Is it possible to sharpen these? The manual says not to, and only buy new, which seems ridiculous. Do those blue handheld blade sharpeners work for the Lazer blades? I’ve only had the auger for a year, but the blades are definitely dull. If this topic has been talked about before, please send me the link. Thanks.
I’d replace them. I’ve never tried sharpening them but they cut sweet when they’re new. Age doesn’t matter, if you cut through dirty ice they’ll get dull no matter how old they are.
I’ve heard the blue sharpeners are trash. Haven’t tried them personally.
I know a couple people that take them to a really talented local sharpener, and they say they’re as good as new. He charges about $25.
I personally just replace them every season for about $40. Electric augers work so much better with good blades, and the battery life is much improved. Didn’t seem to matter nearly as much with gas augers.
One thing that’s super important to consider is the pitch of the blades. Banging the business end of the auger against the ice as you start to drill can alter the pitch and make good blades cut like dull ones. A poor sharpening job may also result in an improper pitch.
There are a couple guy that sharpen them, D_Rock has a exchange program for them. And if you Google there is a guy up north and a guy in NY that does them as well.
https://www.redrockstore.com/ice-auger-blade-sharpening-service/ice-auger-blade-sharpening
I would try this first.
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I sharpened my lazer blades for my power auger and did a pretty good job actually. I taped wet dry sandpaper to a round metal can… Sea Foam or WD 40 type can. Then tried to follow the curve of the can with the curve of the blade the best I could.
The most important thing is to sharpen the main flat part of the blade till everything is shiny with the edge cleaned off. I colored my blades with sharpie to see where I was and wasn’t taking material off.
THEN increase the angle of the blade to fatten up the very edge slightly. You want the very edge to be the width of a hair or sheet of paper, and slightly thicker.
If you don’t increase the angle of the blade some as the final step, the blade will be very sharp but the edge will roll over on your 1st hole and won’t cut again.
I found a big write up on this somewhere. Ice shanty maybe.
I think i went from 400 grit to 600, and finished the 600 with water on the paper.
Another tip. Only sharpen the beveled side that touches the ice. Apparently trying to sharpen the flat back side of the blade will typically ruin them.
Took my time and watched what I was doing, and was shocked when the blades actually cut when I was done!
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