Resharpen or Replace

[bdhsfz6]

Yeah, I know, mower blades have been a frequent topic here but it's been awhile and I'm always interested in new opinions, products or ideas.

For many years, I resharpened my blades with varying degrees of success. Usually, I get two seasons out of a set of new blades before they need attention. After resharpening, I'm lucky to get a single season before the cut begins to look ragged. I use an angle grinder with a coarse wheel or flap disk, depending on how much material needs to be removed. I quench frequently to avoid overheating but the temper never seems to be as good as the original.

The biggest problem I have with resharpening is re blunting the blade ends after they round off. It usually means removing 1/4 to 1/2" to square it up. This can cause a balance issue and the vibration is quite noticeable on my 3 spindle, 3pt finish mower. For some reason, it wasn't a problem on my old 2 spindle mower. I try to balance the blades after sharpening but have limited success.

I've also found that high lift blades don't seem to last as long as low or medium lift. The high lift do a better job on wet or damp grass and are more resistant to bending when scalping. I usually mow the first time out with an old set of high lift to clear any obstacles before switching to low lift.

I've come to the conclusion that it's no longer worth my time to sharpen and balance 3 blades every year. I now just replace them every other season. Cost's just under $100 and well worth every penny.

Of course this is just my opinion, YMMV.

 

[JeepHead]

I sharpen the blades on my 3 spindle ZT deck. I have a dedicated 2" wide belt grinder that I use for knife making so it makes quick work of the mower blades. Usually takes me under a 1/2 hour to remove the blades, sharpen, and remount. Costs me nothing.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

I've run the gambit on both sides of this equation. When I had my lawn service I kept at least 3 sets of blades at all times. I would generally change them once a week and when I got to the last set I would sharpen all of them and continue the rotation. I never had to take much off and the blades would last years, unless they got damaged. At my house I'm not as **** about the cut so usually I switch them out around twice a year and replace when I can't get the cut back close to factory.

 

[CalG]

High lift blades pull significant amounts of small stone and abrasive debris up into the blades. I've noticed the need to sharpen more frequently myself. But the cut quality is worth it to me.

 

[5030]

I just replace them and the old ones go in the scrap container.

 

[RjCorazza]

I use a jig to get a consistent edge using a 40 or 60g flap disk. Sharpening every 30-40 hours I can keep the tips square, and they get balanced each sharpening.

 

[Williy]

Can you weld the tips then grind then to what you want?

willy

 

[dodge man]

Mine are 6 years old and still sharpen fine. Get a cheap balancer. I’m not sure how long it takes to sharpen my blades, maybe an hour and a half, and that includes taking the deck off and on and cleaning it a little.

 

[5030]

Can you weld the tips then grind then to what you want?

willy

Don't know if that is a safe thiong to do in as much as the blades are heat treated. I just buy new ones as they aren't that expensive or should I say, I'm not quite that cheap.

 

[5030]

I use a jig to get a consistent edge using a 40 or 60g flap disk. Sharpening every 30-40 hours I can keep the tips square, and they get balanced each sharpening.
View attachment 3492220
View attachment 3492221

Nice jig. I b et that cost more than a couple sets of replacement blades. Around here, it's not the ends of the blades (cutting edges that get ate up) but the heel of the blade that gets worn away from the sandy soil and I can eat up a set of mulcher blades in a couple weeks.