# Can it get any better than a Nils ?? Yes it can !!!!



## lovin life

Just found Nils has come out with a 6” FOLDING auger, set up specifically for cordless drills !! Heaven just got better


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## lovin life

I like


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## icebucketjohn

*NICE!!!!!*


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## quicktafix1

Wrong picture......here is the right one





















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## lovin life

Haha. Awesome. Went electric to I see !! I actually use the Nils on the Clam Plate with the Milwaukee Fuel drill. Can’t be beat .


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## lovin life

Got buddies in Michigan that use that K drill set up. They love it


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## DBV

That is neat - Nils must have just come out with that. Should have gotten that instead of the Orange Nils I just got.


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## STRONGPERSUADER

Is that a float right after the drill? If not your going to lose it if it comes out of the arbor.


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## Scum_Frog

Yes it’s a float of comes out of chuck. I’ve been tossing back and forth the kdrill or keeping my set up for now.


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## Lundy

I purchased the Nils Arctic Trekker last year. You can set it up at 3 different lengths depending on ice thickness. You can use top section only, bottom section only or both sections for the full length. Comes with power adapter and a manual handle. I purchased the Milwaukee Fuel to power it.


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## RStock521

Lundy has got the best setup. Nice and compact. I got the regular full-size Nils this year, and his setup is the one I wish I got. The full-size one is pretty tall and I'm 6'.


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## STRONGPERSUADER

Lundy said:


> I purchased the Nils Arctic Trekker last year. You can set it up at 3 different lengths depending on ice thickness. You can use top section only, bottom section only or both sections for the full length. Comes with power adapter and a manual handle. I purchased the Milwaukee Fuel to power it.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 251967


Same here a few yrs back. I will never go back to hand drilling. This thing is worth every penny.


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## STRONGPERSUADER

Say ello to my lil friend...


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## bobberbucket

STRONGPERSUADER said:


> View attachment 251973
> Say ello to my lil friend...


I need so set my arctic trekker up like this!


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## STRONGPERSUADER

It's all about the lesser weight for me these days. Gettin old.


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## icebucketjohn

Mine:
Nils 6" Convertible
Clam Plate
DeWalt 20V Drill


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## Gill

Just picked up the Milwaukee fuel 18 v. What settings are you using for torque and speed? Coupled with a nils 8 inch orange


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## STRONGPERSUADER

Always run it on the lowest speed or it will walk on you. No pressure, just let the blades cut.


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## RStock521

Drill in the "1" setting.


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## lovin life

Nils is in a class of its own IMO


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## Big Joshy

drilled 50 8" holes today in -9 temps in 6 to 8" ice with the nills/fuel short combo. showed no signs of slowing down. I put the extra arm on the drill and had no trouble drilling on high speed when i keep it stable to start. Literally would rather do 50 holes with this setup than a handfull with a hand auger. only downside is the setup is pretty heavy for its size


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## "chillin"

I have an 8 inch nils with the m18 fuel. Sunday i drilled around 80 holes looking for fish and the battery still showed half charged.


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## fishnguy

lovin life said:


> I like
> View attachment 251933


I'm in the market for a new auger now. Has anyone used this?


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## STRONGPERSUADER

fishnguy said:


> I'm in the market for a new auger now. Has anyone used this?


I would compare prices with the nils trekker. Either way you can't go wrong and you will never go back to hand drilling if your old like IBJ and I. The trekker is really hard to find in an 8" right now tho.


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## Big Joshy

Correction to my post. It turns out i have been drilling at low speed on the fuel drill all along. It drilled holes so fast I just assumed there was a slower speed. 4 trips in and yeah cant imagine hand drilling ever again. Punches holes fast quiet and without hesitation. No more thinking “Man do I really want to drill another hole”


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## lovin life

Used the foldable Nils for the first time this weekend. Drilled like a champ, and zero balance issues paired with the Clam plate. Was really worried about the balance issue with a hinge. But came through with flying colors. Got mine for $179 thru FishUSA Delivered in 2 days !


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## Lundy

Used my Trekker today with the fuel on my pond for the first time. Wasn't much of a test. It was only 4" of ice and it was through so quick you couldn't really tell much other than it it was through the ice really fast!


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## fishnguy

Would my 18volt craftsman do the job or do I need to buy another drill?


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## miked913

fishnguy said:


> Would my 18volt craftsman do the job or do I need to buy another drill?


Any drill will do it,. The thing guys are looking for are brushless drills, all that drag from the augers are tough on brushes and lithium batteries with a high Ah rating, because the cold is tough on old batteries, if it we're me I'd bring your drill, extra batteries and the manual handle with you the 1st trip out, once you see what you've been missing out on stop at home Depot on the way home And getcha a Milwaukee drill!


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## hailtothethief

You guys are crazy. A nils blade is a couple hundred bucks . That’s like 400 bucks to drill holes in ice with a good drill.

There better be real thick ice if that was my money.. 

I got a heavy 5 foot iron bar for free. Chips through any ice in no time. Im young though.


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## miked913

Was drilling 6" holes yesterday in 9" of clear ice, my wife was timing me...4seconds, have fun chipping


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## hailtothethief

I need a new deer gun. A coyote gun. A flotation ice suit, and now a drill and auger. You guys are costing me money lol That’s probably 2000 bucks just in the last few months you guys got me wanting to spend.


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## STRONGPERSUADER

Chip about 10 holes with that. You got more time in chipping than ya do fishing. That would take us about 60 sec. Not to mention you have every fish in a 100yrd radius trying to get away from you with all the pounding. Lol. I can get a new cutting head for mine for 70 bucks. Thing is, I haven't had to yet since I've had it. We aren't trying to get ya to buy anything, just putting the info out there for all. Wa all know it can get expensive, just bang for the buck which I would think is most ice guys mentality on here. 
Ps... I've killed a few yotes with my deer gun.


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## RStock521

You can also get a Nils sharpened for $20, plus shipping both ways. Google "Frank Deluca Nils". Guys on another forum says it cuts better than new when they get it back from him, if that's even possible.


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## fishnguy

lovin life said:


> Used the foldable Nils for the first time this weekend. Drilled like a champ, and zero balance issues paired with the Clam plate. Was really worried about the balance issue with a hinge. But came through with flying colors. Got mine for $179 thru FishUSA Delivered in 2 days !



Placed my order today. Looking forward to trying it out soon.


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## hailtothethief

I’ll definately get one. I dont wanna chip through20 inches again. I looked at the milwakee fuel m18 hammer drill at home depot. 300 bucks lol. 

Not sure i like the idea of folding. Think it will lose integrity more likely over time. The trekker is 219 on fish usa. The foldable is 179. Cheaper but prob more cheaper made. Both are only available in 6 inch. I guess i could drill two holes next to eachother for a bigger hole.


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## icebucketjohn

For very thick ice:


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## lovin life

hailtothethief said:


> You guys are crazy. A nils blade is a couple hundred bucks . That’s like 400 bucks to drill holes in ice with a good drill.
> 
> There better be real thick ice if that was my money..
> 
> I got a heavy 5 foot iron bar for free. Chips through any ice in no time. Im young though.


Lololol. You use that iron bar.


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## lovin life

So far the foldable has worked great. Because of how the hinge is designed, I’d not expect any issues, but time will tell.


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## icebucketjohn

lovin life said:


> Lololol. You use that iron bar.


2x LL... that iron bar gets mighty heavy after a dozen holes. A Battery or Gas Auger will drill circles around ya.


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## laynhardwood

hailtothethief said:


> You guys are crazy. A nils blade is a couple hundred bucks . That’s like 400 bucks to drill holes in ice with a good drill.
> 
> There better be real thick ice if that was my money..
> 
> I got a heavy 5 foot iron bar for free. Chips through any ice in no time. Im young though.


What lol that’s dedication there now. I have an old mora auger you can have. It needs blades but it’s free if you want it. Send me a pm and we can find a time to meet up.


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## WHITE DEVIL

I use a six inch Nils with a dewalt with the flex volt battery. 75 plus holes in 8 inch ice. Never using gas auger again.


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## STRONGPERSUADER

hailtothethief said:


> I’ll definately get one. I dont wanna chip through20 inches again. I looked at the milwakee fuel m18 hammer drill at home depot. 300 bucks lol.
> 
> Not sure i like the idea of folding. Think it will lose integrity more likely over time. The trekker is 219 on fish usa. The foldable is 179. Cheaper but prob more cheaper made. Both are only available in 6 inch. I guess i could drill two holes next to eachother for a bigger hole.


You don't have to buy a 300.00 hammer drill. I use a dewalt 20v drill. You can catch them on sale all the time.


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## Gill

hailtothethief said:


> I’ll definately get one. I dont wanna chip through20 inches again. I looked at the milwakee fuel m18 hammer drill at home depot. 300 bucks lol.
> 
> Not sure i like the idea of folding. Think it will lose integrity more likely over time. The trekker is 219 on fish usa. The foldable is 179. Cheaper but prob more cheaper made. Both are only available in 6 inch. I guess i could drill two holes next to eachother for a bigger hole.


Picked up a Milwaukee fuel kit with 2 5 amp batteries and charger for $209 plus free shipping on eBay. Take a look around for a deal.


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## BFG

I have the Ridgid brushless and paired it with an 8" k-drill. Using a 4ah battery, I drilled 7 holes and 6 hours later after sitting in the bucket in the shanty I still had at least 75% battery left. Took about 15 seconds to go through 10" of ice. Can't push down at all....just let the auger pull itself through. 

Ridgid stuff has a lifetime warranty on the drill, batteries, and I got an impact driver too. I use the drill to put the ice anchors in with the Clam adapter. 

It's like asking the age old question..."snowmobile or quad." Sure, I have as much in the Ridgid stuff plus k-drill as I would in a gas auger, but at least I can use the drills around the house all year, much like a quad can be used all year round. 

And....I'm on foot all the time, so weight is an issue. Damn thing weighs less than 10# total. Power augers are heavy as hell.


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## Scum_Frog

Ive been contemplating on upgrading my auger.....I honestly have zero issues with my mora/Milwaukee set up....I drill through the ice extremely fast and its done me well with no issues. Used this set up since 2014 and drilled through the 26"+ of ice we had on erie back to back years. Wondering if I should just keep my money for a bit or buy the nils or k drill?


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## icebucketjohn

Scum_Frog.... Face the Facts: You're getting older. Just as the rest of us, ya can't hand drill the same many holes year after year. Eventually the sap in energy & stamina gets to ya. Believe me, a battery powered auger is lighter than the gasoline models, less hassles and really a pleasure to use with very thick ice.


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## laynhardwood

The problem with the Mora is blade reliability. The blades can break off and then you are stuck. The Nils blade is not going to break off and the K drill is a lifetime guarantee on never needing another blade or even sharpening it. The Nils trekker or the K drill are probably the best choices available today.


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## BFG

K-drill blades are warrantied against breakage, not against ever needing to be sharpened. You can send them to the company and they will sharpen one time for free. Supposedly this should only need to happen every 3-4 years after "moderate" use according to the brochure. If you buy the Chinese Mora blades, they suck. I didn't pay attention a few years back and made that mistake. 

I ordered my k-drill from Glens Army Navy store in Minnesota. Cabelas was backordered for at least 10 days. Glen's had the auger to me in 3 days. Free shipping, $229 out the door with a cover to boot. Great people with which to work, and $20.00 less than the big box store.


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## laynhardwood

I gotcha my friend told me some bad info about lifetime blade but a free sharpening is still decent.


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## hailtothethief

I sharpened my friends mora blades today. After a couple years they had chips all over them. My iron bar hand punched holes far faster with little effort compared to that thing. 

Im sure it cut through the ice perfect and effortlessly at first but you can visibly see how much better the nils metal looks compared to the mora. I think the mora was made for the average joe who goes out once a year and drills a hole.


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## K Metzger

hailtothethief said:


> I’ll definately get one. I dont wanna chip through20 inches again. I looked at the milwakee fuel m18 hammer drill at home depot. 300 bucks lol.
> 
> Not sure i like the idea of folding. Think it will lose integrity more likely over time. The trekker is 219 on fish usa. The foldable is 179. Cheaper but prob more cheaper made. Both are only available in 6 inch. I guess i could drill two holes next to eachother for a bigger hole.


I have the Nils trekker in a 8"


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## STRONGPERSUADER

K Metzger said:


> I have the Nils trekker in a 8"


Nice, those are hard to get.


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## Scum_Frog

I forgot I still have this Nils at home. Wondering if I should send it out and get the head sharpened and then can I buy drill adapter? Thanks?!


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## Scum_Frog

assuming thats what I would need to purchase to get it as an adapter?


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## laynhardwood

Scum_Frog said:


> assuming thats what I would need to purchase to get it as an adapter?


Yes I have that adapter for my 8 and 6. The adapter works awesome with either one. My 8 was made by a member on here named Toobuzz. It works awesome and he made it before Nils started offering the adapter. I recently bought one for my 6” because it’s even lighter and i can use my light compact drill with it easier. You will like the Nils/drill combo.


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## STRONGPERSUADER

Scum_Frog said:


> assuming thats what I would need to purchase to get it as an adapter?


Gonna order one for my nils manual 8 too. 6" trekker spoiled me.


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## hailtothethief

I purchased the nils arctic trekker convertible 6 inch. The top piece just spins around when i drill and actually comes out! Just my luck. Was it poorly welded or are you supposed to buy an adapter separately. I assume i got a dud since you cant hand auger either.


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## Scum_Frog

by the way that looks it definitely should not spin and should of been welded. Thats crazy.


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## hailtothethief

I cant have nice things lol.


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## miked913

Looks like it's not even centered? I guess you'll get to see if the customer service is any good?


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## RStock521

hailtothethief said:


> View attachment 252997
> 
> 
> I purchased the nils arctic trekker convertible 6 inch. The top piece just spins around when i drill and actually comes out! Just my luck. Was it poorly welded or are you supposed to buy an adapter separately. I assume i got a dud since you cant hand auger either.


. Nils is aware of the issue. I saw someone on another forum had the same issue and it sounds like there was a bad batch because there's supposed to be a weld on top too. Nils replaced auger.


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## hailtothethief

Figures.. i called em today and left a message. The blade looks good though. Hopefully i get to try it this year. The next batch they send out is supposed to be february.


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## miked913

I'd take it and have a small weld put on it and use it til the new plate comes


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## RStock521

miked913 said:


> I'd take it and have a small weld put on it and use it til the new plate comes


 Yup, this is exactly what Nils suggested. They credited the guy with up to $20 for the weld, then they are sending him a new auger once the new batch arrives.


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## STRONGPERSUADER

I ordered one for mys nils 8 today, knockoff so I hope the quality is good. 

http://cdn3.bigcommerce.com/s-mosoy...1015-0249__13185.1509501204.1280.1280.jpg?c=2


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## STRONGPERSUADER

STRONGPERSUADER said:


> I ordered one for mys nils 8 today, knockoff so I hope the quality is good.
> 
> http://cdn3.bigcommerce.com/s-mosoy...1015-0249__13185.1509501204.1280.1280.jpg?c=2


Plus it was in stock, all the nils 8in adapters are back ordered.


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## fishnguy

So what setting do i set the Milwaukee Fuel m18. Speed 1...drill mode so the Torque doesn't matter, correct?


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## STRONGPERSUADER

Slowest setting any let the blade do the work, fast setting will walk on ya.


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## fishnguy

Also, how do I ensure the auger doesn't detach from the drill and fall down the hole? I'm learning here!


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## laynhardwood

fishnguy said:


> Also, how do I ensure the auger doesn't detach from the drill and fall down the hole? I'm learning here!


You need to follow the link in post #66. The adapter plate not only allows you to connect a drill to the auger; it also is a plate larger than the hole you cut so the screw can’t fall through if the drill becomes disconnected.


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## RStock521

fishnguy said:


> Also, how do I ensure the auger doesn't detach from the drill and fall down the hole? I'm learning here!


 I use the Kovac Ice Master adapter on my Nils. It has a strap that goes on the back of the drill in case the chuck lets loose. It's saved my auger when I was just learning. http://icemasteradapter.com/


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## HappySnag

RStock521 said:


> I use the Kovac Ice Master adapter on my Nils. It has a strap that goes on the back of the drill in case the chuck lets loose. It's saved my auger when I was just learning. http://icemasteradapter.com/


you can get 10" lid from pot,drill the mitell and slide that on auger before you put the adapter on,or you can use 5 gallon bucket lid for same purpose.


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## hailtothethief

Nils is tough to get ahold of. Talked to em today. Said in a week or two they’ll send out a replacement top piece that’s properly welded and painted.


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## hailtothethief

The weld was good but grinding off the paint makes it ugly. Look forward to the new top piece.The drill is definately for real. Drilled about 30 holes in pyma


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## HappySnag

hailtothethief said:


> View attachment 254481
> 
> 
> The weld was good but grinding off the paint makes it ugly. Look forward to the new top piece.The drill is definately for real. Drilled about 30 holes in pyma


lot off people are not happy with nills,after 20 holes it stop cutting and make only shawings.
I think that is the same problem with mora.
you have Swedish blade it cut good,
chineese blade get doll after few holes,
same think with nills,
it depend whoo made the cutting head and what metal they use,
there should be stamp what metal is used and what hardenes,then you will know whot you got,
now you know after you use that,that is to late.
I call the factory,they try to sell me head for $90,
fish usa sell them for $60,
none say who made them and what steel they use.


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## quackpot

I bought a 8" nils a few years back. The top of it has a T and the original handle goes through it. I'm using a clam plate with a lazer but I'm switching to a 6" nils. I cut the T off giving me enough tub to reattach the hand crank if need be. The clam plate to nils adapter slides over the auger tube and after drilling a hole it can be mounted up to cut lots of 8" holes.


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## miked913

I think a lot of dull blades come from user error! Be super careful don't bang them or slam them to knock ice off, cut your hole or holes and put the cover back on before setting it down!!! Treat them with kid gloves And they'll cut lots of holes for you fast!!


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## hailtothethief

Its true there’s a lot of buyer beware with metals. As a consumer you dont know what you get. I bought souvenir knives in alaska and argentina. Left em in my trunk a few years. The alaska knives had rust spots all over them and the argentina knives were in perfect condition. At a glance they looked equal.


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## quackpot

Sweet knives


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## hailtothethief

I’ve drilled 85 holes now. How many before it needs sharpened? Still cutting like butter.


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## bobberbucket

hailtothethief said:


> I’ve drilled 85 holes now. How many before it needs sharpened? Still cutting like butter.


About 4,000


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## HappySnag

hailtothethief said:


> I’ve drilled 85 holes now. How many before it needs sharpened? Still cutting like butter.


I let you use my nills 8".
you will not drill one hole with hand crank,even if you have musels like Hogan.


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## hailtothethief

Lol i hope so. For 200 bucks id like to at least get 3-4 years out of it.


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## hailtothethief

HappySnag said:


> I let you use my nills 8".
> you will not drill one hole with hand crank,even if you have musels like Hogan.


Im getting fat and out of shape. My rotator cuff feels it everytime i use a hand auger. I can stab or drill. Never been into hand augers.


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## bobberbucket

hailtothethief said:


> Lol i hope so. For 200 bucks id like to at least get 3-4 years out of it.


I’m a couple years in and over 1,000 holes with my arctic trekker original head never sharpened.


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## STRONGPERSUADER

hailtothethief said:


> I’ve drilled 85 holes now. How many before it needs sharpened? Still cutting like butter.


We tried to tell ya you will never go back to hand drilling.


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