Rotory Mower Blade Sharpening

[pane056]

Hello;

I have a Bush Hog Squealer 84 and John Deere 48 Rear Mount mowers. I checked the blades on both and was surprised to see that the cutting edges are rounded rather then sharp.

It seems with rounded blades instead of sharp blades the material being cut is not cut but clubbed down.

I'm thinking a sharp blade would do a much nicer job.

thanks, nicholas

 

[KennyG]

You will find that the sharpening instructions are to leave a blunt edge (1/16 or 1/8 flat). If you sharpen them, they will quickly dull and, over time, you will have to replace the blades sooner. It's supposed to kind of beat the brush, not cut it clean.

 

[Marveltone]

You haven't told us what you're mowing. Rotary cutters are by nature meant to be rough mowers, not finish mowers, so they club and bash through thick brush and small trees that would wreck finish mowers. If you only cut grass with it, you could sharpen the blades, but the edges get too thin and weak to hold up to the rough stuff. Most manufacturers recommend sharpening the cutting edge to 1/16, not to a point.

Joe

 

[TripleR]

What they said. I am on my third summer cutting with a Woods and Land Pride. We are cutting a combination of grass, brush and saplings 3" or a bit more. We haven't sharpened them yet. A shattered sapling is preferable to a cut one, easier on your tires. We may touch them up when we finish this year.

 

[LD1]

Yep, what they all said. IF you are cutting thick brush and saplings, you want a blunt/rounded edge. They splinter up the saplings so you dont get flats.

If you are just cutting a grass field though, I like sharper blades.