Grivel Helix screws shaft friction?

I was out with a guide recently and I was using a set of helix screws… the guide mentioned that the screws were way too difficult to put in because there was a lot of friction on the shaft (one and only time I’ll complain about that problem…) He said the teeth are sharp and they start nicely but once a few threads are in the ice it becomes very difficult to continue the screw to the point that it’s affecting my balance on the wall because of the amount of force I have to use to get the screws all the way in… the same amount of friction was present when I was taking the screws out also verifying the theory that the problem is not in the teeth but something to do with the shaft/threads.

has anyone experienced this with Helix’s or any other screw? Any remedies to this?

(I have some other used screws that I’ve purchased that don’t have this problem it only seems to be the Helix’s.)

thanks!

Never heard of this problem with grivel, even my very old 360's have no issues going in. Does the inside of the screw look damaged at all? Polishing the inside of the shafter your self is an option and should be fairly quick with a drill. 

I have seen extraction difficulties with a friends BD express screws and I think the surface of the outside of the shaft is the issue. I don’t see why the inside of the shaft would make the screw hard to extract. 

Greg Rwrote:

I have seen extraction difficulties with a friends BD express screws and I think the surface of the outside of the shaft is the issue. I don’t see why the inside of the shaft would make the screw hard to extract. 

Apparently the inside of the shaft is crucial to ease of insertion and extraction. 

I've run into this issue specifically with the Helix, out of curiosity do you remember what the air temperature was the day you were having problems?

Dirt Kingwrote:

I've run into this issue specifically with the Helix, out of curiosity do you remember what the air temperature was the day you were having problems?

Single digits, maybe 5 degrees or so

Thinking back to the last time they seized up it was probably a similar temperature profile, maybe it has something to do with the nickel-plating they use(?) The first time it happened to me the screws had only been placed twice before and were still factory sharp, and I wasn't experiencing any trouble placing the bd-screws from my rack which are just straight stainless as far as I'm aware.

Someone correct me if I'm talking out my ass

I haven't had this issue with them but would also guess it has something to do with humidity/temps/conditions and the surface of the screw sticking to the ice? I have had aluminum screws stick. Have you tried oiling or greasing them up?