Mower blades for sand

[hunt4570]

So where I live its like living on the beach (only my 2nd year here), everything is sand! Just pulled out my Toro Pro line 220, went to sharpen the blades and holy camoly were they worn down. I sharpened them mid way through last year and only mow a couple acres every few weeks but these blades were like round in the front...BAD!

Is there a blade that holds up better in the sand????

If so can you point me in the right direction.. I've a Toro Proline 220 with a 52" deck and blades..

Thanks.

 

[GLyford]

See if you can find out if any of the Oregon "Gator" blades will fit your machine. When I can find them, I find they last several times longer than my stock blades (I am also on sand). Not saying they're perfect, but they are just enough better that they are worth it for me. I used to be able to find them at the big box stores, but they have cut way back on what they carry, I suspect I'll have to order my next set online.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Here's the link to Oregon Site. You should be able to find cross reference to your OEM blades.

Oregon brand Lawn Mower Blades

I use them on my JD Z820A zero turn. Once you get the Oregon part number you can find good prices on them on eBay and Amazon.

My soil is very sandy so, I get about a year out of a set of blades. But I'm mowing about 8+ acres around the house at the ranch. With the OEM John Deere blades it was 2 sets per year.

 

[prichard]

I have found Oregon to be much better than any OEM blade. But we have clay not sand. Oregon may be able to point you towards something designed for the application.

 

[hunt4570]

Here's the link to Oregon Site. You should be able to find cross reference to your OEM blades.

Oregon brand Lawn Mower Blades

I use them on my JD Z820A zero turn. Once you get the Oregon part number you can find good prices on them on eBay and Amazon.

My soil is very sandy so, I get about a year out of a set of blades. But I'm mowing about 8+ acres around the house at the ranch. With the OEM John Deere blades it was 2 sets per year.

Thanks, still trying to find the OEM part # for my blades.. then I'll get the Oregon # and order a set..

 

[JerryK]

The slotted rear uplift section of the gator blades quickly gets sandblasted away since their is less metal in that area than a normal uplift blade. The trick with sand is to use a real sand blade, one that has no uplift, flat.... The ones I have are sharped on both sides, so you just flip them over to use the other sharp side... Here is an example on Ebay, but you can get them on Amazon, too...

Bobcat 48" Riding Lawn Mower Flat Sand Blades Sharpened 4 Sides Replaces 3261A | eBay

 

[hunt4570]

The slotted rear uplift section of the gator blades quickly gets sandblasted away since their is less metal in that area than a normal uplift blade. The trick with sand is to use a real sand blade, one that has no uplift, flat.... The ones I have are sharped on both sides, so you just flip them over to use the other sharp side... Here is an example on Ebay, but you can get them on Amazon, too...

Bobcat 48" Riding Lawn Mower Flat Sand Blades Sharpened 4 Sides Replaces 3261A | eBay

Interesting, the rear side of these blades were tore up as much as the leading edge. I found some sterns low lift blades but no sand blades as of yet.. still looking..

At least found the Toro OEM # 562390

 

[hunt4570]

Still on the fence here.. the flat sand blades sound like a great idea but I can find none for my machine.. and I have read they don't cut as well with no lift. Found some low lift jobs I might try, and or might just try a set of the Oregon gators as every one seems to like them...

 

[Gary Fowler]

I don't have a lot of sand but do have a lot of crawfish mounds that contain clay, sand and rocks. They wear on the blades pretty good also. They don't so much affect the cutting edge as much as they do the bend of the lift area and the top of the lift plane. The cutting edge is chipped up by all the rocks in the mounds more than sand wear. Normal blades will last about 1 season before requiring some welding to build up the thinned areas. This gets me a second season on them. I use 7018 and or 6010 rods to build up the worn down areas, applying equal weld metal to each end of the blade then balance it by reducing any thick areas. By doing weld metal build up on them before they get too thin, I can get 3 or more seasons out of 2 sets of blades. I rotate the 2 sets out always keeping a sharp set ready for quick change out. Factory Ferris blades are much thicker than replacement Oregon blades but the replacements are about half the price at $56 per set for 52" mower compared to the Ferris blades of $100+ per set. Needless to say, I haven't bought the Ferris OEM blades yet.

 

[hunt4570]

Ok, UPDATE.. I ordered a set of the Oregon Gator blades, I guess only time will tell how they do. They are thicker than OEM blades, .250 compared to .187. The bigger question I'm thinking is how hard are they? We shall see how they hold up in this sand I have here. Might have tried the flat ones if I could have found them to fit my machine, I could not however..
Thanks for the advice and ideas