How to choose an ice screw

Ice screw Rapala

The Finnish manufacturer's Rapala ice auger stands out among other varieties with its equipment, removable cutting heads. Knife diameter range is 90-180mm.

The Rapala ice auger has two versions: one can be folded in half, the other has a one-piece long auger, from which only the handle is assembled during transportation.

The main advantage lies in the possibility of using a replaceable head with a larger diameter, since the seats are designed so uniformly that parts of different sizes are suitable.

Disadvantages:

• high cost of spare cutting heads;
• sharpening knives at home is quite difficult;
• in the case of using a head of a larger diameter, the auger performance will be complicated, but there is a way out: it is recommended to regularly remove it from the hole in order to clear it of ice residues.

In order for such a drill to last as long as possible, you should avoid bodies of water with sand in the ice. Another important fact that you need to know about: the blades themselves wear out the least, and the need for sharpening disappears over several years.

Homemade Handmade Ice Drill

A manual-type ice screw does not have to be purchased in a store, you can make it with your own hands, and you do not need to have any specific knowledge or skills. The most primitive tool is obtained by welding a pipe of the required diameter and working element of the shovel.

This option, of course, will be inferior in its parameters to the classical models, but it is also effective and working. A more complex drill, which is as much as possible identical to the store options, is made as follows:

1. A small frame or metal structure is taken, resembling the shape of the letter "P".
2. Depending on the desired diameter of the future holes, a spiral of a suitable size is selected, which is soldered into the frame.
3. A ring should be welded to the end of the frame, which will be used to secure and secure the knives.
4. The handle is already attached to the prepared frame. Features of its shape, length, design, handles, material and other nuances depend only on the imagination and desires of the fisherman.

Summing up, it can be noted that the modern market has a large number of ice augers, which are very different from each other in characteristics, capabilities and quality. Expensive high-end imported models are not available to everyone, but often a fairly high-quality instrument can be purchased for very modest money.

What does it consist of?

At first glance, it may seem that there is no difference between different models of ice augers, but nevertheless, these devices have quite a lot of differences depending on their design features.

Knives

The blades are the main component of the machine. Any fisherman seeks to clarify in advance what is the structure and thickness of the ice in the reservoir where he plans to fish. Information about the ice cover is collected: it is dense or thin, dry or wet, viscous or hard. Depending on the answers to these questions, different types of knives are attached to the drill.

They are of several types:

• straight;
• two-stage;
• three-stage;
• hemispherical;
• toothed.

This is not a complete list, as engineers work tirelessly to improve the modifications. Thanks to this, new models and varieties of ice augers appear every season.

Most often, straight knives are used, they are quite effective in drilling an ice crust of any size and condition.Although, for example, drilling wet ice will be much easier than dry ice.

With the onset of the spring heat, when the ice becomes more viscous, the use of knives will no longer be as effective. Fishermen will need to make a lot of effort to make one or two holes, but when hunting for perch and roach, they often have to drill several dozen holes there. In this case, it is better to use serrated knives. They have a much smaller area of ​​contact between the edge and the viscous ice layer, and therefore the work is much faster and easier.

Two- or three-stage knives are used for working with very dry ice. The working edges of such knives are located at several levels, so they do not cut so much as they brighten up thick ice.

Spherical knives are considered versatile because they can drill any type of ice cover. But they have a rather serious drawback - they are very difficult to sharpen by hand.

Screw

The main function of the ice screw auger is to remove crumbling ice crust while drilling a hole. The size of the hole that the fisherman will make depends on the size of the device. Typically, the augers are welded to the auger shaft using spot welds along the entire junction line with the machine body.

Depending on the parameters of the auger and knives, the size of the drilled hole also varies. Both Russian and foreign manufacturers produce models with hole parameters from 9 to 25 cm.

Keep in mind that small holes are much easier to drill than large holes, but large fish will not fit. Therefore, when buying an ice screw, these factors should be taken into account and make a choice based on your needs and capabilities.

Most often, winter fishing enthusiasts purchase installations that allow drilling holes of 11 and 13 cm in size - even small and medium pike weighing up to 1.5-2 kg can crawl through them. But anglers who specialize in large river fish should opt for models with diameters of 15 cm or more.

A pen

In order to make a hole, it is necessary to rotate the handle counterclockwise, if we are talking about domestic models, and according to the arrow, if about imported ones. For a young user, this fact does not have any fundamental significance, but experienced fishermen switch quite hard from one model to another - this is not surprising, the habit is a stubborn thing.

Until recently, modern Russian-made ice augers were equipped with a plastic handle, which often cracked in extreme cold. That is why experienced fishermen immediately wrapped it with adhesive plaster or electrical tape. In this way, they protected the material and protected the device from damage. However, progress is not worth it - the latest models are equipped with warmer rubber handles, which are not afraid of either mechanical damage or low temperatures.

It should be noted that the length of any device is 1.5 meters or more. In order for the tool to be conveniently moved to the fishing place or transported in transport, it is equipped with special devices, with which you can temporarily shorten the installation

That is, they are equipped with mechanisms that allow you to simply fold it in half.

Screw

It is an axial tube and the familiar Archimedes screw. It is designed to remove ice crumbs from a hole, and its diameter determines its future dimensions. The diameter can vary between 70-250 mm, depending on the intended trophy. For sports fishing, ice augers with a 90-110 mm auger are quite suitable, 110 150 mm ones can be attributed to universal ones. And the most common are the augers in the range of 110-125 mm.

The length of the auger is selected depending on the expected thickness of the ice cover. The thicker the ice, the longer it should be.Some modern manufacturers of ice augers produce special additional sections that can be installed between the knives and the brace, thereby selecting the optimal size. This complicates the assembly process a little and can weaken the structure itself, but at the same time provides a greater compactness for transport. An alternative is a telescopic handle, hidden in the axis, with its help you can adjust the height of the ice auger while keeping the auger length constant.

Views

In modern stores you can find ice augers of various modifications and manufacturers.

Petrol

In most cases, ice augers for ice fishing operate on two-stroke gasoline-type engines, the power of which reaches 3 liters. with. A mixture of gasoline and engine oil in a ratio of 40: 1 is used as fuel. Typically, such motors are adapted to any temperature conditions and are easy to start even in the most severe cold. The mass of such a unit reaches 10 kg.

Such a mechanism is much more profitable than a manual one, since during the time the latter drills 1 hole, a motor-drill makes 5-6 holes with a diameter of up to 20 cm.However, experienced fishermen advise purchasing a device that is equipped with an additional handle for manual drilling. It can be used in a situation when the tank has run out of fuel, or the device refuses to start for some reason.

However, these motor-drills also have their drawbacks, and the main one is the weight - the mass of such a device is at least 8-10 kg. In addition, the motor-drill makes a lot of noise during operation and this often scares the fish away. The use of gasoline drills requires additional fuel costs, and this makes fishing a rather expensive pleasure.

The motor-drill is optimal in cases where it is necessary to make a significant number of holes of 15 mm or more, and if you are making a hole with a size of 25 cm, then you cannot cope alone - you will definitely need a partner.

Electric

Compared to gasoline powered ice drills, electric ice augers have quite a few advantages: they are cheaper, weigh much less, and at the same time operate almost silently.

Usually, an electric cable is included with such a tool, which is responsible for recharging the device from any motorized equipment or even from a cigarette lighter in the car. Most of the electric drills allow replacing one standard auger with another of a different diameter.

Electric ice augers do not emit exhaust gases, do not need fuel and are ready to use absolutely at any time - you just need to press the start button and the job is done.

In models of previous years, batteries were often installed that ceased to work in extreme cold, but modern modifications are devoid of this drawback. They work even at extreme sub-zero temperatures.

Annular

An annular ice auger, like a screw, has a stem, but its cutting unit is made in the form of a cylinder, which is equipped with sharp cutting teeth in the front part. They are responsible for cutting out the ice along the perimeter, while the middle part remains intact. Thus, with the help of the ring, a cylindrical core is formed, which at the very end of the work is simply pushed down with a heavy stick and goes under the ice.

I rarely use this type of drill in practice, so there are quite a few ring models on the market.

Rechargeable

Battery models are convenient in that they are not tied to an electric power supply network and do not need fuel. Usually the kit includes two batteries with a capacity of 2500 mAh. This capacity is enough for about 12 holes, if you use a 16 cm auger and with an ice layer of 50 cm thick.When using 10 cm augers with the same battery and with the same ice layer, you can make 2 or even 3 times as many holes.

The best option is nickel-ion batteries, but their cost is quite high.Nickel hydride batteries are the best choice if you want to save some money.

Manual

Of course, many winter fishing enthusiasts have opted for a handheld device for years. Such ice screws are several times cheaper, in addition, they are more compact and more ergonomic than their counterparts. Hand drills are either one-handed or two-handed. In the first case, the handle is placed on a single axis with the auger, so rotation is transmitted only through the action of the right hand, which fixes the lower handle. But in two-handed modifications, the handles are placed on both sides of the axis. Here rotation occurs as a result of the movement of both hands - in this case, the process is greatly simplified and requires much less effort.

Typically, the upper handle is at shoulder height and the lower handle is at the diaphragm. Some models are equipped with a telescopic extension mounted in the axle. Due to such a device, it is possible to correctly select the size of the installation for the depth of the ice and the dimensions of the angler himself.

In recent years, many titanium ice drills have appeared on the market, which are 2-3 times more compact than their steel counterparts. They are easy to transport, but it is more difficult to build a hole with such a device.

Advantages and disadvantages

Many anglers know that when going for winter fishing, you should only take the essentials with you.

During fishing, you have to overcome kilometers of snow-covered areas of the reservoir in search of active fish. A manual steel ice screw weighs from 2.5 to 3.5 kg.

This luggage is not so noticeable at the very beginning of fishing, but when you have to go to the car, the steel product looks like lead. And the next day, the weight of the ice screw will respond with an ache in the back and shoulders. A titanium ice screw can help alleviate the plight of older anglers.

• Titanium is a silvery white light metal. It became widespread in the creation of military equipment, aircraft, etc. The main advantages of titanium are strength and low weight. In addition, a protective titanium oxide film is formed on the surface of this metal. Like aluminum, this metal will not rust in humid conditions. That is why titanium ice screws do not need to be painted. Steel analogs, no matter how well they were painted, are scratched over time, the paint lags behind, as a result of which foci of corrosion appear.
• Depending on the size of the ice screw, the weight of titanium products ranges from 1.6 kg (with a 130 mm auger) to 1.95 kg (extended models with a 150 mm auger). The difference in weight compared to traditional instruments is quite noticeable. However, this advantage in the reservoir often turns into a disadvantage. The fact is that when drilling a hole, the large weight of the ice screw allows the angler to carry out only rotating movements with minimal pressing of the tool to the ice. And in the case of light titanium models, the force will have to be applied much more so that the knives cut into the smooth ice.
• But the more important disadvantage of titanium products is the high price. Due to the high cost of the material, an ice screw made of titanium is about 4-5 times more expensive than conventional domestic models with similar technical parameters. For that kind of money, you can buy elite samples from Sweden or Finland.
• The disadvantage of titanium ice drills is the noise during drilling. A ringing noise, like a bell, often frightens cautious fish. And the sound travels far enough. So the bad bite can be explained by this factor as well.
• In frosty weather, more ice freezes to the auger of the titanium tool. This is due to the rough surface of the metal, because such products are usually not covered with paints and varnishes. But when knocking down the ice sludge with a steel slotted spoon, you should not be afraid of the lag of the protective coating.
• Another attractive point is worth noting in domestically produced titanium ice augers.Despite their high cost, many anglers prefer them over foreign products. This is due to the fact that not everyone can readjust to the rotation of the instrument in the opposite direction. And our titanium ice augers are made in a classic style for Russian fans of winter fishing. The rotation is counterclockwise.

Walking as an alternative

Hiking has long been one of the most important and indispensable tools for winter fishing, but its time is in the past and its popularity is rapidly declining.

This is due to the emergence of a large number of other, more modern types of tools, which are becoming more and more popular every day. However, many fishermen refuse to use ice augers and prefer ice screws.

This is mainly due to a number of advantages that it possesses:

Peshnya allows you to determine the strength of ice, which is a very important feature that most analogues lack.
With the help of a paw, you can not only make holes, but also determine the safety of further passage on the ice.
Using this tool, you can easily change the diameter of the holes that were made earlier. This is especially important in those moments when the fish has already been caught, but it cannot be pulled out through the existing hole.
The presence of a large amount of strength is not required, even the elderly and those in poor physical shape can easily exploit the chuck.
This tool has the ability to break through ice, the thickness of which is up to 50 cm.

Until that happens, the process of making holes can be exhausting and energy-consuming.

The only significant drawback that can be singled out is the need to acquire a certain skill of working with a paw, it can only be acquired in practice. Until that happens, the process of making holes can be exhausting and energy-consuming.

Design features

There are four types of knives for the Nero ice screw:

• standard straight lines, well known to domestic winter fishermen;
• semicircular universal, allowing drilling holes regardless of the type of ice;
• stepped knives designed to work on frozen ice;
• serrated knives that drill perfectly through muddy ice.

For products with auger diameters of 130 and 140 mm, Nero specialists have created special blades for drillingwells with a diameter of 150 mm... This development is especially useful for working on ice with a thickness of up to 60 cm. Another pleasant moment in 2015 for winter anglers is the start of production of semicircular knives for ice augers with a diameter of 150 mm, making the Nero-150 tool universal.

By the way, the entire range of knives of this brand has been recognized by the majority of winter fishing enthusiasts in Russia. In addition, they can be used with confidence on all domestic products.
To summarize, the Nero ice screw has:

• light weight;
• rigid structure;
• unique and reliable connection lock;
• high-strength and sharp knives, for the manufacture of which a special steel with an appropriate heat treatment was selected.

And all this at an affordable price

If we take into account the cost of a tool from a Swedish manufacturer, then for this amount you can purchase as many as three Nero ice screws of domestic production. There is something to ponder

Video about Nero ice screws:

Video about ice screw Nero Mini 1080:

How to use?

It should be remembered that severe frosts always interfere with the operation of equipment, and ice screws, unfortunately, are no exception.That is why, when going on a winter fishing trip, it is worth grabbing a kit for an emergency repair of the device: bolts, a screwdriver and a wrench. The tools will help you fix and adjust the drill in case of problems caused by adverse weather conditions.

While drilling a hole, ice should be immediately removed in the direction from which the wind is blowing. If you choose a different direction, the line will cling to the "snowdrift" and you will have to spend a lot of time releasing it. By the way, it will be possible to lay a fishing rod on such a slide in the future.

You should not rush when drilling a hole - this will not lead to an acceleration of the process, but your strength will exhaust you pretty much. If you are working with a steel unit, there is no need to put pressure on it. When the knives are well sharpened, the device works quite efficiently without additional effort.

If you have a manual ice screw, you should pause from time to time, during which you need to pull out the auger and discard any ice crumbs that make it difficult to fully rotate. But in the case of using a gasoline or electric unit, the hole should be drilled in one go.

At the very end of the work, when the ice crust has already been broken, it is necessary to adjust the rpm in order to get rid of the sharp edges. Otherwise, when pulled out, the fish can break off, and together with the bait, if the line is accidentally cut off against the sharp protrusions of hard ice.

You do not need to scoop out all the ice from the hole - it protects the water from the penetration of sunlight. If you neglect this advice, then you can simply scare away all the river inhabitants, and the fishing will be empty.

If you fish with several rods, then you should make holes at a distance of at least 50 cm from each other, otherwise the lines under water may get confused.

What it is?

Ice augers are quite handy tools that allow you to quickly and effortlessly drill holes in ice. The main structural elements of the mechanism are a cutting knife, as well as a brace and augers.

The main advantage of the unit over the paw is that the punch is capable of drilling no more than 25-35 cm, while the ice drill allows you to make a hole up to 1 meter deep in just 3-4 minutes. It is noteworthy that the holes obtained in this way have an even cylindrical shape, and the noise during drilling is much lower than when cutting a hole with an ice pick, and as all fishermen know, loud sounds scare the fish away.

Perhaps the units have only one drawback - if you catch a large fish, then it simply will not crawl through the hole, so you will either have to pick up an ice pick or drill a second, combined hole nearby - and that other option is not entirely convenient. However, the need for them appears extremely rarely.

How to sharpen knives correctly

The speed of drilling the hole and the effort required depend on the angles of inclination and attack of the knives. By changing them, the angler can change the working properties of the drill. This is accomplished by installing various washers or blade pads.

But these corners are not the only ones that determine the quality of drilling. Undoubtedly, the sharpening of knives has a great influence on the speed and the effort expended on the passage of the hole, since it will be difficult, and sometimes even impossible, to drill through the ice with blunt blades.

There is an easy way to have sharp knives that are always sharpened - is to constantly buy new ones as soon as the old ones become dull. But you can save money and learn how to sharpen blades for an ice screw with your own hands.

To do this, a seemingly simple process will require some kind of abrasive element - a sharpener or sandpaper. The very shape of the stone does not really matter. The presence of flat surfaces in it is much more important. It is better to use a fine or medium-grained abrasive, it is undesirable to use rough, otherwise you can easily spoil the cutting surface.

The abrasive element must be fixed to a table or workbench.After that, we go directly to sharpening the ice screw. First, it is necessary to correct the non-working surface in order to remove burrs and other minor defects. Usually it is enough to make a few circular movements in any direction.

Next, we start sharpening the cutting edge. The knives should be held at an angle so that the cutting edge is parallel to the abrasive. If you allow distortions, then the sharpness of the blades will be uneven, and this will not lead to the desired effect, which will manifest itself on the very first fishing.

Periodically, it is necessary to carry out a visual inspection of the sharpening of the surfaces. The marks from the abrasive element must be evenly distributed over the entire cutting edge. For the convenience of controlling this, it is advisable at the end of the process to change circular movements to movements in one direction.

Possible defects that must not be tolerated:

• misalignment of the chamfer of the cutting surface;
• irregular chamfer shape (oval or flawed);
• burrs and other small defects on the edge.

Correctly sharpened knives should pass the simplest test with ease. To do this, a blade is taken in the right hand, and in the left sheet of the newspaper. A well-sharpened edge should easily cut across the paper without tearing it.

If the test is successful, then sharpened blades can be safely installed on an ice screw. It is advisable to pre-wrap the screws for fastening the knives with fum tape or tape so that they do not spontaneously unwind. Can also be replaced with oversized bolts and locked with a nut.

Sharpening the spherical blades of an ice screw is much more difficult. Someone uses special devices for straightening and shaping the cutting surface. You can try to sharpen the blades with a needle file or other simple abrasive elements.

To improve the operating parameters of the drill in specific conditions, you can change the angles of inclination and attack of the knives in simple ways. But this is the topic of the next article.

How to choose an ice screw for fishing

I'll start with theory. A motorized auger is an ice drilling equipment that has a screw and a two-stroke or four-stroke gasoline engine in its device. When considering buying a gasoline ice auger, the buyer should have confidence in its quality. First of all, the reliability of the auger with knives and the engine.

The ice screw engine should not have any whims with cranking in severe frost. According to the resource of his work before failure, it should be understood for how long his work will last. You should pay for the warranty period if it is small (1 year) or not specified at all, this is a fake or a poor quality drill. In the issue of the quality and reliability of the motorized auger, one cannot dwell only on its price.

I specially analyzed reviews on Internet resources (sites, forums) on ice drills with motors, where there are a lot of complaints about purchased drills, before buying my fishing motorized ice screw. The sellers tell everything about the merits fabulously, but the reality, unfortunately, differs in its opposite. And already on the first fishing trip, some people stopped starting the engine, others started to stall, etc.

Most people who see a motorized ice screw for the first time will think about quality something like this - if more expensive means better and better quality. That is so, but the price depends on the celebrity of the brand, on the appearance of new brand models or, as now, some sanctions, etc. In order not to miscalculate, it is necessary to study the experience of owners of motor-drills operating in different conditions for a long time.

In fact, a drill with a gasoline engine can be made by yourself, and many anglers do just that. The gasoline engine is taken from a lawn mower or from a saw, and the auger is used from a manual conventional drill using a standard factory adapter or a homemade one. The drill device is very simple. But at the same time, the torque should be provided as in the factory ice screw. This drill can drill ice of the same thickness as the hand drill.It is also provided with inserts extending the height of the auger.

When drilling ice with a drill with a motor, you must be extremely careful not to injure yourself and people nearby also not to injure. You can imagine what will happen to the part of the human body that the rotating auger auger touches. When transporting the auger, the knives are covered with a standard plastic case.

Disadvantages and advantages of motorized augers

The disadvantages of a motorized auger can be called its weight on average, it is 3.5 kg, carrying it on yourself when walking on foot is a hard task, you cannot do without a sled with a reliable attachment for the drill. Secondly, from the sound of the engine running and its transmission through the auger to the ice, everything within a radius of 20-30 meters moves away from the fright. We have to wait for the fish to approach for some time after drilling the hole, but much more than when drilling with a hand ice auger.

The smell of spent fuel, in combination with oil, permeates the fisherman's clothes and stays in it for a long time, which, out of habit, many do not like. A friend of mine on one of the winter fishing trips, when I didn’t bite, told me that the reason was the smell of gasoline and spent fuel. Maybe the fish actually smells this smell, since when a bloodworm or maggot, etc. is attached, the smell can be transmitted to the bait to one degree or another, and of course, an unattractively smelling bait will arouse suspicion in the fish.

Of the advantages, I note the speed of drilling holes, which is especially good for setting gutters and fans of vertical lure with spoons, balancers and other winter baits for predatory fish. Anglers gain a lot of time and energy while finding fish when fishing off the ice.

Motorized ice augers of Japanese, American and Swedish manufacturers are very popular among anglers. Of the brands of motorized ice augers, I want to note the reliability and quality of the motorized ice augers Mora, Hitachi.

• Fishing in the region:
• Fishing during the seasons:
• Fishing:

Screw

This is a screw conveyor, the main function of which is to feed the ice crumbs upward, thereby freeing up space for the best performance of the cutting part. The augers can be of different diameters, but their edges are always in line with the tips of the blades. The length of this element is also different and depends on the number of turns. The more of them, the greater the thickness can be drilled in one pass (without pulling out the device), but the weight of the tool will automatically increase.

Russian ice axes differ from similar imported products in the way they attach the auger blade to the axle. Our manufacturers mainly use spot welding, while the same Finns weld the auger with a continuous, even seam. This does not affect the durability of the device in any way, the quirk here is different. The fact is that irregularities and small flaws in spot welding make the drilling tool too noisy.

How to prepare the knives for use?

Experienced anglers know that with frequent trips to the pond, the blades of replaceable nozzles become dull after a couple of months. In many ways, this period depends on the quality of the preparation carried out in the off-season. For most fishermen, sharpening ice screw knives at home is not a problem.

Along with the processing of the blades, the selection and adjustment of consumables and tools (keys, screwdrivers, bolts, nuts, washers and gaskets) is carried out. It is advisable to have a separate sealed container for carrying sharps.

You can sharpen the blades in various ways, you need to focus on your own abilities and technical equipment. If you have doubts about your own abilities, then it is advisable to send the products to a specialized workshop with professional equipment. Improper handling of the tips will impair their performance and shorten their service life. A well-sharpened blade cuts paper without leaving any torn edges.

On the machine

Almost every angler has grinding equipment, as it is necessary for straightening knives, axes and hooks, grinding buoys and floats. Before sharpening the knives on the machine, it is necessary to make several corner stands. This will maintain the correct angle and remove the minimum amount of hardened metal.

In the process of processing products, several circles should be used, gradually reducing their graininess. When grinding, the iron must not be overheated, as this leads to a decrease in its strength. The nozzles must be constantly dipped in water until they cool completely.

Using an abrasive bar

If you don't have a knife grinder at hand, a kitchen knife sharpener is a good option. First you need to fix it to the surface by laying it on a sheet of dense rubber. This technique will prevent the bar from slipping during operation. The stone is moistened with a small amount of water, after which the dressing process begins.

First of all, the large edge of the knife is processed. This is done with soft circular movements with constant control of the horizontal. The resulting abrasive paste promotes high-quality and uniform metal removal. At the second stage, the part of the blade that has a slope is grinded. Lapping is done with transverse movements.

Using sandpaper

Those who have never sharpened their ice screw blades before can use sandpaper. The strip of abrasive material must be firmly attached to a firm, level surface. This can be a board or a paint float for grouting. Do not use material with coarse grains - they leave deep grooves on the metal that are difficult to remove.

Circular movements are made in different directions, after which the blade is straightened by longitudinal movement along the sandpaper. Burrs are removed with fine-grained material (zeroing).

Glass and goy paste

These abrasives are used to bring the surfaces of the nozzles to a mirror finish and sharpness to the level of shaving blades. There is a practical sense in this event - so smooth metal rubs less against ice, which contributes to a decrease in wear and an increase in service life. Polishing is carried out mechanically (round) or by hand using a woolen cloth. The material is first moistened with alcohol, then the composition is applied to it

Care should be taken when processing so as not to grind off excess and not deform the point.

What are the knives

As we decided, domestic ice augers are much cheaper, and in our difficult times, such products are in a winning situation. Knives are inexpensive for them, and you can buy them at any fishing shop. In addition, it is easy to sharpen dull blades with your own hands, without leaving your home.

So, today there are a large number of knives for an ice screw, which differ not only in quality, but also in the shape of the cutting edge.

Some blades can be installed on different models of drills, provided that the center-to-center distance of the holes for their attachment are the same, this is very convenient and practical.

Now there are several types of knives for domestic ice augers that are in demand among anglers:

• Conventional flat knives with straight cutting edges. This is the most common form of "our" blades and has been around for over half a century.
• Stepped drill knives. They have two straight cutting edges.
• Spherical blades that are similar to Swedish Mora products.
• Serrated knives, which have not yet found widespread use among anglers.
• Triangular blades with three cutting edges. This is a highly specialized product designed for loose melting last ice. On sale are rare.

Unfortunately, all types of domestic knives cannot be called universal. Flat blades perform better on dry, uniform ice at not too cold temperatures.On frosty days, for a strong ice cover, step ones should be used. At the end of winter, they are spherical or serrated.