Blades only lasting one season...

[wag123]

Originally Posted by MolaKule
Originally Posted by ragtoplvr
Grass contains abrasive particles, some grasses have more. Silica is common in the structure. Blades are heat treated for longer wear. I suspect yours were not heat treated.

My riding mower mulching blades only have the cutting edge heat treated and they will wear thru at the lift portion. Have to be careful sharping to not over heat and change the heat treat.

Rod

Apparently Florida soil is very sandy and I suspect the blades are getting sandblasted?:
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1993-12-03-9312010365-story.html
Yep, sand/dirt is what wears blades out.
Mower blades are carbon steel and the entire blade is heat treated then tempered to a rockwell hardness of 40-C to 45-C so that it is not brittle.

Originally Posted by Eddie
Three inch setting is a low setting here in FL. 3.5 to 4 inch is a more standard setting. I suspect that sand is causing the problem and with unhardened blades I can understand the problem. Ed
Unless you have Bermuda, raise your mowing height.

 

[Kestas]

40-45 Rockwell "C" is rather hard. I'd expect more like 30-35 HRC at most.

 

[2KBMW]

I bought a Honda last year with the twin blades and their in perfect shape. I didn't even bother to sharpen them.
Now, after each mulching cut, I hose off the underneath and spray WD-40 or silicon etc and coat the entire underside.

 

[TheLawnRanger]

It seems like the original blades on a mower are not a very good quality. I've posted a picture of the originals from my Troy-Bilt. I didn't treat them right. There was a lot of wet mowing and sandy conditions. I replaced them with Rotary Copperheads and have had good results. Honda may have better OEM blades.

 

[wag123]

Originally Posted by Kestas
40-45 Rockwell "C" is rather hard. I'd expect more like 30-35 HRC at most.
Perhaps Honda's blades are 30-35 and maybe that is why the OP's blades only lasted one season. 40-45 is the standard of the industry and is the hardness of most all OEM blades.

 

[gregk24]

Originally Posted by 2KBMW
I bought a Honda last year with the twin blades and their in perfect shape. I didn't even bother to sharpen them.
Now, after each mulching cut, I hose off the underneath and spray WD-40 or silicon etc and coat the entire underside.


I do hose off the mower after each use, never used WD-40 afterward though. Wouldn't that hurt the drive belt for the self propelled system?

 

[wag123]

Originally Posted by gregk24
Originally Posted by 2KBMW
I bought a Honda last year with the twin blades and their in perfect shape. I didn't even bother to sharpen them.
Now, after each mulching cut, I hose off the underneath and spray WD-40 or silicon etc and coat the entire underside.
I do hose off the mower after each use, never used WD-40 afterward though. Wouldn't that hurt the drive belt for the self propelled system?
None of this is necessary. Any grass buildup will quickly dry out and will immediately come off at the start of your next mowing.
NEVER subject OPE to water (water hose, rain, etc). A pressure washer is a BIG no-no.

 

[SHOZ]

I use Gator Mulching blades on my John Deere. They stay sharp for half the season and I have another set I rotate in. I have never seen any blade that did not dull somewhat with a few hours use.

Gator Mulcher blades are made in the U.S. from the finest American made high carbon 10B38 steels. The cutting edges are carbide milled for a super sharp edge. Every blade is fully heat-treated to a Rockwell C-scale hardness of 50 for optimum safety and durability, then straightened for a precision cut.

http://www.gatorblade.com/about.html

I use to wash the mower off with each use but that messed up a lot of the safety switches. Now i blow it off before the next use with compressed air.

 

[AZjeff]

Originally Posted by wag123
None of this is necessary. Any grass buildup will quickly dry out and will immediately come off at the start of your next mowing.
NEVER subject OPE to water (water hose, rain, etc). A pressure washer is a BIG no-no.


Maybe in Texas and certainly in Arizona. Not so much where the humidity stays at 75% or more all the time. I had to manually remove grass buildup from the deck of every mower I ever owned in Pa. Sometimes after a few days it was warm to the touch, the mower was getting ready to spontaneously combust! Far easier to tip a mower up and hose out the wet buildup right after mowing IMO.

 

[kschachn]

Not only that, here in the Midwest the damp grass will stick to the deck and promote corrosion. Better to hose it off and allow it to dry quickly.

 

[2KBMW]

Originally Posted by gregk24
Originally Posted by 2KBMW
I bought a Honda last year with the twin blades and their in perfect shape. I didn't even bother to sharpen them.
Now, after each mulching cut, I hose off the underneath and spray WD-40 or silicon etc and coat the entire underside.


I do hose off the mower after each use, never used WD-40 afterward though. Wouldn't that hurt the drive belt for the self propelled system?


Mine is a regular push model. No belts etc.