Mower Blade Sharpening

Good question.

Do you have a hardened edge on the blades, like Gator G5/G6?

I’ve seen lots of ads for the little drill attachment and seen that Dremel makes an attachment for it as well. Not sure if either of them are worth it over a grinder.

My blades are fairly new and still tear the blades. Debating buying another set of blades and keeping them sharp and swapping every month.

I use my floor jack/ cordless impact and get them off and on in less than five minutes. John Deere blades are not cheap at almost 30 bucks for each mulching blade.

My Gator blades were nominally sharp, meaning they had a nice, clean thin edge. They weren’t razor sharp, but more dull blade. They were also coated, so that would have to be worn off. However, they were very well balanced.

I thought about sharpening them more than they were, but decided I’d prob have to resharpen after a month of use or so.

ok here is the skinny on mower blades

you are not supposed to sharpen new blades, they come with a semi sharp butter knife like edge and that is all they need

if and when you do sharpen them you only want to use a flat file and put the blade in a vice to do it. again you dont want a knife edge or its gone in the first use so just get a nice even thin butter knife edge and stop.

all blades come with a hardened leading edge so if you use a rotary tool or grinder then that gets the blade too hot and you remove the temper making them dull even faster

so to recap, only sharpen used blades when dull and not too sharp. use a file to sharpen it and hold it at a 45 degree angle to the direction of the blade and pull the file towards you as you match the angle of the edge.

and always add a dab of never seize to the threads of the blade bolt

I use a Makita power file:



Axes, machetes, mower blades, shovels...this thing works fast even with a well worn belt. Light touch for things that need to be sharp and a heavy, fast touch for mower blades and the rest. Doesn't run the risk of burning the temper out of a blade like a flap disk can if your a little heavy-handed.

I sharpen my blades 3X a year. Spring, summer, and Fall. I mulch leaves in the fall instead of raking them.

I use a handheld 4" grinder to sharpen and make sure they are balanced before re-installing.

The blade balancer is a big part of it, the professional ones check for balance and warpage LINK

The pro grinders are designed to keep the bevel at a consistent angle and remove a lot of metal quickly. RBG, Oregon and magnamatic all make them.
There are plans out there to make a good sharpening jig out of some plywood scraps and an angle grinder. LINK

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keakar

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TYFYS