OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions On Ride On Mowers Frames Blade sharpening

From reading through some of the posts on here I get the inferance that sharpening blades on a grinding wheel is a No-no.

I did it once many moons ago when a young wippersnapper - but noticed the blades on the new 2nd hand mower were blunt looking and thought I'd give them a 'touch-up' - I gather this is not wise?

If you look at some of the American how-to videos referenced on this site you'll be instructed to sharpen the blades with an angle grinder without removing them from the mower - but that is for one-piece, mower-width blades. As far as I am aware it is normal to sharpen swing-back blades, either on a grinder or with a file, but it is important to balance the cutter disk including the blades when you finish sharpening. You can use a jig for this - I believe there is at least one type in the on-line store. I prefer not to remove the cutter disk if I can help it, so I remove the blades, sharpen them, then equalize their weights by grinding a bit more off the heavy one(s). You have to use some sense, and experience, when doing this: for basic safety you must end up with blades that have structural integrity at high rpm and under impact conditions. When you find you've ground them back a significant amount or they have any kind of crack or weakness, it is time to replace them. Of course you have to do this as a set: resharpened blades weigh less than new blades, and you must have accurate balance so they all have to be the same. Remember to weigh each blade complete with its entire set of mounting hardware, and keep them together as a set.

Really though for swing backl blades there is no point sharpening them, I get sets of brand new victa blades and bolts for $4.99 at super cheap auto.

Thanks Joe, I've only ever tried mower stores and they were close to the price of a second-hand mower. Do they have them for an ancient turbo type (flat-sided bolts, cranked-downward blades)?

My old man used to sharpen his blades but Ive found that you really need to give them an Axe cut or thick edge or they go blunt in record time.

The other issue I find is that they do get bent out of shape after a while which obviously effects their efficiency so like Joe I just buy a new set every 6 months or so AND a new bolt set too.

Hi all,
I generally find if the blades are not too bad you can just simply take the bur off the backside of then with a hand grinder and that is sufficient. Generally you can get a satisfactory cut with dull edged blades as long as they are not burred over as the burrs rip rather than cut. If the blades are a little worse or you are cutting them doun to fit a different mower (defiantly not recommended to anyone) I find taking them off and sitting then together, then cutting or grinding a clean edge on them is the best way to go to keep them balanced. You can then sharpen then put the cutting edge on them separately and weigh them if you like. But after this type of operation you may as well have spent the $4.99 at the mower shop and got new blades and bolts.
Regards jay