Do you usually sharpen or buy new blades?

[oil pan 4]

I sharpen mower blades about as often as I wash and wax the mailbox at the end of the driveway.

Ok thats not completely true. I have sharpened the blades a few times over the years, but honestly I never noticed much difference in what the lawn looks like before and after, and after checking them after 2-3 mowings the blades were about as dull as they were before I sharpened them, so the blade sharpener sits in a bin next to the brake line flaring tool which has also been used twice in 15 years.....

In high dust, high sand they stay sharp about 20 minutes. In clean east cost grass they will stay sharp closer to an hour.

 

[SHOZ]

Yep, this for the win.Get the gator mulching blades, almost hard to bend them.They last for years.

I bought two sets of gator blades for my JD F510 20 years ago and usually sharpened them once a year. Still going strong and I need to get a set for the new mower. I mulch everything getting ready for leaf munching season.

I use a angle grinder and flap disc. But you don't want a razor edge as that just chips. And beware the end points.

 

[ragtoplvr]

I sharpen for the first couple of times, after that I just replace. I feel sharpening alters the temper in the metal. Ymmv, of course.

Over heating does affect the temper. If you see brownish or blue metal yó overheated it. The only way I have found to not overheat is coolant. I have an air hose mounted blowing on blade full force. Either that or take VERY light cuts and cool often.

 

[RedSpider]

In high dust, high sand they stay sharp about 20 minutes. In clean east coast grass they will stay sharp closer to an hour.

Exactly. And since it takes me a little over five hours to mow the part of this old farm property I actually bother grooming, I'd spend just as much time sharpening blades every week as I do mowing. Not happening.

The only thing I've ever noticed after the few times I've sharpened or replaced blades is that the sound of the blade in higher grass does sound slightly different, for a very short time. I never noticed the lawn looking any different, better or worse, between using a sharp or new blade versus one that hasnt been touched in forever. Maybe I'm just going blind.....

 

[SHOZ]

If you're mowing rocks and sand you're mowing too low. I always mow high....

 

[nobb]

Since we are talking about lawnmower blades, my Honda uses a two bolt mount on the 21" blade which is hard to find an exact replacement unless I get the OE blade ($$$). Would it be ok to get a universal blade with these slotted holes, knowing I'll never really be able to install it perfectly center? I'm guessing due to the slots the blade would kind of self center itself as it rotates?

 

[Skippy722]

If you're mowing rocks and sand you're mowing too low. I always mow high....

Wouldn’t matter if I cut at 1” with the deck dragging or at the highest setting, the sand still annihilates the blades. This is what mine looked like after less than 40 hours.

And the new blades looked like this after 1 hour.

 

[vavavroom]

I sharpen all blades by hand. It's very satisfying when the sound unsettles the houseguests.

 

[jeepman3071]

Wouldn’t matter if I cut at 1” with the deck dragging or at the highest setting, the sand still annihilates the blades. This is what mine looked like after less than 40 hours.



View attachment 183045

And the new blades looked like this after 1 hour.

View attachment 183046

Jeez are you mowing or brush hogging?

My grandfather's Scag goes through a set of blades every season, but he mows 8 acres of "lawn" that used to be a hay field.

 

[Skippy722]

Jeez are you mowing or brush hogging?

My grandfather's Scag goes through a set of blades every season, but he mows 8 acres of "lawn" that used to be a hay field.

2 acres of simple grass, but the soil is pretty sandy!

 

[SHOZ]

2 acres of simple grass, but the soil is pretty sandy!

I have a two sets of Gator blades that lasted 20 years and still in use. They don't have as much vacuum.

Must be a dust storm like plume following you when you mow?

 

[Jim K]

Try these blades .

 

[jeepman3071]

2 acres of simple grass, but the soil is pretty sandy!

You should look into low-lift/no-lift blades, they are made specifically for sandy soil and will last much longer.

CUB CADET 742P05094-L might be what you need, the sand blades.

 

[Skippy722]

I have a two sets of Gator blades that lasted 20 years and still in use. They don't have as much vacuum.

Must be a dust storm like plume following you when you mow?

Sometimes

You should look into low-lift/no-lift blades, they are made specifically for sandy soil and will last much longer.

I wanted some but everyone local was out of stock and as you can see by the old blades I couldn’t really wait for some to be delivered. We’ll see how the “Xtreme” mulching blades hold up.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

Since we are talking about lawnmower blades, my Honda uses a two bolt mount on the 21" blade which is hard to find an exact replacement unless I get the OE blade ($$$). Would it be ok to get a universal blade with these slotted holes, knowing I'll never really be able to install it perfectly center? I'm guessing due to the slots the blade would kind of self center itself as it rotates?

View attachment 182935

I wouldn't. Vibration will be bad, and it won't self-center. Even if you got it perfect, it could slide out of alignment during normal operation. Blades need the proper arbor mating surface to run properly.

 

[nobb]

I wouldn't. Vibration will be bad, and it won't self-center. Even if you got it perfect, it could slide out of alignment during normal operation. Blades need the proper arbor mating surface to run properly.

Thanks. I have a Honda HRA214 which is likely >30 years old. Surprisingly hard to find low cost replacement blades. I think it's still on the original blade, of which maybe 1/4 of the width is gone already from the years of sharpening.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

My snapper Ninja mulching blades are up to about 50 bucks. I feel your pain.

 

[mk378]

Honda mower owner gripes about cost...

There may be a different blade adapter that allows use of a more generically available blade.

 

[SHOZ]

My 2023 Z320m JD doesn't have any specific blades for it yet other than OE but there are other 42" deck blades with the same arbor size hole. 13/16"

 

[oilboy123]

I learned to sharpen blades properly by one of the commercial guys that did them for a living about 25 years ago. Bought an American Sharpener jig last year and now do them as a hobby (along with a little $$$ or beer). I have 47 regular "customers" at the present time and sharpen blades for them about twice in a season. Currently have 4 sets of Micro-Cuts for the Honda ground at 40° using 60 grit flap disc. They get changed after every fourth cut.

Shortyb
You are on to something with the blade angle. I have not sharpened a blade to anything but 30 angle yet. But I will the next time I do them.

I decided to buy extra blades, and have back ups sharpened and ready to go. I'm on a new mower, but bought a Magna-Matic blade balancer. I'm using an angle grinder and have been sharpening to normal blade angle, which seems to be about 30 degrees. I'm going to start doing it at an angle closer to 40-45 degrees. I have a fair amount of rocks, but am able to finese things to help extend blade life some. I have a lot of mole hills.

• 30 degrees: use for finish cutting where the appearance of turf is the primary concern.
• 35 degrees: use for lawns where you would still like a nice cut, but may occasionally hit debris
• 40 degrees: use for lawns where you frequently hit debris
• 45 degrees: use for ditches, pastures, empty city lots, anywhere that you are guaranteed to hit rocks and debris

What is the best angle for a lawn mower blade cutting edge?

How to determine the best cutting edge angle on your lawn mower blade for your application.

www.magna-matic-direct.com