# How To Make My Hand Auger work better



## Wizard3686 (Aug 30, 2005)

Hello all well my question has to do with my hand auger i have had it for almost 6 years and i hate it i would rather use my spud on the ice but i was woundering what i could do to make it cut better im not sure what kind it is all i know is we got new blades for it and used it twice then i put it up 


we had a lil test one day and with my friends on the auger and i was useing my spud i cut 2 holes befor he had one should i stick with my spud of try to make the auger better 


normaily what i do is take and go out on the ice and find sum old holes that arnt to thick and break them open


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## zx10r2004 (Sep 24, 2005)

Wizard3686 said:


> Hello all well my question has to do with my hand auger i have had it for almost 6 years and i hate it i would rather use my spud on the ice but i was woundering what i could do to make it cut better im not sure what kind it is all i know is we got new blades for it and used it twice then i put it up
> 
> 
> we had a lil test one day and with my friends on the auger and i was useing my spud i cut 2 holes befor he had one should i stick with my spud of try to make the auger better
> ...


 buy a laser from strikemaster its like night and day from the one your using.it will cut alot faster and easier.


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## slowpoke (Jan 30, 2001)

:help:


zx10r2004 said:


> buy a laser from strikemaster its like night and day from the one your using.it will cut alot faster and easier.




 
What kind of hand auger do you have? There must be something wrong with it. Have someone look at it to see if there is something out of line. A few tips on using a hand auger, Never lone it out, don't turn it backwards, treat the business end like a fine cutting instrument that it is, always put the guard on after use. Theres more but you get the point. If you have the money look at the elec. augers and get one of those. I am thinking that way. I have a gas and a hand auger now. Hope I helped you out a little.


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## Ed Michrina (Dec 25, 2002)

Yea good advice above . The Laser hand augers aren't that expensive.
On your old auger If the blade isn't angled exactly right, it won't shave the ice no matter how sharp or new the blade is.


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## fishonbb (Dec 24, 2004)

*I BOUGHT MY AUGER IN A PAWN SHOP AND I PUT NEW BLADES IN IT AND IT GOES THROUGH THE ICE LIKE ITS NOTHING SO DEFINATELY SOMETHING WRONG THERE. IF YOU USE THE AUGER IN A OLD HOLE SOMEONE ELSE DRILLED IT WON'T WORK BUT THE SPUD WILL, ALSO I HATE USING THE SPUD BECAUSE I'M SURE IT SCARES THE FISH.*


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## hoffie1 (Dec 31, 2001)

As ED said there is something wrong with the auger.As for the spud comments,a lot of people on these forums have said that the spuds scare away the fish.That is NOT true(at least for perch)I have seen perch go to the sound of the spud many times in shallow or deep water.Back when I used a spud you could get perch right away after spuding a hole.


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## MSUICEMAN (Jan 9, 2002)

i used to work at a bait shop that did auger sharpening and all that good stuff. a lot of the problems arise when people drop their augers hard onto the ice... it bends the blades out of position then you can spin and spin and spin and it barely shaves ice, with no real "bite" at all. Another thing sometimes wrong is their are sometimes shims under the blades and the people installed them incorrectly. Another thing is they bend the handle then it doesn't turn true to cut. The last thing that people do is hand sharpen blades, which is a hit-or-miss proposition with regular blades and all-too-many -times miss proposition on curved blades. Making the edge at the wrong angle will render your auger useless.

Sharp blades even on a non-lazer should cut decently.... if its not, theres something wrong.

steve


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## DAN (Aug 13, 2005)

Do you guys think that the Lazer is worth the extra $20 over the Mora?


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## Ed Michrina (Dec 25, 2002)

I like mora but Save a pay check and get the lazer. It stays sharper longer and works better. The Lazer will cut through open holes or cracks where the Moras will bounce in the same hole. Do it right its worth 20 bucks.


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## Buzzy (Dec 18, 2002)

Do not slam the blades on the ice. It only takes one good wack and it will knock out the pitch on the blades. I prefer to use fresh blades every season. Yes it can get costly, but I go fishing to have fun, not to curse at my auger.  Use new blades and don't forget the blade guard when not in use. Hope this helps.-Buzzy


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## Lake Simcoe ice (Sep 21, 2005)

The leading cutting edge of your blades need to be shimmed a bit.. 

Could be sharp as a knife but if the blades sit at the wrong angle forget it..


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## Southend517 (Feb 18, 2004)

don't borrow it to your neighbor so he can put in his fence.


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## COHO (Jan 16, 2003)

if your auger is blue it is probably a mora, not good for cutting in an old hole. i have seen guys reopen holes with a lazer but i think its best to start on fresh ice no matter which one you use. i bought 3 moras at a garage sale a couple years ago and put new blades on all of them, a 6" a7" & a 8" they all work ok but last year i used my buddies lazer 7" and i could not believe how much better,faster, & easier it cut though the ice. i'm going this year to get a lazer for sure, and would pay 50$ extra if i had to they are that nice! :yikes:


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## BOEDY (Dec 2, 2005)

wizard, i had an auger that would not cut right to. i took the blades off and put thin shims underneath the blades then tightened them back down.put the shims on the back side so your blades point down further. it cured my problem, hope it works for you.


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## Burksee (Jan 15, 2003)

DAN said:


> Do you guys think that the Lazer is worth the extra $20 over the Mora?


If your gonna be out every weekend, and or every evening I'd say so....

That being said I'll be celebrating the 10th season with my Mora. I'm on my third set of blades..... Sharp blades make all the difference in the world! I keep my oiled and hit the edge with a stone now and again or one of them blade sharpeners helps keep the burrs down. I've got a spare set or two I carry in my ice box, just in case. I will buy my replacement blades at the end of the season when places like Bass Pro, Gander Mountain, Dunhams has icefishing stuff on clearance prices......  

I'm thinking about upgrading to a Lazer, I had a fellow that was gonna sell me one, it was pretty new and the price was pretty cheap. I gotta find his number and give'm a call and see if its still available.....  Either way once the ice gets to about 18" or thicker I'll be braking out the Jiffy!


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## Ed Michrina (Dec 25, 2002)

BOEDY said:


> wizard, i had an auger that would not cut right to. i took the blades off and put thin shims underneath the blades then tightened them back down.put the shims on the back side so your blades point down further. it cured my problem, hope it works for you.


Just in case, Shims are just small washers. I recall having a Mora that needed shimming.


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## magnumhntr (Aug 18, 2003)

Get yourself one of these :

Spoon Auger 

I've used moras and lazers both. I like my lazer, but it now sits in the shed. I bought 2 of the old spoon style augers, and they cut 200% better than any of the 'screw' type. Plus, they open up old holes with no problem at all. I get 'em both sharpened at the beginning of the year, and as long as I don't drop them on the edge or use them as skimmers, they stay sharp through the season. It doesn't matter the brand of spoon. I've got a mora spoon, and a swedish spoon. Both cut nicely.


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## slowpoke (Jan 30, 2001)

magnumhntr said:


> Get yourself one of these :
> 
> Spoon Auger
> 
> I've used moras and lazers both. I like my lazer, but it now sits in the shed. I bought 2 of the old spoon style augers, and they cut 200% better than any of the 'screw' type. Plus, they open up old holes with no problem at all. I get 'em both sharpened at the beginning of the year, and as long as I don't drop them on the edge or use them as skimmers, they stay sharp through the season. It doesn't matter the brand of spoon. I've got a mora spoon, and a swedish spoon. Both cut nicely.


I have used the old spoon auger a long time ago. I would not trade my lazer for 10 of them. I have a new one that is old never used. I'll sell it to you for $10 if I can Find it that is.


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## Riffle (Dec 16, 2002)

just a quick comment on replacing blades. I did for years every year til my wife started working as a beautician, she gets her scissors sharpened by a guy that runs around to about every shop he can and puts a darn fine edge on them. I gave him 3 pair of old blades last year and he made them like new again for 15 bucks. When i worked in the kitchens we always had someone that came by and did knives as well. worth a try if you know the right people


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## ih772 (Jan 28, 2003)

I remember as a kid watching guys struggle drilling holes using those old spoon type "augers". We had a new screw type auger and it drilled 10 times faster than those other guys. They usually gave up and asked if they could borrow our auger. There is a reason the spoon types went the way of the dinosaur.


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## Wizard3686 (Aug 30, 2005)

Thanks for all the replys imma go out tomorrow and get the auger out and check the blades and take a couple pics all i know is that it is blue screw with a red handle it hasnt been touched in almost 3 years so im sure it needs to be cleaned and blades touched up


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