Do you sharpen new blades?

[Darryl G]

I always sharpen my new blades. A lot of them look like they are sharpened with a pretty coarse stone...they're almost serrated. It usually takes me a few sharpenings to get all the grooves they cut into them out. But the main thing for me is that they're usually out of balance, sometimes badly....that's most of the reason I sharpen them.

[Tizzy]

Originally Posted by darryl gesner

I always sharpen my new blades. A lot of them look like they are sharpened with a pretty coarse stone...they're almost serrated. It usually takes me a few sharpenings to get all the grooves they cut into them out. But the main thing for me is that they're usually out of balance, sometimes badly....that's most of the reason I sharpen them.

Ditto. they are always out of balance. and serrated lol. also i sharpen to a 30 degree angle

[Darryl G]

I'm waiting for someone to tell me I'm wrong and my blades aren't out of balance when I get them.

[ProStreetCamaro]

Originally Posted by darryl gesner

I'm waiting for someone to tell me I'm wrong and my blades aren't out of balance when I get them.

They may be when new but it has never affected our mowers. I dont balance blades. Never have, never will. The only mower after all these years in business that has had a spindle go bad was our lazer. No other mower has ever had a spindle failure and that includes some that have gone well over 3000 hours before we sold them.

[StanWilhite]

Originally Posted by johnwright238

I replace blades that have been beaten up by rocks and foreign objects but I don't sharpen them first. If the wear and tear is not too bad, that is when I break out my angle grinder with a 60grit flap wheel and put a 45 degree edge on the cutting side and a few steep passes on the backside.

How do you guys take care of your blades? Tempted to try "new" blade designs but always keep going with regular mulching blades. Anyone have a success story on a particular blade design I should give a try?

This is another "personal preference" thing, but I've seen several blade manufacturers literature that says the correct grind angle is 27 degrees. To me, 45 degrees sounds like it may be a little too much, but I do understand your logic. I'm sure the nicks don't dig in as deeply when the angle is 45 deg.

I wonder if the air flow over the blade (before hitting the sail) would be affected by any significant amount if the grind angle is at 45 deg? Don't know how much difference (if any) there would be in the cutting results of a 27 deg blade versus a 45 deg blade. That might be a good experiment for someone with a little extra time on their hands.

[Darryl G]

It's no secret that vibration is bad for equipment, so I play it on the safe side and will not put unbalanced blades on my mower.

[StanWilhite]

Originally Posted by darryl gesner

I'm waiting for someone to tell me I'm wrong and my blades aren't out of balance when I get them.

Damn!t Darryl.....YOU'RE WRONG!!!!! (Does that make you feel more "at home" here)?

[Darryl G]

Originally Posted by StanWilhite

Damn!t Darryl.....YOU'RE WRONG!!!!! (Does that make you feel more "at home" here)?

Thanks Stan!!!!

[sgrenier24]

I sharpen and check the balance as well. Two new blades I picked up from the local Exmark dealer were actually bent. I never would have noticed it unless I used my Magnamatic
Balancer I bought with my mag 9000 last year.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Roger]

Originally Posted by StanWilhite

This is another "personal preference" thing, but I've seen several blade manufacturers literature that says the correct grind angle is 27 degrees. To me, 45 degrees sounds like it may be a little too much, but I do understand your logic. I'm sure the nicks don't dig in as deeply when the angle is 45 deg.

I wonder if the air flow over the blade (before hitting the sail) would be affected by any significant amount if the grind angle is at 45 deg? Don't know how much difference (if any) there would be in the cutting results of a 27 deg blade versus a 45 deg blade. That might be a good experiment for someone with a little extra time on their hands.

27, 30, 45 degrees. This question is not unlike "what kind of oil should I put in my engine?"

These kind of discussions always prompt a question for me: How do the grass cutters in the field know more about the engineering of these mechanical devices than the engineers who do the design?

If those riding their ZTRs, following their w/b mowers, etc. are much better at deciding what is the right oil, what is the right angle, and similar, there is lots more money to be made sitting at the design desk. And, these folks can skip all the education, and go right to drafting the specifications.