Do you usually sharpen or buy new blades?

[oilboy123]

I over bought blades for my old mower. I bought 2 extra sets of blades for my new mower. I bought it mid summer, mowed maybe 5-6 times? Still have the original blade on, but it has a fair amount of dings and might be due a sharpening?

I sharpen blades fairly lightly. Some of the dings would require me to remove a lot of metal. So I just sharpen everything else on the blade. I bought a Magnimatic balancer because of mole hills/rocks. I mow over a moon crater like environment. The lawn needs leveling big time.

 

[Gillsy]

American sharpener jig w/angle grinder works great for me. 3 blade mower deck so it's a bit of a chore w/six edges to sharpen twice a year.

Same here, All American Sharpener, die grinder, flap disc, and wall mounted balancer. New blades are sharpened, and balanced before use as they are rarely in balance as received.

 

[oilboy123]

I forgot to mention I use an angle grinder lightly, so as to keep the blade from overheat. I check balance with the Magna-Matic, and keep sharpening with an eye on the heavy side.
I made a jig for holding the blade with a carriage bolt/wingnut in a 2x4 held in a vice stand outside. My old mower had 2 blades. My new mower has 3.
I was thinking of making an articulating arm for blade angle grinding. I'll have to think about that.

Magna-Matic website has good info for blade sharpening/balancing. Another thing I learned is a blade should be sharpened according to the terrain.
I am going to use the 45degree because the blade will stay sharper longer, and be a little easier to sharpen. I had been doing the normal 30-35 degree on my old mower blades. So the switching from 30 degree to 45 degree should help in keeping my blades sharper for longer.

Here are the recommended angles and their applications per Magna-Matic Corp.

• 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

See the educational blog for more info on blade sharpening.

 

[SHOZ]

I need a set of Oregon Gator mulching blades for my John Deere zero turn. I have the JD mulcher blades on it now. It would be a good comparison.

 

[jake wells]

I have a oregon professional blade sharpener and a magna matic balancer. I only replace blades when they need to be replaced.

 

[jeepman3071]

I need a set of Oregon Gator mulching blades for my John Deere zero turn. I have the JD mulcher blades on it now. It would be a good comparison.

I've used both on a 54" Deere rider I had. The Deere blades gave a marginally nicer cut, but IMO didn't do much mulching, even when I added a mulching kit to the deck. The Oregon gators worked much better for mulching the clippings as well as leaves, and held an edge longer. They are my go-to blade now on my mowers.

 

[SHOZ]

I've used both on a 54" Deere rider I had. The Deere blades gave a marginally nicer cut, but IMO didn't do much mulching, even when I added a mulching kit to the deck. The Oregon gators worked much better for mulching the clippings as well as leaves, and held an edge longer. They are my go-to blade now on my mowers.

I have the JD mulching kit and blades installed so it would be a good comparison. The older mower had the two sets of gator blades and used them for 20+ years. Sharpened each once a year, the end tips got a little rounded.

 

[Jim K]

I just sharpen mine once a season.

 

[Ducati996]

No not at all. We are cutting grass here. Most mowers do fine with a dull blade. You're basically just making the blade look wedge shaped. Too sharp a point has no durability.

Only thing you have to think about is balance since you are removing material. Hang it on a nail before putting it back into service. If one side is too heavy just file a bit more material off that side.

I’ve been sharpening my blades for 50+
Years and replace them when they are very worn down or have cracks.
I don’t worry about nicks & my grass doesn’t seem to mind either.
The edges of a newly sharpened blade will blunt over during use so please explain why they should be sharpened to a blunt edge!!
I sharpen to a knife edge because that’s easy to do. Putting a precise blunt edge on a blade would be time consuming.
My thought on blades having a blunt edge is for safety during installation.
Imagine the lawsuits if new mower blades were sold to consumers that were sharp like a knife/razor.
90cummins

 

[DemoFly]

I’ve been sharpening my blades for 50+
Years and replace them when they are very worn down or have cracks.
I don’t worry about nicks & my grass doesn’t seem to mind either.
The edges of a newly sharpened blade will blunt over during use so please explain why they should be sharpened to a blunt edge!!
I sharpen to a knife edge because that’s easy to do. Putting a precise blunt edge on a blade would be time consuming.
My thought on blades having a blunt edge is for safety during installation.
Imagine the lawsuits if new mower blades were sold to consumers that were sharp like a knife/razor.
90cummins

A knife edge will dull and/or fold over after about an acre.

A wedge will last an entire season for most lawns. A new blade comes as a perfect wedge. It is the ideal shape and sharpness for a grass blade. You can use what a new blade looks like for reference when sharpening. There's nothing legally preventing a mower blade company from shipping you something razor sharp. They don't do that because it has poor overall performance. Wedge is truly superior.

 

[oilboy123]

For my lawn, I will be using 40, or 45 degree....... I believe most blades come at about 30-35 degree angle. I'm using a new blade at the pre cut angle. But I will be doing the 40, or 45 degree angle when I do the sharpening.
I had been doing at a 30-35 angle before I found the below info. Makes perfect sense for me since I have a fair amount of rocks. Blades will stay sharper for longer.

• 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

 

[Nmr1981]

I’m going into my 11th year on the original Honda blades and I use a mill bastard file before the first mow of the year. I have mainly clay soil and no sand, sticks or stones so the blades are in great shape. Years ago when I was a kid my dad used to sharpen them religiously on his riding mower. We had 2 acres of sandy loamy soil and I swear the back edge of the blades would be sharper than the cutting edge.

 

[PontiacHO]

Sharpen with bench grinder then finish dressing the edge with a file. They typically last all season. Had a neighbor that put his blade on upside down after “sharpening “. The mower would continue to bog down scalping the yard terribly. I walked over and discovered the problem. Fixed it for him. He finished mowing but the next week had a brand new mower. Said that there was a “problem “ with old mower and was too proud to admit the simple mistake. He hated me after that…Bid egos are fragile….

 

[Exhaustgases]

I've been resharpening the same blades since 2016.

I have some blades older than that.

 

[oilboy123]

Sharpen with bench grinder then finish dressing the edge with a file. They typically last all season. Had a neighbor that put his blade on upside down after “sharpening “. The mower would continue to bog down scalping the yard terribly. I walked over and discovered the problem. Fixed it for him. He finished mowing but the next week had a brand new mower. Said that there was a “problem “ with old mower and was too proud to admit the simple mistake. He hated me after that…Bid egos are fragile….

Do good, and no good will come back to you. Been there done that.

I did the same thing one day in a rush to get the blades on my mower. I realized it after the mow. It was a twin blade mower.......

 

[jeepman3071]

I have the JD mulching kit and blades installed so it would be a good comparison. The older mower had the two sets of gator blades and used them for 20+ years. Sharpened each once a year, the end tips got a little rounded.

One thing to note, if you plan on using the Gator blades with the JD mulching kit you may need to trim the "ramps" under the deck that are a part of the kit so the wings on the Gator blades don't contact them. It is worth doing it though, because the Gator blades + JD mulching kit made my Deere a leaf destroying machine.

 

[burbguy82]

I use a grinder for aggressive chips, then a bandfile to clean and polish the edge. Some people think this is a waste of time. You should see my kitchen knives.

 

[SHOZ]

One thing to note, if you plan on using the Gator blades with the JD mulching kit you may need to trim the "ramps" under the deck that are a part of the kit so the wings on the Gator blades don't contact them. It is worth doing it though, because the Gator blades + JD mulching kit made my Deere a leaf destroying machine.

Which Gator blade did you get? Oregon says they do not have one for my Z320m mower. Predator makes a blade that they say replaces the OE for the Z320m.

This is the Oregon part I believe.

Gator® G3™ Blade, 21-3/8" 2 pack, Fits John Deere | Oregon Products

Your go-to mower blade for all conditions including wet, dry and sandy turf. This 21-3/8 inch Gator® G3™ blade offers superior mulching, fewer bag stops and cleaner side discharge than the standard manufacturer blade. Get product specs and fit up info at OregonProducts.com.

www.oregonproducts.com

John Deere list the Predator 2 as a mulching replacement or the 42" deck I have. Cost a little more.

Predator2 Mower Blade for 42A Accel Deep Deck - A-B1PD5022

www.greenpartstore.com

 

[z71bill]

My dad (RIP)

Took the mower blade off to sharpen it every spring -

One year he took it off and discovered he had installed it upside down so the back of the blade was doing the cutting.

So all he had to do that year was flip the blade over.

This was more than 50 years ago I was maybe 13 - I actually used the mower when the blade was on wrong and didn't really see any problem. South Dakota grass - in our yard anyway - was pretty thin and east to cut. No way this would fly in Texas with the weed like St Augustine grass.

 

[jeepman3071]

Which Gator blade did you get? Oregon says they do not have one for my Z320m mower. Predator makes a blade that they say replaces the OE for the Z320m.

This is the Oregon part I believe.

Gator® G3™ Blade, 21-3/8" 2 pack, Fits John Deere | Oregon Products

Your go-to mower blade for all conditions including wet, dry and sandy turf. This 21-3/8 inch Gator® G3™ blade offers superior mulching, fewer bag stops and cleaner side discharge than the standard manufacturer blade. Get product specs and fit up info at OregonProducts.com.

www.oregonproducts.com

John Deere list the Predator 2 as a mulching replacement or the 42" deck I have. Cost a little more.

Predator2 Mower Blade for 42A Accel Deep Deck - A-B1PD5022

www.greenpartstore.com

I looked up your mower and couldn't find an Oregon Gator option. The Predator blades you listed look like the closest thing, and knowing Deere they might even be made by Oregon for Deere as their Gator option. I would use those as they look the closest to the genuine Gator blades.