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[AkDan]

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[CrappieGuy]

Send them right to Ardisam/Eskimo they will sharpen them right to factory specs, and while your at it buy another set for a spare.

    

If you have a question or comment please contact us at
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

phone: 1-800-345-6007
fax: 715-822-4180

or mail us at,
1360 1st Avenue, PO Box 666
Cumberland, WI 54829

Thank You

[Swede]

I would look at it like this then, AK. It can not be impossible to sharpen the blades, otherwise it would never get done right? Instead of throwing them away, heck, try and try again till you succeed. Buy new blades to keep you going but keep on practicing with those old blades intill you start figuring out. Then start a little side business sharpening for others. Why not? It beats throwing them away. And as hard as everyone makes it out to be and I am sure there is an art to it, it is still not building a watch or a rocket for NASA. Surely with a little investment and some practice time, any man with a little mechanical knowhow could become skilled at it. Just my two cents

[Swede]

Wow, I would think that AK would have lots of ice fisherman. I have never seen how the blades are sharpened. How are they sharpened? Do the big boys, Eskimo, Strikemaster etc have preprogrammed machines? Are they done by hand? What kind of special tools are needed? Have you seen it done when its done right? anyone?

[miranick]

   I don't know how they are done right but I do know that a pretty large saw and knife sharpening store near me wouldn't touch a set of Mora hand blades I brought in to have sharpened. There must be some special trick to it.

[backwoodswalker]

It's all angles. The blades have a certain angle to them. Once you figure out the angle you can sharpen them good as new. I personally have not figured it out yet.  I watch local Walmart around now and pick up a new set every year on clearance. Usually get them for less than sending old ones in and resharpening. If anybody here is in the U.P, Walmart in Marquette has all gas augers on clearance. New Jiffy 30 3 h.p with 10 in. blase for 199.00 Strikemasters are 169 to 199 too according to size.  CHEAP....

[Nitro_372]

They have auger sharpners at strikmasters web site on Closeout Special for 4 dollars at http://www.strikemaster.com/store/specials_week4.html

[Lobes]

Swede,

I have no doubt they CAN be sharpened.  A local knife maker and blade shaperner tried sharpening a buddy of mine's cuda blades and failed miserably.  He had to replace the blades and send the old ones back to Eskimo.  I am sure sharpening the straight jiffy blades is  much easier then the eskimo/strikemaster blades and with all of the hobbies I have keeping my time cut to a T, getting another one isn't going to happen.  Ice fishing here locally is nothing what it's like in MN, WI, MI.  Here a busy day might be 6 or 8 anglers on a hole lake.  Many days I have the lake to myself, not a sole other then the ravens, or the odd skier.  No joke.

Now I'm really curious.
What kind of fish do you go after through the ice in Alaska? Never been there before. What do you folks consider panfish?

[Waubay Fisher]

I've seen Jiffy blades for my 8" on Ebay for as low as $10.00 brand new... granted a few bucks shipping - prolly still under $20.00... I haven't had ot have mine sharpened yet, but I gotta think that it would be cheaper than sharpening?   

I've also heard it is extremely difficult to determine the correct angle and edge... I can sharpen all sorts of knives and what-not w/o problems... but after reading some horror stories about auger blades, I don't want to touch them.

If anyone has any success w/ sharpening their blades I'd be interested in hearing it too!!!

[MikeThePike]

New Jiffy 30 3 h.p with 10 in. blase for 199.00

Wish I coulda got mine for that instead of the $350 I paid.

Back to the original topic. I picked up a sharpener at Cabelas for my Mora hand auger and it seems to do the trick. Its designed for those blades tho. Seems all the companies have a slightly different angle to them which is why most places will not sharpen them for you. They don't want to end up destroying them by being off a few degrees on the angle and making them duller than dirt.

Plus if they are a small shop they are going to be relying on their customers references on their service. They may sharpen knives great but if someone gets auger blades back that don't work do you think he'd tell his buddies to go their to get blades or knives sharpened?

[Swede]

I found this machine online by a company named Thorvie International. It comes with a how to video and costs 1195.00 U.S. dollars without shipping. Hard to find a way to justify that expense. Soon as you got a system down and some clients built, the augers would change. Like the computers were on now, my Dads old parachute or my scuba gear, these things change after a few years and become obsolete or at least a lot of people quit with the old version and move on with the new. It could not cut the new NIls head for example I believe.

[Swede]

So say you charge 7 bucks per set of blades. reasonable? well for arguments sake,
That comes to 170 sets of blades to break even. Machine costing 1195.00 U.S. dollars. Breaking it down to 4 month intervals being 42.5 sets of blades to sharpen per month in one ice fishing season, say 4 months, to break even. Two seasons = 21 sets of blades per month to break even on a 4 month per season basis.

say it takes you 20 minutes to cut, that equals 56.6 hours of your work to break even.

OK, on to 10 bucks per set. 119.5 sets of blades to cut to break even. 4 month ice fishing season would be 29.8 sets per month on a 4 month basis. This is one ice fishing season to break even.

Two seasons on a 4 month basis and 10 bucks per set would be 14.9 so 15 sets per month. 20 minutes per set would be 39.8 hours (40) of work to break even.

I could only see it working if some fella was already in the sharpening business and could get the machine on a tax wright off of some kind. And already having a steady clientele base built up. I was thinking it might be a fun hobby to have and pay for itself, but I seriously doubt it.

[Waubay Fisher]

Good point indeed... I think next year I'll pickup that Jiffy kit that AkDan mentioned... might as well give it a whirl!  If anything else I'll know it won't work and I'll just get new blades!!!

[ice dawg]

Good point indeed... I think next year I'll pickup that Jiffy kit that AkDan mentioned... might as well give it a whirl!  If anything else I'll know it won't work and I'll just get new blades!!!

WF, I sharpen my Jiffy blades with a stone and oil. They are easy . I just hold it at the right angle on the stone and work it until it is smooth with no rust spots and then turn it over and give it a swipe while holding it flat to get the burrs off. I have been sharpening mine for 15 years with no problem.

[Waubay Fisher]

Dawg - I'd just really hate to ruin a set of blades by not getting the proper angle.  I used to be a butcher and knives aren't a bit of a problem for me, can do them w/ my eyes closed, but, auger blades on the other hand I don't think I'd want to attempt... then again I guess if they're dull it doesn't matter!  Mine right now are still pretty darned sharp - I can tell a LITTLE bit they're wearing down since brand new last year, but no complaints yet, I'd just like to have them in factory condition come next season... HMMMMMMMMMM.... you take special orders???  I can pay in brewskies this summer!!!!! 

[winchester 88]

I have an Eskimo auger and have sharpened the blades several times.
 I use my Lanski knife sharpening system.
 This is the one with 4 different honing stones that mount on a wire with a right angle bend on the end.
 The blade is put in a jig and the wire is inserted in a choice of holes in the jig which determine the sharpening angle.
 Pick the angle that matches the factory pitch and have at it.
 This will put a razor edge on your blades so be careful when reinstalling them back on the auger.
 Good fishin....Winchester 88

[adipose]

OK you guys there is a simpler and quicker way to do this and all you need is a belt sander......trust me ive been doing mine for a long time(but dont tell anyone)
you turn your belt sander upside down and clamp into your vise.Make sure you have 150 or finer (220) grit paper on the belt.Next take your blades and cover the sharp/dull cutting surface with a large black felt pen.The felt pen ink marking is used so that you will be able to see where the grinding is taking place.hence the missing black color upon grinding.Mora blades...for your information have angles that change as the blade moves to the outer edge.NEVER GRIND THE BACKSIDE OF YOUR BLADES!
Now put your belt sander on auto trigger..you can hold your blades by hand or clamp them with a welders vice grip or similar type clamp.press with medium force against the belt moving from inside to the outside of the blade as seen attatched to the auger.check for amount of ink being removed from blade.the correct angle will be achieved when the ink is removed the whole width of the cutting surface.With mora blades you must change the angle as you move outward.It takes some skill but can be done.im living proof.Once you are satisfied that you have achieved the angle and sufficient material removed etc. then you will need to strope the blades.do this by finding a piece of leather strapping etc.and strope the blades back and forth on both sides of the sharp edge to remove the burr left by the grinding.The burr will be curled underneath the cutting edge on the bottom side of the blade.Again...NEVER GRIND THE BACKSIDE OR UNDERSIDE OF THE BLADE!
If you look close with a magnifying glass you will see the burr left by grinding the blade.you must strope this off to finish sharpening.It takes very little grinding to resharpen most auger blades.you need only to take off a minimal amount of steel in most cases unless the blade has visual chunks missing.Hope this helps.good day

[Borion2]

Found this online.  Similar to adipose's suggestion.

http://www3.sympatico.ca/sconnell/Polish2SharpBlades.htm

Uses a flannel wheel and sharpening rouge.

Brian

[ifishhi]

ya, buy the 30 dollar jiffy sharpening jig, angles are set.  Sharpening the point might be a bear though it has to be much easier then even trying to sharpen a strikemaster or eskimo blade!

where do you get the jig from?

[Hunter]

Try http://www.jiffyonice.com/accessories.htm#assemblies

[ifishhi]

Try http://www.jiffyonice.com/accessories.htm#assemblies

thanks