Ice Auger Blades

[DSS]

Has anyone used their Tormek for Ice Auger Blades? I have a few customers wanting to know if I am able to sharpen them and from what I have read it sounds like they can be a problem.

[Jeff Farris]

The ones with a removable blade are not a problem.  The welded blades cannot be done on a Tormek.

[DSS]

Jeff, thanks for the reply and after all these years of sharpening I've never run across a blade that can't be sharpened unless it's totally ruined by excessive heat or it's warped or just to damaged. But as you see below it sounds like these baldes are so touchy that if you haven't sharpened them before you could mess up a set. I can't believe they are that critical that you have to use chrome polish or rouge and a buffing wheel. Most of the forums I've read suggest this and it just seem's that the angle must be super critical. The steps below are from one of many forums about sharpening ice auger blades. By the way, thanks for selling a great product I have already put fantastic edges on tools that I thought were sharp and found out different.

1.   Step 1
Use a polisher to sharpen your blades. You need a flannel polishing disk and rouge cutting grit to use with a bench top or hand held polisher. These can be purchased at a local automotive supply retailer.
2.   Step 2
Use a felt tip marker to mark the area of the blade that needs sharpening. Polish an area only long enough to remove the marker ink from the blade. This helps prevent you from cutting too much from the blade and changing it's cutting angle.
3.   Step 3
Apply a liberal amount of the rouge cutting grit to the flannel.
4.   Step 4
Lightly polish the beveled side of the auger blade, concentrating on the leading edge of the blade. Don't spend too much time on one area, or you could cut too much material from the blade and change it's shape