Sharpening blades

[CPLLTT]

Hi all,
What do the mower shops use to sharpen their mower blades? Do they just use a bench grinder? I have a professional 10" bench grinder but I cant seem to sharpen them as nice as the pro's do. Do I just need practice or is there a special tool? Thanks!

[Jason Pallas]

Alpine - there's no special tool - but experience and a steady hand helps. The shop gets them sharpened by using a dedicated rotary blade grinder. It's a lot like a bench grinder BUT the wheel RPM are lower. Thus, the metal does heat up and lose temper as easy when you sharpen. These grinders are about $300 for the basic model - but well worth it. We purchased one last year (after using a bench grinder for years) - what a difference!! The blades stay sharper much longer - up to 2-3 times longer!

[bob]

My local JD dealer uses a large hand held grinder. I bought a dedicated blade grinder last year that does a great job. - RBG #218

[owen bryant]

Does anyone know if a Dremel tool will do a good job with blades? I have a bench grinder but am not happy with the results.

[Jason Pallas]

I'd stick to the bench grinder before I'd use a Dremel.

[daleintx]

I came up with a unique idea with sharpening blades. I bought a converter that converts your dc battery power into ac power. I have a small grinder and I just take the blade off and plug in my grinder to the converter and sharpen my blades right on the job sight. Saves money and gas and time.

[vipermanz]

dremels are good at it but its very easy to mess up the angle, but yes the do a really good job.

[G & S LANDSCAPING SERVICE]

I have used a dremel for sharping gas hedge trimmer blades and it has worked very well for me. Right now thinking of a MAGNA-MATIC ,and getting away from the bench grinder for lawn mower blades, Trying to justify the cost. Any openions on this sharpener would be appricated, I know of other machines at less cost, Just needed some openions. Thank you ,Scott.

[cuttingedgelawncare]

i bought a fireball grinder 5 yrs ago.....500 buck including shipping.....well worth it, heavy duty motor, reverse directions and a snap to use, just shove the blade in and out 5 or so times and its done.....btw we sharpen blades every day or atleast change them every day. we have more than one set.......sharp blades are ESSENTIAL!!!!!!!! for the grass and the mower.

[ADA]

I have a multi use sharpening system. It is a Tormek( not sure of spelling) It is designed to sharpen about anything(knives, chisels, axes etc. I has a 10" inch grinding stone that revolves in a bath of water and a fixed arm that you use jigs on to hold proper angle. I removes Very little metal at a time so would be good for touch ups or final sharpening only. I used it to cure a badly nicked blade once and it took a long time and since the grinding wheel is sacrificial you probably would want something else for rough work. It puts a SUPER edge on. I am sure that a grinder for lawn mower blades would be more practical for commercial use But it is a GREAAAAT tool for the shop if you like toys. It runs about $300.

[big james]

Iuse a Makita hand grinder and sharpen every day ,then finish edge them with a file , thats probably overkill but they will shave a hair when I get done ,but it don't last long , and be sure to balance them !:D

[Wangel]

I use a drill attachment that I bought at Home Depot. It cost about $5.95 and lasts about all summer. I keep a cordless drill in the truck and sharpen daily. I might go through one or two attachments, but for $12 a year, it would take me about 25 years to compare with a $300 sharpener.

[Derdader]

I've used a bench grinder (wasn't satified either) and a 4 1/2" disc grinder (better...) I've even heard of guys using a belt sander that said produced good results.

[Mid Rivers]

GS. I use a RBG but I saw a Magna- and was impressed. If I didn't have the RBG I would buy the Magna just because the speed of it.

[Jason Pallas]

We bought a LESCO (about $300) last year. It's basically a RBG with the LESCO name slapped on it. It was one of the best investments I've made in 20 years in the biz. I used to use a bench grinder. I can't tell you how different the dedicated Lesco is. The blades are sharper, they stay sharper longer, it's easier to sharpen, etc.... If you've got the means - this (a dedicated grinder) is the way to go. Well worth it.
After using it, I couldn't imagine even going back to a bench grinder. I do use a dremel or a die grinder (air) to sharpen hedge trimmers and chain saws - that works well. But I think sharpening mower blades with it (or a drill) would be a huge pain. Just my 2 cents - I know a lot of you do it and swear by it (more power to ya).