Sharpen your own mower blades?

[zeitgeist57]

Here in suburban UA, I am the "go-to" guy with my local neighbors for mechanical questions. Scary, I know

 

I've had questions where to take their mowers for blade sharpening....really, I'd be in interested in doing it myself. Doesn't seem so hard. I've got a grinder...any tips on how to sharpen them?

[Rustlestiltskin]

[Jackson1647545504]

PAINT THE BOTTOM OF THE DECK WITH USED MOTOR OIL

 

an old farmer friend said to me

[Mojoe]

Maybe the vid covers it, but my biggest issue when doing them, is making sure they stay balanced. When you are reshaping the edge, some areas may need more work than others, and that may mean filing or granding away material. If the blades are of balance than they can damage the the mower deck and the mounting point.

 

Other than that, it's not all that bad. Kind off fun to me.

[Tractor]

I've always just put an angle grinder to them till there sharp as hell. Thats how dad always did it when I lived at home too and never gave it to much thought. Besides they are out of balance as soon as you hit a rock anyway if you think it matters.

[Richard Cranium]

I does cover balancing the blade. I used to have the same little cone balancer they use in the video. It seemed to work pretty well. I like the idea of the used motor oil on the bottom of the deck. I'll probably do that with mine this year when I service the mower.

[RedRocket1647545505]

When I worked for my stepfathers power equipment rental place years ago, we serviced a ton of mowers for people, much of which included yearly services, including blade sharpening. Our tool of choice was always a flap-wheel on your basic angle grinder. That gave us the smoothest results and they were razor sharp when we were done.

 

It doesn't have to be balanced to NASA standards or anything. Just make sure if you take a good amount of material off of one side d/t a gouge or something, you attempt to take approx. the same amount from the other side. To check the balance, we hung them on a horizontal nail hammered into a beam on the building. Rarely did I ever have to make any adjustments.

[zeitgeist57]

Ton of great info and experiences. Thanks, guys!

[cstmg8]

Last year I didn't even take mine off the push mower lol. Just used the angle grinder to freshen them up.

[copperhead]

I got a brand new blade for my push mower on Amazon for $17. Waaaay easier than dealing with sharpening, and you know it's right.

[cdk 4219]

Just watch Slingblade it has all the information you need.

[Fiji ST]

Would anyone be willing to sharpen mine for a few $$?

[truckin]

I've always done mine, it's easy. I have a small bench grinder and sharpen each side ( I don't do it razor sharp) then to balance I put a nail horizontal in a vice and hang it on the nail. when it's level it's balanced.

[SPL_Josh]

Would anyone be willing to sharpen mine for a few $$?

 

Yes

[Turbs3000]

I got a brand new blade for my push mower on Amazon for $17. Waaaay easier than dealing with sharpening, and you know it's right.

 

Maybe if you don't have a grinder but since no matter if you swap it or sharpen it you would have to take it off either way you may as well spend 5 minutes sharpening it and slap it back on. Esp since it should be sharpened at least once a year.

[Buck531]

Gator blades FTW.

[gillbot]

I've always just put an angle grinder to them till there sharp as hell. Thats how dad always did it when I lived at home too and never gave it to much thought. Besides they are out of balance as soon as you hit a rock anyway if you think it matters.

 

This ^

 

If you have to remove enough material to get them seriously out of balance enough to cause damage, they should be replaced.

[xlr8tn]

I've always sharpened mine and like grandpa showed me just use a screw driver to check the balance. Not scientific by any means but it gets you close enough.

[gillbot]

I've always sharpened mine and like grandpa showed me just use a screw driver to check the balance. Not scientific by any means but it gets you close enough.

 

I hang em on a nail to see if they are real far out. If so I usually just toss em.