first of all… why in the world would both field and stream, and gander mountain tell me they didn’t even get any spud bars in this year. Isn’t this a fairly common ice fishing tool? I’d like to get one for walking out onto first ice (which we’ve had what… 10 times this year so far?) to test for safety and thickness.
2nd I’ve never owned one. Are there features to these things? Are some better then others? I don’t know a thing about anything.
Nothing more than a steel round bar maybe 1 1/2″ thick and about 5′ long with a wider, chisel portion on the bottom which is sharpened. Make sure you have a rope around the handle end to loop around your wrist.
I’d suggest checking a farm store or Mills fleet farm in the section with axes and pitch forks
The Jiffy Mille Lacs spud bar is the best I’ve ever used. It’s got a staggered tip that eats up the ice and doesn’t just glance off the ice some designs seem to do. It also seems to be weighted perfectly and built very well.
Unfortunately I forgot it at a landing a couple years ago and it was difficult enough to find a spud bar in stock at that time I had to settle for a generic one. Next time I find another two piece Jiffy I will be getting it, they can be hard to come by.
I can say they are not all equal. I bought one last minute this fall at the local bait shop and it is by far the worst chisel I have used. It vibrates so bad that it is almost unusable.
I can say they are not all equal. I bought one last minute this fall at the local bait shop and it is by far the worst chisel I have used. It vibrates so bad that it is almost unusable.
Yup, that is what mine does as well.
I make my own. form the chisel head get it hardened welded it up.! I wouldn’t buy one from those stores they just don’t cut it for me!
The Jiffy Mille Lacs spud bar is the best I’ve ever used. It’s got a staggered tip that eats up the ice and doesn’t just glance off the ice some designs seem to do. It also seems to be weighted perfectly and built very well.
Unfortunately I forgot it at a landing a couple years ago and it was difficult enough to find a spud bar in stock at that time I had to settle for a generic one. Next time I find another two piece Jiffy I will be getting it, they can be hard to come by.
The “Mille Lacs” chisel is by far the best–NOTHNG compares. Even though I could be accused of being biased as I know the “history” of the design–about 50 years ago–and know how Jiffy got it in hand. ( I have one of the original three made 50 plus years ago!)
The typical chisel can not “flare” a hole bigger or even keep it the same size as you go through the ice. The “leading tooth” on the Mille Lacs chisel guides the rest of the teeth. You can easily “flare” an augured hole bigger–especially after it has frozen in ( smaller) after a few days vs. fighting an auger trying to re-cut a half open hole–ONLY with the Mille Lacs chisel.
Perch fishing as kids in the early ’60’s on Lake Mille Lacs, we would chop our holes ( no augers for us). Ice was commonly 30 plus inches thick in March/Easter school vacation. Our dad quickly realized it was almost impossible to have a decent size hole on the bottom no matter what you did with the “typical” chisel design. ( chopping through that much ice we were on our knees by the time we hit water–and we never had to cut/chop too many holes to find fish thankfully–most of the time! lol) The rest is history. Dad chiseled the holes all winter in the fish house as well back in those days. The holes in the wood floor were square and he could cut the ice the SAME size as the hole in the wood floor–perfectly square–with the “Mille Lacs” chisel. ( we and or he never dreamed of having the design commercially sold but when Jiffy saw the concept they jumped on it) Dad had a machinist friend of his make the original three…
I suggest you get the two piece heavier design versus the cheaper one piece lighter model. Yes–they ain’t cheap! But they are NOT junk either….
Be very careful to NOT use this chisel for or on anything but ice and it will stay sharp and never need sharpening. Stand/lean it up– sharp end up –not on the concrete floor in storage etc. The “lead tooth” needs to be sharp and true for best results–obviously.
FYI–we “gave” the design to Jiffy so we get nadda $$
Awesome story Steve. Cool to know that a real person and not just a company created such a design. Makes you appreciate it just a little more.
Awesome story Steve. Cool to know that a real person and not just a company created such a design. Makes you appreciate it just a little more.
Thanks!
LOL My “original” has been on the bottom of the lake THREE times ( thank God for BIG magnets!) and has been retired these days so I have a “new” factory job the past few years. The old one dang near killed me a few years back. I had it displayed on the fireplace mantle and one winter day, while sitting in the easy chair in front of the fireplace, with temps warming fast outside, the ice on the lake buckled and shook the house ( not unusual to happen several times a winter in homes close to the shoreline) so bad the chisel fell off the mantle and just missed my head as it flew to the floor–the sharp end leading the way as usual! LOL
why in the world would both field and stream, and gander mountain tell me they didn’t even get any spud bars in this year.
Gander has a spud bar, not sure where you are located but I saw a few at the Lakeville, MN store about a month ago.
http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Gander-Mountain-Two-Piece-Ice-Chisel&i=789530
I have the Gander one listed above, very similar to the Frabill spud just a nicer price……..gets the job done for sure
-b-
I use a home made one with a bar and a piece of 5′ black gas pipe welded on the chisel. The chisel is milled to a shap point. The pipe is very significant over the solid bar. It makes a distinctive sound when it hits. Bad ice sounds very different than good ice. You will know if the ice is bad not only by the hit, but also hear it getting soft.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
