Nils 8 inch Not Cutting Good

[Tipup Master]

Have something wrong with my 8 in Nils.  Won't cut with out a lot of down pressure.  Haven't cut 20 holes with it.  Did I bend it or what?  Where do I send it to get fixed?  Feels sharp but not cutting good.

[Border Jumper]

This is the man to talk too.  http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=199166.0

[hoody25]

Sent mine in over the summer sharped and tuned cuts great now. He is a member on here from Minnesota

[fish-kabob]

it not bent get it sharpened for sure... tied to un-bend one it broke the blade fractured it...  all it needed was sharpening... pick up a second blade and or send that one in to frank sharp nils also don't try to sharpen them your self it wont work!  that were every one gets pissed at nils casue they dont know to sharpen them ... even  my laser auger needs sharpening every year or new blade same with my old moras who fault is it if you don't get it sharpened next year your not nils... you see complaints all the time  about it from time to time all it is they need sharpening... closest guy is frank or sharp nils if you will....  any ways just get it sharpened it $30... last i heard that with the shipping...  they void warranty if you sharpened it just a heads up....

[Tipup Master]

Thanks Border Jumper!  I will try and contact Frank.

[hoody25]

Sent mine in over the summer sharped and tuned cuts great now. He is a member on here from Minnesota

Yeah that's the guy frank very quick turnaround too

[djs1968]

I just bought one a couple weeks ago..189$$$...same thing,,after 15 holes wont cut,,just spins,,called nils,,he was a !@%..ALL the reviews I read was the best auger ever,,JUNK,,if I spend that much on a hand auger,,IT BETTER LAST ALONG TIME BEFORE I HAVE TOO DO ANYTHING TOO IT..took it back.Getting a jiffy pro4 propane and keep my old hand auger for a spare.Expensive isn't all the best!!Wouldn't recommend one too anybody!!JUST MY OPINON!!,,,,

[Jim_MI]

I just bought one a couple weeks ago..189$$$...same thing,,after 15 holes wont cut,,just spins,,called nils,,he was a !@%..ALL the reviews I read was the best auger ever,,JUNK,,if I spend that much on a hand auger,,IT BETTER LAST ALONG TIME BEFORE I HAVE TOO DO ANYTHING TOO IT..took it back.Getting a jiffy pro4 propane and keep my old hand auger for a spare.Expensive isn't all the best!!Wouldn't recommend one too anybody!!JUST MY OPINON!!,,,,

DJS - Sorry you are having a bad time with your new Nils.  I suspect that it is dull.  These are really like precision tools and cannot be handled like a big-box-store auger.  If you try to drill out an old hole, or hit someones cigarette butt or sawdust from their waxworms, or weeds frozen into the ice, or God forbid hit a sandbar while drilling in shallow water, your drill head is toast.  You cannot bang ice off of it.  You cannot put downward pressure on it.  Treat it well and there is no finer auger.  Abuse it and you will be sadly disappointed.  If I were you, I would send it in to Frank for a tune-up and start over.  I went all last season, hand drilling LOTS of 6" holes through as much as 30" of ice with only 1 mid-season tune-up by Frank.  I have 2 heads, so no break in the action when 1 gets a bit dull.  Hope the Jiffy works well for you.  If the Nils is not for you, the resale value is probably pretty good.

[Tipup Master]

Nils are very touchy and I knew that.  I think I know how I damaged it.  Was drilling a hole near shore to release some pike minnows and drilled into the mud.  Didn't seem like much but hasn't cut good since.  Would not cut yesterday without an immense amount of down pressure.  Right shoulder is killing me today.  I sending if off to Frank in MN Monday.  He says they go back out the same day as they come in.  $20 plus return shipping.  Very reasonable.  When it cuts good, it is much faster and takes way less horsepower then my old 7" Mora did.  Going to be even more careful with my 6" Nils.

[fish-kabob]

@JIM_MI if he thinks the nils is bad on blade cost wait till he replaces those jiffy blades some of them run about $150 for a blade set.. that were that eskimo hc40 auger  was a better compromise for some.... wait till dull or they get broken or the bolts break from rust etc..etc .. then he will have to replace them plus how crappy some of them run over time they need adjustment it regular maintenance that people neglect same with nills..


@djs sorry i don't think you will be pleased even with the power auger. they cut slower then nils and even finbores from what i hear and know... most are brace bit style augers  like moras this is why they cut so slow but have 3.5 horse behind it so they can be easy to cut threw the ice.. to keep up with hand augers they need to make a power curved blade auger like the laser is what i think...     trust me if the blades get dual your going to be pissed to... so i don't think you going to like it either a buddy of mine has a older ht auger i think  mite be a really old strike master.... starts rough/ runs rough and cut like shasta  my hand auger was faster last year...took him more effort to start but the time i got two 8 inch holes done  his was started... that was with my laser hand auger... 

@tipupmaster good job sending them to frank he the man to go to... thanks for listening to me/all of us about them needing to be sharpened... seen a few jokers on here that antagonize owner saying there blade lasted  5-6 years on the first sharpening think that happened now? lol's but any ways it is a great auger i think you are still pleased just get it sharpened don't fall for the guys telling you is bent or broken... i think they like those e bay deals...   i think my laser auger beat a power auger today the kid is still there spudding his hole open...

[tazdevil300]

My Nils is awesome 2nd year still cuts lots easier then the Lazer I have and well worth the money.

[fish-kabob]

My Nils is awesome 2nd year still cuts lots easier then the Lazer I have and well worth the money.

that probably cause there is no beach area or swim area  were you fish?  i find the sand blows out on the ice and make dirty ice real easy near beaches??  or the sand they use does not  blow very far  or some thing were your at ?? i wonder if swim areas are big in Europe?? were they designed the nils?? cause they get the sand on the ice around here and it screws up the blades real easily..   

[tazdevil300]

that probably cause there is no beach area or swim area  were you fish?  i find the sand blows out on the ice and make dirty ice real easy near beaches??  or the sand they use does not  blow very far  or some thing were your at ?? i wonder if swim areas are big in Europe?? were they designed the nils?? cause they get the sand on the ice around here and it screws up the blades real easily..

thanks for the tip and i won't take it to LSC then.

[Tipup Master]

In looking closely at my 8 in Nils head, I think I dinged the very end of one of the blades.  Hardly anything but it must have been enough to make it just spin.  I will treat is as royalty when I get it back.

[duffy7382]

Honestly, We don't baby our Nil's Augers and we haven't had a problem. We use the 4.5 & 6" Drill augers and they bounce around all of the time. We open holes with them and they end up dragging all over the place while we are prefishing lakes. Our 6 & 8" on Powerheads don't get treated much better and we have never had a problem except once when we bent the auger shaft itself. I understand people getting upset when something goes wrong, but it doesn't do you any good to bash a company or say somebody was an *&#$%^&. If you look what the guys are using out there the Nil's are getting more and more popular. At Vineyard last weekend there were sure a bunch of Nil's ot there.

The one thing that I see happen most, is people bang them on the ice when they have some built up ice around the cutting head. Do that to any auger and it will bend. The Nil's cutting head take abuse better than most because it is a machined piece of steel, not blades bolted to a thin piece of metal.

[Uppervalley Kid]

For those in the north east

Small Engine Repair

180 Hosmer Road

Ashby, MA 01431

1-978-386-7707

[Doeslayer]

For those in the north east

Small Engine Repair

180 Hosmer Road

Ashby, MA 01431

1-978-386-7707

Appreciate the info... But this is a 5 year old thread from Michigan.... And thats a Massachusetts address... Kind of a far drive for us lmao