on Jan 24, 2006, 02:56 PM

I'm finding out the hard way that the "Turbo Blades" dull faster and are not as good as the "Quantums" Calling Eskimo and telling them I 'am not happy with my Turbo auger and see if I can exchange it for a Quantum Auger Currently have the Barracuda in for Warranty Work, the PLASTIC rope pulley carriage does not hold up so well when trying to start it @-25 or colder. The guy at "Rod's Saw Shop" said he sees this a lot. I don't feel this is an Eskimo problem but a Techumseh one.

FF

.

I just had to replace the starter pulley on my Jiffy (Techumseh) as well. One of the "knobs" broke the first year but I never fixed it and the rest of them broke the other weekend(4 years old) when the clutch spring broke and I tried to turn it over. I don't understand all this use of plastic on equipemt that its designed for the use in the cold. Makes no sense other than the weight savings factor and the fact that they feel the need to have a new and "improved" model every year. Just look at the new 4-stroke strikemaster with the plastic auger fins sure it will probably work good in 10-14 inches of ice when there is no pressure on them but up here in 3-4ft of ice and slush they probably won't last a da**. I am willing to lug a couple extra pounds around for the added reliablity.

Jeremy

Icenutter · « **Reply #23 on:** Jan 24, 2006, 06:07 PM »

I think you have answered your own question. An auger that last 15 years and doesn't give you fits is the one I want in my bag. Jiffy's are heavier, but that's why they are so durable and can take an abuse. No plastic pieces on these puppies. The new 2HP aren't that much heavier than the SM. If I can't buy a Jiffy I would get the Nils.

pikecrazy25 · « **Reply #24 on:** Jan 24, 2006, 06:37 PM »

nils master is at the top of my list i purchased one early this year and it is light and cuts fast and easy the only thing i dont care for is that if you need to have it shapened u cant just buy new blades there is a bottom part of the auger that comes off and u have to get it sharpend. but i think the extra money is worth it.

alaskanate · « **Reply #25 on:** Jan 25, 2006, 01:25 AM »

Quote from: pikecrazy25 on Jan 24, 2006, 06:37 PM

nils master is at the top of my list i purchased one early this year and it is light and cuts fast and easy the only thing i dont care for is that if you need to have it shapened u cant just buy new blades there is a bottom part of the auger that comes off and u have to get it sharpend. but i think the extra money is worth it.

Can you post or email me some pics of the bottom of the nils? I want to see if a guy could Fab something up to make it use chipping blades of some kind...

[email protected] is my email addy...

J_MAKI · « **Reply #26 on:** Jan 25, 2006, 09:34 AM »

Quote from: alaskanate on Jan 25, 2006, 01:25 AM

Can you post or email me some pics of the bottom of the nils? I want to see if a guy could Fab something up to make it use chipping blades of some kind...

[email protected] is my email addy...

Could you not just use a Jiffy, strikemaster or Eskimo auger (depending on rotational direction) on the Nils power head if that is what you want? IMO It would be eaisier and cheaper to get some sort of coupler machined than trying to modifiy the cutting head.

Jeremy

alaskanate · « **Reply #27 on:** Jan 26, 2006, 02:07 AM »

Quote from: J_MAKI on Jan 25, 2006, 09:34 AM

Could you not just use a Jiffy, strikemaster or Eskimo auger (depending on rotational direction) on the Nils power head if that is what you want? IMO It would be eaisier and cheaper to get some sort of coupler machined than trying to modifiy the cutting head.

Jeremy

Yeah i guess you could but im not sure if that would even be worth it. Then nils power head turns about 9000 RPMs with a 20 to 1 gearing. My Mako does 8000 rpms with a 30 to 1 gearing. Do some carb mods and i bet you could get the motors to do 10,000+rpms....Meh, it would be cool to have a super fast auger but are we out there to just drill holes or fish? lol

Fishin Fireman · « **Reply #28 on:** Jan 28, 2006, 03:13 PM »

Quote from: Fishin Fireman on Jan 24, 2006, 02:56 PM

I'm finding out the hard way that the "Turbo Blades" dull faster and are not as good as the "Quantums" Calling Eskimo and telling them I 'am not happy with my Turbo auger and see if I can exchange it for a Quantum Auger Currently have the Barracuda in for Warranty Work, the PLASTIC rope pulley carriage does not hold up so well when trying to start it @-25 or colder. The guy at "Rod's Saw Shop" said he sees this a lot. I don't feel this is an Eskimo problem but a Techumseh one.

FF

Here is the news, I picked up my auger yesterday after some warranty work. As you know the rope pulley broke, well I asked them to put a D-handle on so I could start it with big gloves or mittens and they did it no charge to me as part of the warranty. I also picked up some Tanaka oil, which they said was really good. I also asked about blade sharpening. I told them about my blades not cutting and the owner said to bring them in. Eight dollars later he was finished, he said the reason they were not cutting was there was a small burr that was not visible with the naked eye and that was the reason. Hard to believe that something so minuet would cause a big problem. I have not tried them yet as it has been so cold but hopefully problem solved and I won't need the shims Grump mentioned.

FF

Wellsy · « **Reply #29 on:** Feb 01, 2006, 06:16 AM »

Got an Eskimo - Love it - Always starts - Always
any questions?

News:

Author Topic: Eskimo or Strikemaster? (Read 9586 times)

PIKEGUY

goneballistic

trapperdirk