Variety of shapes and characteristics
During the winter season, ice drill knives are a popular consumable item. Sometimes during one fishing trip two or even three sets fail. This is due to the fact that, as a rule, on all river beds the ice is simply saturated with sand and the instrument becomes completely unusable after a dozen holes. In this case, a fishing secret will help: bend the edge outwards with a metal object from the inside, but this will not help for long.
The following will save you from frequently replacing the cutting parts of the ice drill:
- Selection of high-quality tools and spare parts for them.
- Spare kits must be of the same brand, or an analogue, ideally suitable for the ice auger model.
- Proper use, transportation, cleaning and storage of equipment.
When purchasing you need to consider:
- Features of blade sharpening.
- General geometry.
- Heat treatment level.
- Steel sample.
How to choose the right one
An ice fishing tool is often purchased for more than one season, and in order to make a quality purchase, you need to pay attention to some characteristics.
Depending on the size of future production, you can choose models with removable augers of different diameters. For quick access to water, you need to pay attention to tornado-type ice drills, which are more expensive but more effective.
Main technical characteristics of the tool:
- the diameter of the required hole is 90-200 mm, the largest augers are equipped with electric or gasoline drives;
- The material used to make the knives and auger is stainless steel, which is not subject to corrosion and has the required strength;
- length and weight determine how convenient it will be to use the tool and transport it to the desired location; usually an ice drill has a mass of 2.0-3.5 kg and a size of 1.5-1.9 m;
- The handle material should be non-slip and durable; the best option is rubber.
By focusing on the main characteristics, you can purchase a quality product that will serve you well for decades.
Serrated and spherical knives
Today on the fishing equipment market you can see a variety of drill cutters. The most common:
- Serrated.
- Oval.
- Universal.
- Stepped.
Which knives are best for an ice drill, everyone chooses for themselves.
All of them are designed for different surface types and weather conditions. To choose the right ones, you need to know how they differ:
Serrated blades are an indispensable assistant in the fight against heavily moistened ice. They will help out when winter is already receding and water from the spring sun begins to wash small channels on the surface of the reservoir, abundantly saturating the ice layer. Small contact area reduces drag force. It's worth noting that the blades need to be "break-in" (approximately 30-40 holes), during which time the drilling can be a little aggressive. For some, when it gets from the ice into the water.
Oval (spherical) - suitable for almost all possible types of ice cover on water bodies. As a rule, spherical ones are included in the basic kit with most ice drills from well-known companies that are present on the Russian market. Unfortunately, this form has one critical drawback: the cutters become dull rather quickly, and it is almost impossible to sharpen them at home.
The cost of sharpening from a professional is, as a rule, 50% of the price tag for new ones in the store, and it is undesirable to subject them to this procedure more than three times.
Rating Top 5 best ice screws for fishing in winter
Don't know which ice screw to choose for winter fishing? On the pages of fishing websites you can find many different ratings of ice screws, which show the superiority of some models over others. Reading these ratings, you will notice that there are several model names of manual, gasoline and electric ice augers that move from rating to rating, here they are:
- Mora Expert Pro
- UR-Rapala
- Tonar LR-130 classic
- Rapala Vortex 33CC-8
- Mora Ice Electric 140
Manual Swedish ice auger Mora Expert Pro
Fishermen praise this model for its durability, efficiency and light weight. Ice drills of this model are produced that are capable of drilling holes with a diameter of 110, 130, 150 mm. Equipped with spherical knives. The cost of these models is from 7,000 rubles. up to 9,500 rubles, the cost of a spare set of knives is almost 2,000 rubles.
Mora ice Expert-Pro 130. The test was carried out on wet ice 55-60 cm thick.
Manual Finnish ice auger UR-Rapala
Available in several modifications, which are designed for drilling holes of different diameters - 100, 115, 135, 155, 205 mm. The knives of such ice drills are attached to a replaceable composite head. The weight of the ice drill is 3 kilograms. The cost of a Finnish tool is not much more than that of domestic models - 4-5 thousand rubles, the cost of a spare set of knives is at least 1,500 rubles.
Test of the Rapala UR EVO ice auger. I tested different interchangeable heads: composite, metal.
Product of the plant from Barnaul - “Tonar LR-130 classic”
In terms of reliability and efficiency, it is not much inferior to its Western counterparts. Its weight is 2.5 kg. The cost of a domestic ice drill is 1400-1500 rubles.
Ice screws TONAR (Barnaul ice screws)
Finnish motor drill Rapala Vortex 33CC-8
Popular in Russia. It is perfectly adapted to winter cold - it starts in any frost. Equipped with a two-stroke engine with a capacity of 1.3 liters. With. Its weight is 12.5 kg, the auger diameter is 200 mm. Its estimated cost is 21 thousand rubles.
Demonstration of a Rapala Vortex V33cc motorized ice drill
Electric drill from Sweden Mora Ice Elecric 140
It deservedly occupies a leading position in many ratings of electric ice drills.
Here are its capabilities: it can operate both from a built-in battery and from an external power source, for example, from a snowmobile network, for which it comes with a 3.5-meter long electric cable. The battery capacity is enough to drill about twenty holes with a diameter of 150 millimeters when the ice is one meter thick. The product weighs (without auger) 10 kilograms. Approximate cost - 19 thousand rubles. Demonstration of the Mora Ice Electric 140 electric drill
Utility and step knives
Universal - also called flat, deserve the attention of anglers due to their ease of maintenance. It’s easy to sharpen and straighten the blades yourself, thereby avoiding additional costs for the services of a professional. But when working with a flat blade, you will have to put in much more effort to drill the hole.
Ideally, it is better to take these knives with you to the pond for backup, and not as your main equipment.
Stepped - this equipment is indispensable when the temperature drops below -15 °C. Two blades located side by side create a crumbling effect, which for frost-hardened ice is much more effective than a cutter, without unnecessary loads. In warmer temperature conditions, these auger blades are ineffective. Sharpening them yourself is not as easy as flat ones, but it is possible.
Reviews from people
Last season the Yaroslavskys caught my attention. All the inconvenience that they caused me arose due to the insufficient thickness of the blade (about 3 mm). Because of this, it was not possible to screw in the countersunk screw completely and, as a result, the screws were constantly being unscrewed and I spent the entire fishing trip with a Phillips screwdriver at the ready. They cut well enough, but this running around with constant tightening of the screws completely blurred the whole picture.
Alexei.
I have been a fan of Barnaul knives for a long time. They last a long time, drill well and quickly, I had a complete set. But I recently bought an imported ice drill and these blades will no longer fit on overseas equipment, so I immediately bought a Swedish storage unit. The spare knives were not sharpened as well as the set of equipment itself, so I had to spend money on the services of a master.
Basil.
I have been using Tikhvin knives for a long time and am very pleased.
I also sharpen it myself using an abrasive stone or sandpaper. The main thing is to position the blade at the correct angle, sharpen only in circular movements and follow the sequence of edge processing, then the result will be no worse than in the workshop. When fishing, it is better to take several types of blades, and at night I advise you to use universal knives. Alexander.
Choosing an ice drill
For those who occasionally go out for winter fishing, when choosing an ice auger, the main criterion is usually the price. Moreover, fishermen who are not strapped for money choose the ice screw that is more expensive, others, on the contrary. Both approaches are wrong, but the first is usually better than the second
